Screenings

Process Improvement Initiatives for Screening EAs at CNSC >

A screening is usually conducted for projects that are unlikely to cause significant negative environmental effects and for projects of limited public concern.

The screening process systematically evaluates and documents the anticipated environmental effects of a proposed project and determines if the project plan should be modified. It can also recommend further measures to eliminate or minimize potential negative environmental effects.

Environmental Assessment Guidelines

Environmental Assessment (EA) Guidelines contain information pertaining to the scope of the proposed project, the factors to be considered in the assessment, and the scope of those factors. As a Responsible Authority under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Commission must review and approve Guidelines for most EAs.

CNSC assesses the level of public concern for each screening-level EA and may provide the public with opportunities to voice their concerns at two stages in the screening process, as appropriate:

• at the Draft EA Guidelines stage
• at the Draft Screening Report stage

The public usually has 30 days to review each document.

CNSC occasionally holds open houses or information sessions in communities to present its documents or findings and to obtain direct public feedback.

Further opportunities for public participation may occur at the Commission hearing stage for the EA Screening Report.

The decision to allow interventions in a public hearing on EA Screening Reports typically depends on the project’s potential to cause significant negative environmental effects, and the known or anticipated level of public concern. CNSC personnel use the Ministerial Guideline on Assessing the Need for and Level of Public Participation in Screenings under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Screening Decision

For all screenings, the Responsible Authority decides if the project is likely to cause significant negative environmental effects, taking into account all available mitigation measures. This decision is made during the EA Screening Report hearing.

If the Commission decides that the proposed project is not likely to cause significant negative effects, it must determine a course of action consistent with section 20 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, about whether to proceed with the licensing process under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.

CNSC personnel summarize comments received during public consultations, along with their impact on the final Screening Report, and submit them to the Commission as part of the hearing record.