REASONS FOR DECISION MINISTERIAL APPROVAL PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(1)(a) THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ACT WILD WEST STEELHEAD FISH FARM EXPANSION IN KADLA COULEE

Introduction

The Environmental Assessment Act (hereinafter called the Act) states that a person shall not proceed with a development (as defined in the Act), until Ministerial Approval has been received. It further sets requirements for a process of environmental impact assessment (EIA) intended to inform the Minister of Environment of the potential impacts of a development prior to making a decision regarding the development.

In July 2006, Wild West Steelhead (Wild West) submitted a request to the Ministry of Environment for licences to establish three new cage aquaculture sites on . In discussions with Wild West it was agreed that the proposed project was a “development” as defined by the Act and that Wild West would have to conduct an EIA and obtain the Minister’s approval in order to obtain licences for the new sites. Wild West subsequently reduced the proposal to just one new site, at Kadla Coulee, and prepared to conduct the EIA with respect to this one location.

Project Specific Guidelines, prepared by the Environmental Assessment Branch, were provided to Wild West (hereinafter called “the Proponent”) in March 2008. Wild West subsequently submitted an environmental impact statement (EIS) in March 2010, which underwent both technical and 30-day public reviews. I am therefore satisfied that the Proponent has met the requirements of the Act.

Background

The proposed fish farm expansion cages are to be located in Kadla Coulee on the west shore of Lake Diefenbaker, approximately 11 km north of the Ferry crossing and 4 km north of the main fish farm in Cactus Bay, near Lucky Lake, in the Rural of Maple Bush No. 224.

The proposed expansion would produce 300 tonnes of rainbow trout per year and include ten cages altogether, along with anchors and marker buoys. The facility would be contained within a lease area of 200m x 600m, for a total area of 12 hectares. All servicing would take place by water: no shoreland facilities are contemplated.

The project is expected to be ongoing, with no specified end date. The Proponent has included a conceptual decommissioning plan in the EIS.

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Lake Diefenbaker supports a wide variety of water based activities, including recreational boating and sailing, fishing, and cottaging, as well as generating hydroelectric power and supplying irrigation and drinking water. There are no cottages or houses visible from the proposed expansion site. The Coteau Hills Rural Water Pipeline Association operates a pumping station in Kadla Coulee, supplying untreated water to a number of users.

Environmental Assessment

Public notice of the EIA was first given in October 2007, pursuant to Section 10 of the Act. Project Specific Guidelines (PSGs), written to guide Wild West’s preparation of their EIS, were also made available for public comment at that time. There was a considerable amount of public interest in the proposal, mainly by other users of Lake Diefenbaker, and comments were received from eleven individuals or groups. The PSGs were reviewed to ensure that suggested content was included, and where necessary, revised to reflect those comments.

In seeking approval for the Kadla Coulee expansion site, Wild West Steelhead, in accordance with the Act, conducted an EIA. The Proponent prepared and submitted an EIS entitled, “Application for New Aquaculture Site at Kadla Coulee, for Wild West Steelhead”, by Sweeney International Management Corp. dated March 16, 2010, to the Ministry of Environment for technical review.

The EIS underwent technical review by provincial and federal ministries and agencies. Deficiencies and requests for clarification were identified to the proponent. The proponent subsequently submitted an addendum to the EIS that satisfied the request for additional information. The final EIS (hereinafter called "the Statement") and the technical review comments document written by the Environmental Assessment Branch were then made available March 12, 2011 for a 30 day public review, pursuant to Section 12 of the Act.

Having made my decision to issue a Ministerial Approval, the Act requires me, pursuant to subsection 15(2), to state the reasons for the decision.

Reasons for Decision

Potential Impacts

The Statement submitted by the Proponent describes the development and its potentially adverse impacts on the environment. In this regard, the main potential impacts from the project would be deterioration of water quality and impacts on bottom fauna from the addition of nutrients to Lake Diefenbaker. The PSGs identified these as the impacts of greatest concern, along with consideration of escapes, species at risk, air quality, effects on recreation including angling, aesthetics, predator control, and heritage resources.

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Water Quality: Regarding the impacts on water quality, the principal concern is that the feeding of the fish adds nutrients to the lake, which in turn can encourage algae growth. The main substances of concern are phosphorus and nitrogen. The phosphorus is available from the fish feces and from any uneaten feed that passes through the cages, while the nitrogen is mainly from ammonia excreted by the fish. In freshwater systems in general, and according to past research on Lake Diefenbaker, phosphorus is the limiting factor with respect to encouraging algae growth (a phosphorus limited system). Wild West provided nutritional data on their principal fish diets, which showed that the feed formulation contained 1.2% phosphorus, a fairly low level compared to commercial trout feed in the past. As well, the Proponent’s feeding system and schedule is designed to maximize feed utilization and avoid loss of uneaten feed.

