APPENDIX A - Additional Elements

Box A-1 Environmental Assessment of Dredging and Sediment Management Projects

At the federal level, dredging projects are not “designated projects” under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (2012) [CEAA 2012], and therefore are not subject to an environmental assessment by the responsible authority (i.e., the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, the National Energy Board and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission). However, the Minister of the Environment may designate a project that is not on the list of Regulations Designating Physical Activities, such as a dredging project, if the project may cause significant adverse environmental effects or if there are public concerns about such effects. In addition, the CEAA 2012 (Sections 66 and 67) states that the federal government cannot carry out a project on federal lands, or exercise any power conferred on it under a federal law that could permit a project to be carried out in whole or in part on federal lands, unless the authority: a) determines that the carrying out of the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects; b) determines that the carrying out of the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects and the Governor in Council decides that those effects are justified in the circumstances (under subsection 69(3)). In the event that dredging would be identified as a designated activity, project monitoring would be required under section 53 of the CEAA 2012.

At the provincial level, in southern Quebec, all dredging is subject to authorization under section 22 of the Environmental Quality Act (R.S.Q. c. Q-2). Large-scale dredging, over a distance longer than 300 metres or an area of 5,000 square metres or more, is also subject to government authorization under section 31.5, which is governed by the environmental impact assessment and review procedure defined in Division IV.1 of the Environmental Quality Act. This procedure is carried out in six phases, one of which allows public participation (directive, impact study, public participation, environmental analysis, recommendations and decision, supervision, control and monitoring). Most St. Lawrence River dredging projects are subject to this procedure. At the present time, a ministerial directive specific to the project is issued to the initiators of the project, specifying the basic elements that must be addressed in their environmental impact study. Drafting an EMSP is one of the requirements of the sectoral directives, particularly those concerning dredging work, drafted by the MDDEP (MDDEP, 2003¹; 2007²). In fact, it is specified that the impact study must define the monitoring and supervision activities proposed for the entire study area and present the highlights of the programs to be established in the construction and operating phases of the project. The EMSP is implemented after authorization of the project.

The EMSP is generally drafted by the project proponent, accounting for the requirements of the government departments responsible for the authorizations and the requirements of any other interested party. Responsibility for implementing the environmental surveillance/supervision and monitoring activities also falls to the proponent. The proponent must inform the government authorities of the names of the persons or consultants designated to carry out the project. The proponent must also specify the form of the EMSP, the feasibility of timelines and the deadline for reporting the outcomes to the department concerned. At the federal level, in the case of a comprehensive study, the government department responsible for the environmental assessment must inform the public about the proposed EMSP and the outcomes obtained. It must also ensure that the EMSP is implemented and effective. At the provincial level, the MDDEP encourages the proponent to establish a disclosure strategy for the EMSP’s outcomes, often through a Statement of Compliance Letter appended to the environmental study. The MDDEP ensures the implementation of the EMSP and enforces it.

¹ MDDEP (2003). Directive pour la réalisation d’une étude d’impact sur l’environnement d’un projet de creusage ou de dragage d’entretien. Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs du Québec, Direction des évaluations environnementales, avril 2000, updated fall 2003, 20 pp.

² MDDEP (2007). Directive pour la réalisation d’une étude d’impact sur l’environnement d’un projet de dragage, de creusage ou de remblayage en milieu hydrique. Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs du Québec, Direction des évaluations environnementales, juillet 1997, updated February 2007, 25 pp.

Box A-2 List of Environmental Components for Surveillance in an EMSP for Dredging and Sediment Management Projects

Adapted from Michaud (2000).

Box A-3 Examples of Formulation of Objectives

Confirmation of implementation and effectiveness of response measures

Objective: Determine whether the site can continue to receive dredged spoil without threatening the municipality’s water intake.

Environmental compliance

Objective: Determine whether the contaminant concentration in the sediments and the toxicity of the sediments comply with the quality criteria and the standards developed for the environment.

Accuracy of impact forecasts

Objective: Verify whether significant differences exist between the reference area and the different area studied before and after disposal of the dredged spoil.

Compliance of non-degradation of the environment

Objective: Verify whether the differences observed between the reference area and the different areas studied before and after disposal are indicators of the impacts on the population of a fish species of particular interest.

