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EAR-IS Glossary of Terms
Glossary of Terms
| Term | Definition |
| 1:50 year flood event | A flood event that has a 2% probability of occurring in any given year. |
| 1:100 year flood event | A flood event that has a 1% probability of occurring in any given year. |
| Adverse environmental effects | Negative effects on the environment and people that may result from the proposed Project and its activities. |
| Aggregate | A mineral used for construction purposes or as a constituent of concrete other than in the manufacture of cement and includes sand, gravel, clay, crushed stone and crushed rock. |
| All-season road | A road that provides year-round vehicular access to the remote and isolated communities in the region. |
| Archaeological resources | Archaeological resources are the material evidence of human culture and activity in the past. They include artifacts, archaeological sites and marine archaeological sites, as defined under the Ontario Heritage Act. |
| Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) | AADT is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year divided by 365 days. It is a measurement of how busy a road is. |
| Bedrock | The native consolidated rock underlying the surficial unconsolidated soils and rock. |
| Biodiversity | Variety of life across different levels of biological organisation. The number and relative abundance of different plant and animal species that live in an ecosystem are indicators of species diversity. |
| Biomass | A measure of productivity; the amount of living tissue either in an individual or cumulatively, in a population or an ecosystem. |
| Built Heritage Resource (BHR) | A building, structure, monument, installation or any manufactured or constructed part or remnant that contributes to a property’s cultural heritage value or interest as identified by a community, including an Indigenous community. |
| Carbon sink | A natural or artificial reservoir that accumulates and stores some carbon containing chemical compound for an indefinite period. Bogs are a vital natural carbon sink. |
| Cofferdam | A temporary enclosing structure used in the construction of structural elements (e.g., bridge piers) to isolate an area in a watercourse. The water within the isolated area where construction activity occurs is pumped out so work can be completed in dry conditions. |
| Concordance tables | Tables that outline the requirements of the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines (TISG) and provincial approved Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Project and where these requirements have been addressed within the EAR/IS. |
| Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) | An Environmental Management Plan that describes the control, training, mitigation, and monitoring measures to be implemented during the construction phase of a project to avoid or reduce potentially adverse project-related effects. |
| Cultural Heritage Landscape (CHL) | A defined geographical area that may have been modified by human activity and is identified as having cultural heritage value or interest by a community, including an Indigenous community. The area may include features such as buildings, structures, spaces, views, archaeological sites or natural elements that are valued together for their interrelationship, meaning or association. |
| Term | Definition |
| Cumulative effects | Changes to the environment due to a project combined with the existence of other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable physical activities. |
| day/night equivalent level (Ldn) | The equivalent sound level (Leq) calculated after increasing the nighttime noise levels by 10 decibels to account for greater sensitivities to noise during the hours from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. |
| decibel (dB) | Measurement of sound level on a logarithmic scale. |
| Effects | Unless the context requires otherwise, refers to changes to the environment or to health, social or economic conditions and the positive and negative consequences of these changes. |
| Elders | An “Elder” is an individual recognized by their community because of the spiritual and cultural knowledge that they hold. The term does not refer to one’s age, but rather the level of cultural and traditional knowledge they hold. |
| Enhancement measures | Measures developed and implemented to increase positive effects of a project. Measures to enhance positive project effects may include skills training, local procurement strategies, investments in community infrastructure (e.g., roads, services). |
| Environmental assessment | An assessment of the effects of a project that is conducted in accordance with Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act. |
| Environment | Natural environment – components of the earth including a) land, water and air, including all layers of the atmosphere, b) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms, and c) interacting natural systems that include components referred to in a) and b). Effectively described as air, land, water, plant life, animal life, and humans. Social environment – the physical and social setting in which people lives, and the people and institutions with whom they interact. With respect to environmental assessment/impact assessment, the environment can include Aboriginal and Treaty Rights and Interests, physical environment, biological environment, socio-economic environment, archaeological and cultural heritage resources, and human health. |
