Minister's Response — Great Sandhills Railway Switching Operation at North West Terminal Project — Revised Design

PROJECT

Great Sandhills Railway Ltd. is proposing to expand the existing railway yard at the North West Terminal, located one kilometre east of Unity, Saskatchewan. This grain handling facility is serviced by the Canadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway and is designed to reduce congestion on the main railway line, improve efficiency in the shipment of products such as wheat, canola, and peas through the railway yard, and create a space for the mechanical inspection or repurposing of trains and rail cars.

DECISION

Non-designated project

REASONS

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada has considered the potential for the Project to cause adverse effects within federal jurisdiction, adverse direct or incidental effects, public concern related to these effects, as well as adverse impacts on the Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Indigenous peoples of Canada. The Minister considered the request from Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation and the analysis of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.

The Minister has reached the decision that the designation of the Great Sandhills Railway Switching Operation at North West Terminal Project – Revised Design is unwarranted for the following reasons:

• The Project is small in scale and does not meet the thresholds of the Physical Activities Regulations pursuant to the Impact Assessment Act;
• The Project does not involve any new technology or a new activity;
• The Project is not in a wildlife area or a migratory bird sanctuary; and
• Any potential adverse effects within federal jurisdiction and related concerns are expected to be appropriately managed by project design, the application of standard mitigation measures, and legislative and regulatory mechanisms, such as the review of any Application for Authorization under the Fisheries Act; and compliance with the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, the Species at Risk Act; and the Saskatchewan Heritage Property Act and Railway Act.

The applicable federal and provincial regulatory mechanisms include consideration of potential impacts on rights where authorizations or approvals are required.