Can A Permit Be Refused After EA Approval?

One frequently troublesome area of environmental law is the intersection between different types of approvals. Once an overarching, project wide approval, such as an environmental assessment, has been granted, may an individual approval be refused?

Western Copper v. Yukon Water Board is a rare example of a project being brought to a halt at the water permit stage, even though it passed its environmental assessment. Western Copper Corporation unsuccessfully appealed a decision of the Yukon Water Board to deny its application for a water license for a proposed copper heap leach-mining project. The project had received a approval under the Yukon Environmental and Socioeconomic Assessment Act, which implemented an umbrella final agreement and 11 comprehensive land claim agreements between Canada, Yukon, and First Nations. The proposed mine would represent 5 percent of Yukon's gross domestic product and the company had invested in the project for many years. The project