While there have been administrative changes to the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) since it was first enacted in 1976, no significant changes were made until January 1, 1997. At that time a number of changes were made that built on twenty years of experience working with the EAA with the intent of modernizing the Act. What defines environmental assessment has not changed, but important new features have been added. These features include:

• use of Terms of Reference as the first step in preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA);
• mandatory public consultation by the proponent;
• formal ability for the Minister to refer disputes to mediation;
• formal recognition of Class EAs;
• ability of the Minister to reject an undertaking with an incomplete (or deficient) assessment early in the process;
• focused EA hearings on outstanding, environmentally significant issues rather than requiring the entire EA to go to a hearing; and,
• deadlines for decisions to be made within the EA process have been identified and entrenched in regulation.