President's Response

Physical Activities

EcoRock Dalhousie Inc. is proposing the expansion and operation of an existing quarry to extract and process aggregate. The Dalhousie Pozzolan Project (the project) would be located in Heron Bay, approximately 20 kilometres northeast of Campbellton, New Brunswick. The project is being proposed in two phases. As proposed, Phase I would expand an existing quarry from 10 to 80 hectares, and Phase II would include a grinding mill and facilities to produce pozzolan. The project's production capacity would be up to three million tonnes per year.

These physical activities are not prescribed by regulations made under paragraph 109(b) of the Impact Assessment Act (the IAA).

Delegation of Powers to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Under subsection 154(1) of the IAA as amended, the Minister of the Environment (the Minister) may, subject to any terms and conditions that the Minister specifies, delegate to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) any powers, duties, or functions that the Minister is authorized to exercise or perform under the IAA. The Minister has delegated the powers under section 9 of the IAA to the President of IAAC.

Decision

I, Terence Hubbard, President of IAAC, have decided not to designate the project pursuant to section 9 of the IAA.

Information Considered

In forming my response, I took into account the analysis prepared by IAAC.

Reasons

In making my decision not to designate the project, I considered whether the carrying out of the project may cause adverse effects within federal jurisdiction, or direct or incidental adverse effects, and concluded that the project may cause these potential adverse effects. I then considered public concerns related to these effects; adverse impacts on the rights of Indigenous Peoples of Canada; and whether a means other than an impact assessment exists that would permit a jurisdiction to address the adverse effects within federal jurisdiction and the direct or incidental adverse effects.

I have decided not to designate the project for the following reasons:

• The project must be carried out in compliance with applicable federal, provincial and municipal mechanisms.
• The requirements under these mechanisms, some of which include consultation with Indigenous communities and public engagement, provide a framework to address public concerns related to the potential adverse effects within federal jurisdiction or the direct or incidental adverse effects that may be caused by the carrying out of the project and Indigenous concerns related to adverse impacts that the project may have on the rights of Indigenous Peoples recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. 
• There are means other than a federal impact assessment, such as the following federal, provincial, and municipal mechanisms, that would permit a jurisdiction to address the adverse effects within federal jurisdiction and the direct or incidental adverse effects that may be caused by the carrying out of the project.
• These mechanisms include:
  • federal legislation, including the Fisheries Act; Canadian Navigable Waters Act; Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994; Species at Risk Act; Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999;
  • provincial legislation, including the Watercourse and Wetland Alteration Regulation, Water Quality Regulation, Air Quality Regulation, Heritage Conservation Act;
  • an environmental impact assessment under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation, if required; and
  • municipal mechanisms, including the Town of Heron Bay bylaws for land use planning and resource extraction.