From the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to Husky Oil Operations Ltd. re: Conformity of the Environmental Impact Statement

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Document reference number: 29

Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
Suite 200
1801 Hollis Street
Halifax NS B3J 3N4

Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale
Bureau 200
1801 rue Hollis
Halifax, NE B3J 3N4

October 11, 2018

Sent by E-mail

Dave Pinsent
Senior Environmental Advisor
Husky Energy
Atlantic Region
351 Water St. Suite 105
St. John's, NL
A1C 1C2

Dear Mr. Pinsent,

SUBJECT: Outcome of conformity review of the Environmental Impact Statement

On September 7, 2018, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency) received the revised Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and EIS Summary for the Husky Energy Exploration Drilling Project (the Project) from Husky Energy (the proponent). The Agency reviewed the EIS and EIS Summary in consideration of the requirements of the revised Guidelines for the Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS Guidelines), issued to the proponent by the Agency on May 31, 2018, and the May 16, 2017 letter to the proponent outlining the deficiencies in the original April 2017 EIS submission.

The Agency has concluded that the EIS and EIS Summary conform to the EIS Guidelines and is commencing the technical review of the documents. The EIS and EIS Summary will be posted on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry Internet Site (https://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/80130?culture=en-CA). The public and Indigenous groups will be invited to comment during the comment period which will run between October 11, 2018 and November 10, 2018.

Please note that proceeding to a technical review and public comment period does not imply that the information in the EIS is adequate to support the completion of the environmental assessment (EA). The Agency will be issuing Information Requirements (IRs) to you based on the results of the technical review conducted by federal experts, and input received from public and Indigenous participants. During the conformity review, comments on the EIS were received from a federal authority that may be developed into IRs following the technical review of the EIS. These comments will be forwarded for your consideration in a separate e-mail.

As of October 8, 2018, the federal legal timeline within which the Minister's decision must be made resumed. For more information on the approach to managing federal EA timelines, please consult the Agency's "Operational Policy Statement: Information Requests and Timelines, February 2016" at https://www.canada.ca/en/environmental-assessment-agency/news/media-room/media-room-2016/information-requests-timelines.html. In accordance with subsections 27(6) and 23(2) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA), the period that is taken by a proponent to respond to the IRs, when there is not sufficient information available for the purposes of conducting the EA, is not included in the calculation of the time limit within which the Minister's decision must be made.

This letter may be shared with Indigenous groups and posted on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry Internet Site: https://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/80130?culture=en-CA .

Should you have any questions regarding the technical review of the EIS, please contact me at 902-426-8946 or via email at ceaa.husky.acee@canada.ca.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Benjamin
Project Manager
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency - Atlantic Region

Cc: Ian Murphy, Canada - Newfoundland Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board
Darrin Sooley, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Glenn Troke, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Jason Flanagan, Transport Canada
Veronica Mossop, Natural Resources Canada
Carla Stevens, Major Projects Management Office
Vanessa Rodrigues, Parks Canada