Rules

Designated Office Rules Review Update (June 2010)

The Rules for Evaluations Conducted by Designated Offices (DO Rules) are a requirement under the YESA Act and essentially provide a framework to guide the conduct of evaluations [assessments] at the Designated Office level for projects within Yukon.

When the DO Rules were made in the fall of 2005, YESAB committed to review them in
two years to ensure that the process for conducting Designated Office assessments was effective and practical for all parties involved.

YESAB established a Rules Review Committee and began the DO Rules Review in late
2007. In 2008 the Committee gathered comments and feedback from participants through public meetings, focus groups, written submissions and face to face meetings. All input received was given full consideration and assisted the Board in creating a new draft of the DO Rules.

The new draft of the Rules was then circulated once more for comment and notice was published in Canada Gazette.  The Rules review is now complete and the new rules are being published in the Canada Gazette in July and will come into full effect on August 11, 2010. For more information on the Rules review or to obtain information about the new Rules please call our head office.

The Executive Committee Rules and the Panel of the Board Rules are not being reviewed at this time.

The three sets of Rules currently in use include:

Approved Designated Office Rules

• Designated Office (DO) Evaluations (81kB PDF)   
• Form 1 (Microsoft Word format)
• Designated Office Evaluations Flow Chart   (192 kB PDF)

Approved Executive Committee Rules

• Executive Committee Screenings (56 kB PDF)
• Executive Committee Screenings Flow Chart ( 192 kB PDF)

Approved Panel of the Board Rules

• Panel of the Board Rules (99 kB PDF)

 

You may click on the links above to see the finalized Rules for Designated Office evaluations and Executive Committee screenings. Hard copies can be obtained by contacting the Board’s office at  200-309 Strickland Street, Whitehorse, Yukon or by emailing yesab@yesab.ca or by faxing (867) 668-6425.

The Rules deal with a number of important areas, including:

• Timelines for steps in the assessment process
• Form and content of proposals
• Determining the scope of a project
• Public participation in assessments
• Information used in assessments
• Projects located in two or more assessment districts
• Joint evaluations by two or more Designated Offices (DOs)
• Different phases & types of DO evaluations

While developing its Rules, YESAB obtained advice and input from:

• Practitioners, experts, consultants and professionals with experience in environmental assessment
• Representatives of industry, Decision Bodies, regulators and other interested stakeholders