Guidance on submitting geospatial data

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Introduction

Under section 6 of the Information and Management of Time Limits Regulations, any information that is required to be submitted by a proponent under the Impact Assessment Act must be in a machine-readable format.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) requires proponents to provide electronic geospatial data files for site maps provided in the Initial Project Description (IPD). Additionally, geospatial data files may be required in the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines issued to proponents at the end of the Planning phase. These files are to be submitted along with the Impact Statement. The following document provides guidance on submitting electronic geospatial data files to IAAC during the impact assessment process.

What should be submitted?

Initial Project Description

Proponents are required to submit electronic geospatial data files for the site maps detailing the project’s proposed general location and the spatial relationship of the project components.

This would include (where applicable) geospatial data showing:

The geospatial data must include any options that the proponent is considering, in relation to proposed location, routes or components.

For linear projects under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, the proponent may provide information on the specific proposed route, or on the corridor within which a specific right-of-way will be determined at a later date.

Proponents are not required to submit the electronic geospatial data files for background layers from publicly available sources that show, for example:

Proponents must complete the IPD Geospatial Data Submission Requirements Checklist and include it within the zipped folder of the data submission.

Proponents may, however, choose to provide this additional information to IAAC, for release to the public, under the terms of the Open Government Licence – Canada.

Impact Statement

Where information is required or is provided as a map in the Impact Statement (IS), the proponent must also provide IAAC with the corresponding electronic geospatial data file(s), which may include:

Data submission instructions:
  1. Submit one zipped package per chapter or annex:
    1. Each package should contain all relevant geospatial data for the chapter/annex (e.g., geospatial data for the “Closure Plan” analysis).
    2. Ensure metadata is embedded within each shapefile or geodatabase.
  2. Include a completed IS Geospatial Data Submission Requirements Checklist for each package.
  3. Include a summary listing the contents (IS Geospatial Data Summary Spreadsheet) of the shapefiles and figures in each package.
  4. Zip the relevant data, checklist, and spreadsheet together in one folder, and submit through the proponent portal as one of many submissions.

Note: To streamline future submissions, proponents are encouraged to submit a sample package for IAAC’s Geomatics Team to review and provide feedback.

If the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines require submission of other data types not covered in this guidance (e.g. non-geospatial data file or database, analytical script or workflow), please contact IAAC’s regional office in your area for additional guidance.

Data submission requirements

If the proponent has concerns about potential data restrictions, they should contact IAAC.

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