Wild West has operated their main farm in Cactus Bay for 17 years, and has been required to collect water samples for analysis, and to provide the results to the Ministry of Environment. The water monitoring results from 1998 – 2008 indicate an expected increase in phosphorus and nitrogen directly at the cage site, diminishing rapidly with distance from the cages. Samples taken 300m downstream of the cages show minimal or no measurable increase over control samples from 300m upstream of the fish farm.

Since Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir which ultimately supplies drinking water to the Cities of , Regina, and , as well as to local users including the subscribers to the Coteau Hills Rural Water Pipeline Association, the potential effects of phosphorus and ammonia on drinking water quality were raised as issues by members of the public. Metabolic wastes from the fish can cause elevated levels of nitrogenous compounds, namely ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites. has established guidelines for nitrates and nitrites in drinking water of 10,000 and 3,200 µg/l respectively. Water testing data provided in the EIS indicated that nitrate and nitrite levels were quite consistent throughout the areas examined, either near the cages or in areas with no fish farming, and only 1/40th (nitrates) to 1/400th (nitrites) of the limits in the Canadian drinking water quality guidelines. Increased phosphorus and nitrogen levels at the cage site may contribute to algae growth, but as indicated above, past sampling has shown that these levels are within the natural range of measurements in Lake Diefenbaker, and that they drop off rapidly with distance from the cages.

Based on the data presented, including past records of water quality testing, it is extremely unlikely that the project would affect drinking water quality, or necessitate any additional water treatments.

Bottom Fauna: Sediment deposition directly beneath the cages will result in an inhospitable environment for benthic invertebrates. However, research indicates that this dead area is quite localized, and the effect is partially offset by enhanced productivity in the area immediately surrounding the cage site. Overall, due to the relatively small footprint of the cage site, the effect on lake productivity is expected to be negligible.

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Escapes: Wild West Steelhead has experienced several incidents of fish escapes over time, with the most significant occurring in April 2000, when major damage from moving ice resulted in the escape of at least 360,000 rainbow trout. Wild West has implemented various precautionary measures to prevent escapes at the main fish farm, including regular inspection of the cages for holes, positioning the cages deeper in the bay for winter to reduce exposure to moving ice, and increased vigilance during ice out. It is expected that Wild West will implement similar measures at the Kadla Coulee site.

Some fish losses from cage operations are always expected, but it is also expected that the Proponent will take all reasonable steps to prevent them, since every fish lost represents lost income. Public input over the course of the EIA process identified escapes as an issue, citing competition with native fish stocks and the potential for spread of fish diseases as concerns. Ministry of Environment experiences on Lake Diefenbaker indicate that effects on native fish, if any, are short term and that anglers respond to news of fish escapes with increased angling activity, reducing the excess rainbow trout from the lake.

All fish stocked at the fish farm originate from certified disease-free fish hatcheries, and are unlikely to introduce any new salmonid diseases to the lake. Furthermore, Wild West raises sterile triploid fish, which are incapable of reproduction.

Species at risk: There are a number of plant and animal species at risk which may be found in the vicinity of the project, most notably piping plovers, but all are terrestrial and unlikely to be affected by the project. In the EIS, Wild West commits to not utilizing local beaches, limiting land based access to the site to time periods outside of the piping plover breeding season, performing beach cleaning in the project area, minimizing wake formation in the project area, and taking measures to avoid attracting predators.

Air quality: The principal air quality issue is odours, which are mainly due to storage of morts (fish mortalities) and waste water treatment. No morts will be stored at the Kadla Coulee site, and there will be no processing or wastewater lagoon there.

Effects on recreation including angling: Several members of the public have identified potential effects on boating as an issue, particularly potential situations where boaters seeking safe anchorages in stormy weather may be blocked from entering Kadla Coulee. According to the EIS, the cages will occupy only 3 – 5 % of the width of the bay, and will be marked and lighted according to Transport Canada regulations, reducing any undue obstruction to navigation.

The new cage site will affect a very small part of the lake, and should have minimal effect on native fish populations, offset to some extent by utilization of waste feed and cover by wild fish in the area. The cages will be located over deep water which is not critical habitat for walleye or northern pike, the two main target species of anglers. Similarly, the cage site will not significantly affect the amount of lake surface area available for boating or other recreational activities.

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Aesthetics: The cage facility will be marked with buoys and lights as per Transport Canada requirements, but is not expected to be brightly lit except when crew members are working. There are no cottages or houses visible from the cage site. While the new facility will be an addition to the lake, it should not represent a significant aesthetic issue.

Predator control: Wild West commits to protecting fish feed and covering the net pens to minimize the attractiveness to predatory birds such as pelicans, seagulls and herons. If it proves to be necessary to kill limited numbers of nuisance birds, Wild West will be required to obtain the necessary permits from the Canadian Wildlife Service and/or Ministry of Environment, and will be subject to the conditions and limitations attached to the permits.

Heritage resources: Heritage Resources Branch of the Ministry of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport advised the Ministry of Environment that there were no heritage issues associated with the project since it is expected to affect only flooded areas.

