Prepared for: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

Prepared by: The Cumulative Effects Assessment Working Group
(Hegmann, G., C. Cocklin, R. Creasey, S. Dupuis, A. Kennedy, L. Kingsley, W. Ross, H. Spaling and D. Stalker) and AXYS Environmental Consulting Ltd.

February 1999

Disclaimer

This guide is for information purposes only. It is not a substitute for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act(the Act) or any of its regulations. In the event of any inconsistency between this guide and the Act or regulations, the Act or regulations, as the case may be, would prevail.

This document provides guidance on environmental assessment under the provisions of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act as amended on July 12, 2010. It has not been updated to reflect changes to the process introduced in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012. To ensure that you have the appropriate versions of the Act and regulations, please consult the Department of Justice website.

Relationship to First CEAA Guide on Cumulative Effects

In 1994, the Agency published A Reference Guide for theCanadian Environmental Assessment Act: Addressing Cumulative Environmental Effects. This publication was available as part of the Agency's The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act Training Compendium or under separate cover. That Reference Guide formed the basis of the Agency's response to questions about conducting Cumulative Effects Assessments, and has been widely used and referenced. The Agency has updated the 1994 Reference Guide on Cumulative Environmental Effects to reflect evolving processes and methods to meet requirements under theCanadian Environmental Assessment Act.

The Practitioners Guide you are now reading represents aCEAAinitiative to provide further information on cumulative effects. This Guide is focussed on practical solutions for practitioners conducting Cumulative Effects Assessments and should be considered a supplement, not a replacement, to the Reference Guide.

Relationship to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has developed a four page policy paper on the Agency's position regardingCEAs under theCanadian Environmental Assessment Act. This Operational Policy Statement is entitled Addressing Cumulative Effects under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The policy document does not recount what is contained in the Practitioners Guide but provides the Agency's view on CEA under the Act and the use of this Guide by federal authorities.

Comments about this Guide

This document is an evolving product and is not the "final word" on CEA. It will be updated and revised as the practice of CEA evolves. TheCEA Working Group and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency welcome comments and suggestions regarding this Guide. These should be addressed to:

Senior Guidance and Training Officer
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
22nd Floor, Place Bell
160 Elgin Street, Ottawa ON K1A 0H3
Fax: (613) 957-0941
E-mail: training.formation@ceaa-acee.gc.ca.

Citation

Hegmann, G., C. Cocklin, R. Creasey, S. Dupuis, A. Kennedy, L. Kingsley, W. Ross, H. Spaling and D. Stalker. 1999. Cumulative Effects Assessment Practitioners Guide. Prepared by AXYS Environmental Consulting Ltd. and the CEA Working Group for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Hull, Quebec.

To Obtain Copies of this Guide/h2>

Contact:

Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
22nd Floor, Place Bell
160 Elgin Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0H3
Phone (613) 957-0169
Fax (613) 957-0862
E-Mail: info@ceaa-acee.gc.ca

© Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 1999
Cat. No. En106-44/1999E
ISBN: 0-660-17709-9

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The material in this document may be reproduced, in whole or in part and by any means, without further permission from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. No such reproduction shall indicate that the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is in any way responsible for the accuracy or reliability of the reproduction; nor shall any such reproduction indicate that it was made with the endorsement of, or in affiliation with, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. This document has been produced by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency in English and in French only.