Box A-4 Description of the Aspects to be Documented for the Development of Impact Hypotheses

• Source: The different activities of a dredging project are a set of sources of environmental impacts (e.g., dredging, transportation, disposal, etc.). Each source must be described in terms of duration of the activity, sediment volume, technological novelty, etc. The project must therefore be compartmentalized into different “sources” with temporal scope.
• Stressor: Each source involves various stressors. The properties of the stressor causing modification of an environmental component with which it is in contact may be chemical, physical or biological. For example, for a stressor to be considered as such, its concentration in the environment must be higher than the natural level. This section provides information on the relative importance, background noise concentration, natural concentration, initial state, toxicity and persistence of the inventoried stressors, among other factors.

• Ecosystem: This section describes and sets the spatial limits of the ecosystem under study, including the elements designated by the interested parties (e.g., the municipality’s water intake or a specific habitat) and the specific elements present within defined spatial limits. This description involves the biotic and abiotic environmental components constituting the ecosystem under study.

• Receptor: Information concerning the biological or ecological entities observed or potentially present in the ecosystem (species, status) and the different groups (geographic, social, recreational, etc.) of citizens affected or potentially affected by the project.

• Apprehended response: Information on the apprehended negative responses linked to the stressor. The information concerning acute and chronic toxicity must be documented. The responses related to cumulative effects must also be specified here.

Box A-5 Example of an Impact Assessment Matrix for a Dredging and Sediment Management Project (adapted from Michaud, 2000¹)

¹Michaud, J.R. (2000). Programme de surveillance et de suivi environnemental de projets de dragage et de gestion des sédiments. Démarche de conception et de mise en œuvre. Environnement Canada, Direction de la protection de l'environnement, Région du Québec, Section Éco-innovation technologique. Rapport 217 pages.

Box A-6 Analytical Elements for Drafting a Conceptual Model

Analysis of the stressor: The most accurate picture of the importance of the stressor’s presence in relation to the environmental components of the ecosystem on the vertical (depth) and horizontal (breadth) planes. For example, contamination must be described in terms of type, scope and distribution.

Analysis of the environmental behaviour of the stressor: Presentation of the transport and transformation mechanisms of the stressors. This analysis must be capable of targeting the stressor’s temporal and spatial evolution and show the mechanisms acting in the short and long terms. In particular, it must account for the stressor’s bioconcentration and bioaccumulation possibilities along the receptor chain. The elements of uncertainty in the analysis and the limitations of scientific knowledge must be stated and taken into account in the analysis. This analysis can allow rapid identification of the abiotic components and the receptors that will not be affected by the stressor during the carrying out of the project, and thus allow for their exclusion from the subsequent stages of the EMSP drafting process. Similarly, some abiotic components may have been targeted as a special concern during the drafting of the EMSP objectives and must be taken into consideration explicitly in subsequent stages.

Identification of the target receptors: Inventory the biological or ecological entities, including the habitats and the sensitive areas (feeding, breeding, etc.) that can be presented within the spatial limits of the assessment. Determine those that are likely to be exposed directly, by contact with a stressor present in a given abiotic environmental component, or indirectly by the food chain. In a parallel process, this stage must also incorporate the special concerns advanced when drafting the objectives, including the aspects concerning human health, destruction of a habitat that may reduce the population of an important commercial species, or contamination of a harvested species.

Apprehended negative responses: Determination of the type of response associated with exposure to the stressor. These responses, which can be manifested in the more or less long-term future, can be associated with direct or indirect exposure, or with more or less long-term effects.

Box A-7 Elements of a Typical Emergency Preparedness Plan

1. Description of the accident scenarios selected for planning: consequences, possibility or probability of occurrence, affected areas, etc.
2. Description of the various possible and probable situations for minor accident risks confined to the project location.
3. Relevant information in case of emergency: name, address and telephone number of responsible persons, list of equipment available, site plans, rendezvous points, list of safety equipment.
4. Emergency response structure and decision mechanisms within the organization.
5. Protective measures for the populations likely to be affected.
6. Notification and consultation procedures with the municipal and government agencies concerned.
7. Emergency preparedness update and reassessment program.

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