Aquatic Environment Assessment

Canadian Forces Base Trenton

Prepared for: Prepared by: Defence Construction Aquafor Beech Ltd. 8 I CFB Trenton 920 Princess St. 14 Alert Blvd., Room 218 Kingston, ON Astra, ON KOK 3WO K7L 1H1

Project No. TR05ENV5 Project No. 64571

Aquofor Be~S;J ~. April 2007 ~,c···<·*'·~.~.lf Executive Summary

8 Wing/CFB Trenton has been an active air transport military base since 1931. The total area of the base is 926.74 hectares on the shore of the in Lake . The base has a 10,000 foot and over 325 buildings. The southern boundary of 8 Wing/CFB Trenton lies along the upper part of the Bay of Quinte with a total shoreline length of approximately 2 kilometres(or 4.5 kilometres including Balcer Island).

Eleven (11) surface watercourses that discharge from CFB Trenton into the Bay of Quinte were examined four times in 2006-2007 and their catchment (watershed areas were calculated using the storm sewer network and surface topography. These eleven outfalls have a combined drainage area of 534.5 hectares (58% of the Base). Of these eleven discharges, seven (7) were sampled and analyzed 3 - 4 times (when not frozen). One additional sample location was selected on a tributary of Meyers Creek upstream of CFB Trenton to provide a background datum.

In addition, surface water, bottom sediment and young-of-year perch in the Bay of Quinte were collected and analyzed for a broad range of contaminants at four or five locations opposite the Base. The objective was to compare the concentration of contaminants to those determined in a 1993 study. These comparisons provide important "snapshots" of the fate of contaminants in the Bay of Quinte, how these have changed over the past 13 years and the resulting cumulative effect on Bay of Quinte surface water and aquatic ecosystem. The ) goal is to identify problem areas and provide reco=endations for further improvement to environmental management on CFB Trenton.

The Bay of Quinte is a narrow Z-shaped inlet on the north shore of Lalce Ontario. It comprises a total drainage area of 17,520 square kilometers. The shallowness and shape of the bay causes a slow turnover, a behavior akin to a riverine estuary. This unique setting results in a build-up of contaminants, specifically nutrients. Since 1986, the Bay of Quinte has been an "Area of Concern" due to long-tern degradation of fish and wildlife population and loss of habitat. As a result, a federal/provincial Coordinating Committee was formed to develop the Bay of Quinte RAP. The Stage One report, entitled "Environmental Setting and Problem Definition" was issued in 1990. The Stage Two report, entitled "Time to Act" was released in 1993. The major thrust of the Stage Two RAP has been to reduce nutrient inputs to the Bay, specifically phosphorus. Significant reductions have been docmnented, particularly since 1997 and further reductions are a key goal of the RAP Work Plan for 2006-2010.

The main stressors and conclusions of the study are:

Surface Water Outfalls

Meyers Creek is the largest drainage area, with a catchment of >358 hectares on the Base and over 2,000 hectares north of the Base. Water quality was measured on 3 occasions upstream of CFB Trenton (background) and at the outfall into the Bay of Quinte. The

1 Grain size analysis of sediment samples reveal two major sediment groupings, namely a sandy gravel near the shoreline and a veneer of silty sand organic muck overlying cobbles and limestone bedrock further offshore, with considerable heterogeneity within these two major groups. The muck contains up to 10% organic carbon and up to 12% ca1cimn + magnesium, reflecting the accumulation of carbonate shells and organic detritus.

Sediments show 2:50% reduction in total phosphorus content between 1993 and 2006, which reflects the cumulative effect of lower phosphorus loadings coupled with a slow uptake ofP mainly by submerged macrophytes.

Concentrations of nitrogen in sediment (as TKN and ammonia) are elevated, with highest concentrations found in sediment within the marina basin.

Concentrations of mercury, copper, lead and oil & grease in sediment are unchanged since 1993. Silver is consistently elevated in sediment, with concentrations up to 5.7 llg/g in the marina basin. This is in contrast to sampling done in 1993, when silver was not detected «0.3 llg/g). The source and significance of the silver in sediment is unknown, although outputs from the photo lab (Building 118 on Buffalo Avenue) to a storm sewer (Outfall E) in cannot be discounted.

Lead in sediment is sporadically elevated, but is not likely derived metallic lead (such as ordnance), based on a 2006 study of lead shotgun pellets in the Bay of Quinte offshore of Outfalls B, C and D. Scanning electron microscopy oflead pellets recovered from sediment with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) demonstrated that an alteration rind of lead oxide/hydroxide (several microns thick) on the pellets. Lead hydroxide has an 15 extremely low solubility in neutral water (solubility product'" 10- ). Lead is lilcely derived from confluence of the Trent River, upstream of CFB Trenton.

