Milton hub referred to environmental assessment panel

OTTAWA, ON—The federal government has referrred the environmental assessment of the proposed Milton Logistics Hub Project in Ontario to an independent review panel.

The decision to refer the environmental assessment of the project to an independent review panel was made after considering its potential to cause significant adverse environmental effects and concerns expressed by the public and Aboriginal groups in relation to these effects.

The Minister has set timelines for the environmental assessment of the project as follows:

• The timeline for the review panel to be established (pre-panel phase) is 150 days (5 months) from the date of the referral of the project.
• The timeline for the review panel to submit its report (panel phase) is 430 days (14 months) from the date of the establishment of the review panel.
• The timeline for the federal Minister’s decision statement (post-panel phase) is 150 days (5 months) from the date of the submission of the review panel’s report.
• The above timelines do not include the time the proponent takes to complete its work or gather information required for the environmental assessment.

CN is proposing the construction and operation of a railway yard with more than 20 kilometres of track, located in Milton, Ontario, about 50 kilometres west of Toronto.

Information on the project and the environmental assessment process is available on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry at ceaa.gc.ca , reference number 80100.