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Requesting a project be reviewed

Publication date: December 11, 2023

Prior to submitting an application, applicants should read the Designation Application Requirements (PDF, 362 kb). This guide provides the specific information the Environmental Assessment Office needs to conduct a review of the application to designate a project as reviewable. Applications that don’t include the information listed in the guide will be considered incomplete and will not be accepted.

The Environmental Assessment Office will not accept applications to designate a project as reviewable if:

  • it already meets the thresholds to automatically require an environmental assessment 
  • it has already begun construction or is in operation

An application to designate a project as reviewable must include enough information for the Environmental Assessment Office to conduct a review.

If the Environmental Assessment Office receives multiple requests for the same project, they will be reviewed at the same time whenever possible.

All applications to designate a project as reviewable are posted on the Environmental Assessment Office’s Project Information Centre (EPIC).

What to include in an application

Applications must be in writing and include:

  • the applicant’s name and contact information
  • whether or not the applicant is a First Nation or member of a First Nation
  • project information including project and company name, location, description, applicable project category under the Reviewable Projects Regulation, and whether it is a new project or a modification to an existing project
  • a clear statement requesting that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy designate a project as reviewable and a rationale for why the applicant feels the project should have an environmental assessment
  • whether the project could have positive or negative effects or impacts on First Nations and their rights
  • whether a project could have the same or greater impacts of a project that does meet the reviewable thresholds and how
  • whether an environmental assessment would be consistent with the purposes of Environmental Assessment Office to promote sustainability in B.C. and support reconciliation with Indigenous peoples

For complete information, review the Designation Application Requirements (PDF, 362 kb).

Repeat applications

If an application requesting to designate a project as reviewable has already been reviewed or is currently being reviewed by the EAO, a new application will only be considered if there is important new information. This could include new information such as project design changes or potential negative effects that weren’t previously available.