Search Manitoba Eco-Network Website

An affiliate of the
Canadian Environmental Network

Manitoba Eco-Network gratefully acknowledges the support of Manitoba Conservation

Manitoba Eco-Network Public Registry Overview

Core Principles of Environmental Assessment

EA should be an open, accountable and independent process
EA should be done early and before any decisions are made and address need alternatives at this early stage
EA should apply to every undertaking that may have environmental significance
Environment should be defined broadly in an EA
EA should result in a binding decision
EA should be efficient and integrated with other planning processes
The public should be involved in a significant and effective way

The Public Registry

The PR is legislatively almost fifteen years old and, over the years, it has come to hold a wealth of information that provides a window into events that have shaped and continue to shape Manitoba’s environmental landscape. As one begins to dig around in the PR, it is not long before the hidden gems are revealed. For example, the maps and facility diagrams could stand on their own as unique documents, each striking an interesting balance of style and purpose. The PR is also thick with letters from the public, government officials and industry spokespersons. The letters range from those in support to those in opposition of proposed developments, not to mention the strong vein of letters from environmental activists in Manitoba. The PR also serves as the contact point to various environmental impact statements (EIS), management plans, reports from technical advisory committees and verbatim transcripts and reports on public hearings held by the Clean Environment Commission.

The establishment of the Environmental Public Registry is found in the Environment Act* section 17.

17. Public registry - Subject to section 47*, the director shall maintain or cause to be maintained a public registry, containing for each proposal received
(a) a summary, prepared by the proponent in form and detail approved by the department;
(b) the disposition and status of each proposal;
(c) a copy of the environmental licence, where applicable;
(d) a copy of the assessment report;
(e) justification for not accepting the advice and recommendations of the commission, where applicable;
(f) justification for refusing to issue an environmental licence, where applicable;
(g) such other information as the minister or director may from time to time direct.

*47. Information confidential
Where proprietary information is provided to any official of the department under this Act, that official shall not without the consent in writing of the person by whom the information was provided
(a) communicate or allow to be communicated to any person; or
(b) allow any other person to inspect or have access to the information except for the purposes of administration and enforcement of this Act, or as otherwise required by law.

Four main locations in Winnipeg:
- Conservation and Environment Library
- Legislative Library
- Manitoba Eco-Network
- Winnipeg Public Library

For a list of all Public Registry Locations visit: /www.gov.mb.ca/natres/library/pr-list.html

Recently, the PR has received another look within three documents that will shape the PR of the near future.

Report of the Consultation on Sustainable Development Implementation (COSDI). 1999.

Building a Sustainable Future: Proposed Changes to Manitoba’s Environment Act: a discussion paper. 2001 (pdf file)

Final Report of the Chair - Core Group on the Amendments to the Environment Act 2002 Prepared by RAS Consulting - Submitted April 13/02 (not online)

For more information on the Environment Act Amendments see:
www.gov.mb.ca/natres/ea-amendment/

COSDI and the Public Registry (Section 5M)

5M) In order to ensure ease of access to current, and historically relevant information, Manitoba:

5Ma) Expand the public registry system to include planning and resource allocation activities, in addition to the current environmental approvals information.

5Mb) Improve public registries and access to registry information, which should include:

i. effective cataloguing

ii. positive outreach functions

iii. measures to prevent theft

iv. convenient hours of operation, for improved public access outside of normal working hours

v. long-term retention of, and public access to, all registered information

vi. standardization of registry content to ensure consistent inclusion of project proposals, regulatory guidance to proponents, Technical Advisory Committee minutes, departmental and public comments, communications between proponents and decision-makers, assessment documents, "deficiency" lists, licenses, notices of alteration, dispositions of proposed alterations, monitoring reports, compliance information, etc.

vii. clear guidance from the department to the registry manager(s) on use, care, purpose of information being provided, etc.

viii. ease of access to registry information for those seeking information

ix. specific requirements for planners (and proponents) to provide sufficient copies of documents for project registries – particular consideration must be given to the needs of remote communities for information, to ensure information is easily accessible and easily understood by parties at interest in these communities; and

x. user-friendly, plain language summaries of technical documentation provided to registries by proponents

5Mc) Create project-specific, "local" and "regional" registries, and joint federal-provincial registries where applicable

5Md) Encourage proponents/departments to meet with the public to explain registry contents

5Me) Clearly define the role expected of the proponent with respect to these registries (such as positive outreach on a project-specific basis); and

5Mf) Establish an electronic registry for computer access, while recognizing the present limited access to electronic media.

DP: Proposed Changes to Manitoba’s Environment Act
(Section 2. Public Participation)

Expand the capability of the public registry to accommodate planning and resource allocation information. (Recommendation 5 Ma)

Provide for local and regional registries and federal provincial registries. (Recommendation 5 Mc)

Provide the public registry with capability for housing electronic information. Recommendation 5 Mf)

Final Report of the Chair - Core Group on the Amendments to the Environment Act 2002 (Section I 12.B Public Registries)

B) Core Group Recommendation: The core Group agreed that the public registries are the front line of the public consultation process. There are considerable improvements that could be made to the public registry system, without the need for legislative amendment. For example, greater use of electronic information (5Mf) (bearing in mind that not all people have access to computers), encouraging libraries to pay more attention to their registries, expansion to include resource and planning information (5Ma), as well as providing for local, regional and federal provincial registries (5Mc), could all be accomplished without legislated change, although there could be resource implications.

Links:

- Environmental Licensing Approvals (Proposals On File) (Manitoba Conservation Website)

The proposals on file is a listing of environmental assessments carried out under The Environment Act and The Dangerous Goods Handling and Transportation Act for licencing.
(Note: the listing does not include Proposals handled prior to 1996.)

The listing of assessments are categorized by region and development type. Applications filed under The Dangerous Goods Handling and Transportation Act are listed only under the respective regions, because there are no defined classes of development for them.

A summary report commenting on the environmental assessment process of each proposal is contained with each proposal listed together with the Licence/Order issued when approved.

- Manitoba Eco-Network Public Registry Postings

As new files arrive at the Alice Chambers Memorial Library they are posted to the Manitoba Eco-Network website. Information includes the PR number, client, location and a brief description of the file.

- The Environmental Assessment and Licencing Process Under The Manitoba Environment Act
The Manitoba Environment Act outlines an environmental assessment and Licencing process for those developments that may have potential for significant environmental effects. The assessment and licencing process is an important step in the planning of a development to ensure protection of the environment.