Nova Scotia. Department of the Environment

Other forms of name:
Nova Scotia. Department of Environment and Labour

The Department of the Environment was established in 1973 in order to administer the Environmental Protection Act. The department was responsible for supervising and controlling the management, preservation and protection of the natural world and ensuring that all practical measures were taken to preserve it from degradation; developing, coordinating and implementing policies, planning and programs relating to the preservation and protection of the environment; cooperating with and coordinating the work and efforts of other departments; cooperating with other provinces and federal government departments respecting any matter relating to the preservation and protection of the environment; and conducting research on the preservation and protection of the environment and gathering, publishing and disseminating information about research results. In 2000 the Department of the Environment absorbed the Department of Labour and was renamed Department of Environment and Labour. In 2008 Environment again became a separate department. Its mandate is to promote sustainable development, including pollution prevention; to establish and administer policies, programs, standards, guidelines, objectives, codes of practice, directives and approval processes pertaining to the protection and stewardship of the environment; to consult with and coordinate activities with other departments, Government agencies, municipalities, governments and other persons; to develop policies and plans for the management of wastes; to control the handling of substances which may have an adverse effect; to promote the rehabilitation and restoration of degraded areas of the environment; to establish and assist demonstration programs consistent with the intent of the Environment Act; to conduct economic analyses to determine the costs and benefits of proposed alterations of the environment and assess methods of offsetting the environmental costs associated with those alterations; to establish criteria to be applied by an administrator or a person to whom responsibility is delegated pursuant to the Environment Act in making any decision under the act; to implement policies and programs respecting environmental technologies, innovations and industries; to establish fees for any services provided in the course of administering the act; and to maintain the Environmental Registry.

Notes: Authority record based on Statutes of Nova Scotia, 1972 c. 50, 1973 c. 6, 1994-95 c. 1, 2001 c. 4, 2008 c. 28; Order in Council 2000-484 (28 Sept. 2000).