| Equivalent Sound Level (Leq) | Commonly used to indicate the average sound level over a period of time. Represents the steady level of sound that would contain the same amount of sound energy as the actual time-varying sound level. Although an average, it is strongly influenced by the loudest events occurring during the measured time period because these loudest events contain most of the sound energy. |
| Follow-up program | Program for verifying the accuracy of the effect assessment/impact assessment of a project and determining the effectiveness of any mitigation measures. |
| Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) | An analytical framework that guides the assessment of how designated projects may have different positive and negative impacts on diverse groups of people or communities. The “plus” in GBA+ acknowledges the multiple identity factors that intersect with sex and gender to affect how people may experience projects differently and be differently impacted by projects. |
| Greenhouse Gas (GHG) | A gas that has an effect on the radioactive absorptivity of the earth’s atmosphere and the atmosphere’s temperature (e.g., carbon dioxide). |
| Impact assessment | An assessment of the effects of a designated project that is conducted in accordance with the federal Impact Assessment Act. |
| Term | Definition |
| Indigenous Knowledge | Although there are many different definitions of Indigenous knowledge by various Indigenous communities and organizations and in academic or international literature, there is no one universally accepted definition. For the purposes of impact assessment, generally, Indigenous knowledge is considered as a body of knowledge built up by a group of Indigenous peoples through generations of living in close contact with the land. While the term ‘traditional knowledge’ is often used, the Impact Assessment Act uses the term ‘Indigenous knowledge’ in order to recognize that the knowledge system evolves and is not set in the past, as the word ‘traditional’ may imply. |
| Indigenous Peoples | The term ‘Indigenous Peoples’ has the same meaning as “aboriginal peoples of Canada” which include First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples as defined in section 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982. |
| Knowledge holders (or keepers) | A member of Indigenous and local communities who has been taught by an Elder within their community and is knowledgeable in various aspects and forms of Indigenous Knowledge. Such members are recognized in their communities for their expertise and depth of knowledge. |
| Magnitude | Refers to the expected size or severity of a residual/net effect. |
| Mitigation measures | Measures developed and implemented to eliminate, reduce, control or offset the adverse effects of a project. |
| Net or residual effects | An effect that remains, or is predicted to remain, even after mitigation measures have been applied. |
| Operation Environmental Management Plan (OEMP) | An Environmental Management Plan that describes the control, training, mitigation, and monitoring measures to be implemented during the operation phase of a project to avoid or reduce potentially adverse project-related effects. |
| pH | A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. Solutions with a pH of less than 7 are acidic, and those with a pH greater than 7 are basic (or alkaline). Distilled water is neutral and has a pH of 7. |
| Project area (or WSR area) | The general area within and adjacent to the proposed Project Footprint. |
| Project Footprint | The area of direct disturbance (i.e., the physical area required for project construction and operations. |
| Proponent | A person or entity (federal authority, government or body) that proposes the carrying out of, or carries out, a project. |
| Rights of Indigenous peoples | “Rights of Indigenous peoples” and “rights” refer to the rights recognized in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, which include Aboriginal and treaty rights. |
| Sustainability | The ability to protect the environment, contribute to the social and economic well-being of the people of Canada and preserve their health in a manner that benefits present and future generations. |
| Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines (TISG) | Document prepared by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada that provides direction and requirements for the proponent in preparing an Impact Statement. The Guidelines detail all information and studies that the Agency and federal authorities will require to conduct the impact assessment. |
| Terms of Reference (ToR) | Terms of reference describe requirements for the development of the environmental assessment for a proposed project under Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act. |
| Term | Definition |
| Total Suspended Solids (TSS) | A water quality parameter that is defined as the quantity of material suspended in a known volume of water that is trappable in a filter. |
| Tributary | A river or stream that flows into a larger river or lake. |
| Valued component (VC) | Environmental, health, social, economic or additional elements or conditions of the natural and human environment that may be impacted by a proposed project and are of concern or value to the public, Indigenous peoples, federal authorities and interested parties. Valued components may be identified as having scientific, biological, social, health, cultural, traditional, economic, historical, archaeological and/or aesthetic importance. |
| Viewshed | An area that is visible from a specific location or viewpoint. |
| Watershed | The area of land that drains into a body of water like a lake, river, or stream. |
| Winter road | Seasonal road, only used after ground is frozen. |