Third party EIS review process for TSMV lands not straightforward

With a substantial amount of the area structure plan amendment application submitted officially this week by Three Sisters Mountain Village for its resort centre, the expectation of a third party review following the recently approved council policy direction is proving challenging.

When council recently approved its Municipal Development Plan, it also approved a policy for how environmental impact statements related to development proposals near environmentally sensitive areas would be created and reviewed.

TSMV submitted its official application for an amendment to its resort centre area structure plan (ASP) this week, including an environmental impact statement. Because the developer has been working on its submission for well over a year, it has also been drafting the EIS.

But council's recently approved EIS policy requires that a third party reviewer be hired to not only go through the final report of an EIS, but review the terms of reference for it first.

But Town of Canmore planner Tracy Woitenko acknowledged meeting that requirement of the policy has been difficult because the work being done by the developer has basically straddled the two processes - new and old.

If a third party reviewer looks over the terms of reference for the environmental impact statement and finds it lacking, Woitenko said Three Sisters might have to go back and amend the report to proceed.

“It is working through a process that is brand new to both of us,” she said. “I have put out a request for proposals for a third party reviewer ... we are hoping to have a third party reviewer hired the first week of November and I am drafting the terms of reference right now.”

Woitenko said administration is working to meet new policy requirements, but because “council made that last minute change, we are currently talking with Three Sisters about how that might impact them.

“We will be working to meet the new process; it is a little bit backwards, but we are going to try to meet that intent.”

As for the area structure plan expected in the future for Smith Creek - the last area of Three Sisters set for development - at this point in time, it isn't clear at all if a third party review is required.

For Smith Creek, council approved a different process for developing an area structure plan and it was one that saw administration work with TSMV throughout the entire process - including selecting consultants. The new process was detailed in a terms of reference document approved by council, but that did not include a third party review of the environmental impact statement to be developed - as municipal planners would be involved in selecting who prepared the report to begin with.

“In that approved terms of reference a third party review was not a requirement,” Woitenko said. “We worked collaboratively hiring a consultant, so there was a full process around hiring that consultant jointly.

“Currently, the process does not require it, but we would anticipate when we know the (Smith Creek ASP) application is to be forthcoming, we would probably request clarification on that with council.”

In order for the developer to move forward with the Smith Creek area structure plan, the province is required to make a final determination on where the last wildlife corridor through TSMV lands is to be located.

The placement of the corridor is incredibly important to the entire development process, as it would make it clear what land can be developed and what cannot. The province is the authority in designating wildlife corridors, while the municipality is the development authority on the remaining lands. Woitenko said in order to know what the boundaries of the ASP application are going to be, the corridor must first be decided.

“Even if an application was submitted we would wait for confirmation by the province on what the corridor boundary is before we go through the approval process on our end,” she said.