Public Involvement

Considerable correspondence has been received from the public since public notice of the EIA was first given in March 2007, including letters from communities, the Coteau Hills Rural Water Pipeline Association, individuals, and the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, as well as a petition from Palliser Regional Park and a more general petition submitted by one individual, containing about 1,500 signatures. In all cases, submissions are opposed to the project proceeding and cite a number of environmental reasons for opposition. In almost all cases, these objections refer to Wild West’s original proposal to establish three new cage culture sites, rather than the finally submitted EIA for one site at Kadla Coulee. The main issues raised in the general petition mentioned above were water quality, interference with recreation, aesthetics including odour, escapes, and potential effects on tourism or property values. These issues were provided to the proponent along with deficiencies identified by the technical review committee, and were answered in the addendum to the EIS.

In May 2010, letters were received from the Village of , the RM of Victory No. 226, and the Coteau Hills Rural Water Pipeline Association regarding the possible effects of the fish farm expansion on the quality of water in the pipeline, since both the Village and rural residents in the Rural Municipality draw water from the utility. The letters stated that the and the utility were not opposed to the expansion, but felt that it was essential to ensure that the quality of the water at the intake of the pipeline is not jeopardized.

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These respondents were inadvertently not included in the mail-out of information at the start of the public review period for the EIS. In response to a request from the Mayor of Beechy, a Senior EA Project Administrator from the Environmental Assessment Branch and the Manager of Wild West met with representatives of Beechy, the Rural Municipality, and the Pipeline Association on June 22, 2011 to discuss the project and possible impacts to the water supply. Most attendees accepted that the EIS and monitoring data showed that impacts would be negligible, but they did not feel that there was sufficient assurance that they required to ensure that future upgrades to the water supply, including a possible treatment facility, would not be required. They were adamant that the subscribers could not afford major upgrades to the pipeline utility.

A follow-up letter to the Environmental Assessment Branch from the RM of Victory No. 226, dated July 7, 2011, provided a summary of their concerns and questions regarding potential effects on the water supply. The letter specifically questioned whether the EIS had considered potential current flow into the coulee due to operation of the Luck Lake Irrigation District pumps (and toward the Coteau Hills pipeline intake). The EIS included water current measurements (current roses) taken in Kadla Coulee in the summer of 2009, when the irrigation pumps would have been operating, which did not show any significant flow toward the west – northwest, which would be the direction to the back of the coulee. The Environmental Assessment Branch has responded to the Rural Municipality’s letter with the above information, and stated that the Ministry’s concerns with raw water pipelines are not related to fish farms.

It is my opinion that the EIS adequately addresses these issues, as explained in the Potential Impacts section, above. However, my approval for this development and the aquaculture licence will include a requirement for additional water quality monitoring related to the water pipeline, and a provision that the proponent may be ordered to relocate or remove the cages if deleterious impacts occur.

Duty to Consult

Assessment by the Environmental Assessment Branch on its Duty to Consult with the First Nations and Métis in the area determined a duty did not exist, as described in the Government of Saskatchewan First Nation and Métis Consultation Policy Framework. The Environmental Assessment Branch considers there to be no potential impact to Treaty and/or Aboriginal rights and/or traditional use.

There is little or no use of Lake Diefenbaker by Aboriginal people exercising treaty rights; no complaints have been received in this regard over the 18 years that the main fish farm has operated on the lake, and the satellite site will not significantly reduce access to the lake for fishing purposes, nor have any effect on fish populations. The proponent provided information to the nearest First Nation’s community, the Whitecap Dakota First Nation, and received no response. No notification is required beyond what is typically provided to the public as required by legislation.

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Conclusion

Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment and review agencies are satisfied that, if the mitigative and environmental protection measures outlined in the EIS are implemented, and if appropriate terms and conditions are imposed, as presented in my approval, adverse effects can be minimized and benefits enhanced. This conclusion is based on the Proponent’s commitments as documented in the Statement; on the ability of the Minister of Environment to impose specific conditions at this time; and on the knowledge that additional environmental protection requirements can be imposed through terms and conditions forming part of permits and licences required by provincial legislation.

I have concluded that any adverse environmental effects associated with Wild West Steelhead’s Fish Farm Expansion can be eliminated or minimized. Approval under the Act, therefore, has been granted to the Proponent for the development as described in the Statement.

The Ministerial Approval for the development includes terms and conditions designed to promote the elimination and control of adverse environmental effects associated with the project. Included are requirements that the Proponent:

(a) proceed with the development in accordance with the Statement;

(b) provide notification of any change; and

(c) follow the requirements of The Fisheries Act (Saskatchewan), 1994, The Fisheries Regulations, and other laws, including abiding by the terms and conditions of the commercial aquaculture licence for this development.

These conditions, plus the measures proposed in the Statement and the regulatory framework applicable to the development, now and in the future, are adequate to address all issues related to the development.

Dated at Regina, Saskatchewan this 16 day of August , 2011

Original signed by: Dustin Duncan Minister of Environment

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