PCBs are not detected in sediments, both in 1993 and 2006. Oil & grease concentrations have a great variability, but are consistently highest in sediments collected from the marina basin.

Aquatic Ecosystem and Fisheries

The major external impact on the aquatic ecosystem is associated with the arrival of zebra mussels in the Bay of Quinte in 1994, following completion of the previous aquatic assessment by Gartner Lee in 1993 ..

A number of different species of fish were captured in July 2006, compared to June 1993. No Species at Risk (SAR) were captured within the Bay of Quinte in 2006 or from Meyers Creek on CFB Trenton in 2005.

Y otmg-of-the-year (YOY) yellow perch were collected from four locations offshore of CFB Trenton. Tissue was analyzed for metals, organochlorine pesticides and PCBs. The main conclusions are that DDT and metabolites are an order or magnitude lower than in 1993 and are now barely over laboratory detection limits. Mercury levels in perch tissue were not

3 analyzed in 1993; however mercury in perch is an order of magnitude lower than the advisory guideline.

Shoreline Modifications

Oblique aerial photographs dated 1934-1935 are reproduced to document the extent of filling undertaken to extend the shoreline into the Bay of Quinte and to raise grades for later development of CFB Trenton south of Highway 2. Fill material appears to have been derived from several activities, such as material excavated locally, dredged material, demolition rubble and asphalt slabs (circa 1970s), apparently favoured for shoreline armouring.

Recommendations

The study confirms that there are no urgent concerns with respect to stormwater impacts from CFB Trenton to the Bay of Quinte. The following are recommended:

1. The Type 1 ethylene glycol-based aircraft deicers, and their receiving waters (Outfalls A2 and J) should be analyzed for nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE), total nonylphenols (NP), as these chemical are specified on the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. 2. The following changes to monthly monitoring are suggested • Outfalls AI, J and RUNWAY should continue to be analyzed for glycol and ammonia. It would be useful to measure dissolved oxygen (DO), water temperature and pH in the field; • At least on winter analysis of these outfalls should include NP and NPE; • Add bacteria for dry-weather outfalls; and, • Delete metals in the routine suite of analyses as they add little of predictive value.

3. Initiate stormwater management (SWM) on CFB Trenton; 4. Initiate re-naturalization of shoreline and stormwater outfalls

4 AQUATIC ENvIRoNMENT ASSESSMENT .. .. TRENTON Gartner· ·[ee

PREPARED FOR: . . . DEPAR'rMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE·

. PREPAREDBY: .. GARTNER LEE LIMITED

. MARCH, 1994

.. GLL93'-180

.' .,."' .. DISTRIBUTiON: . CC:16 DND 5 Whig Construction 1 S.L.Ross· . 3 File

. Professional Services in Environmental Managemen.t . ..' . ..' ' .

I ! EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Department of National Defence (DND), as part of its ongoing site auditing process, commissioned a study of the environmental quality of the nearshore environment of the Bay of Quinte adjacent to the base.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether conditions within the bay in the vicinity of CFB Trenton have been impaired as a result of past or present activities at the base. To determine whether the base has had measurable impacts, Gartner Lee Limited collected information on:

a) water quality in the nearshore bay adjacent to CFB Trenton, in relation to water quality in surrounding areas of the bay;

b) sediment quality in the nearshore bay adjacent to CFB Trenton, in relation to sediment quality in surrounding areas of the bay;

. c) the composition and diversity of the fish community in the nearshore bay adjacent to CFB Trenton, in relation to the composition and diversity of the fish community in surrounding areas of the bay;

d) contaminant burdens in fish from the nearshore bay adjacent to CFB Trenton, in relation to contaminant burdens in fish from surrounding areas of the bay;

, e) physical conditions and any evidence of impairment in the nearshore bay r adjacent to CFB Trenton; and

f) physical conditions and any evidence of impairment along the CFB Trenton shoreline.

Additionally, the behaviour of a potential oil spill into the bay, of a type and magnitude which could " occur from the base, was modelled to determine the potential of such a spill to affect conditions within the bay.

The major conclusion from this study was that base activities, past or present, have had little measurable influence on physical, chemical or biological conditions within adjacent !lreas of the bay. Water quality, sediment quality, the composition and diversity of the fish community and contaminant burdens within fish were, with some minor exceptions, very similar to those seen in

(Ib0325gnf)3180f)4) surrounding areas of the bay. Physical conditions within the nearshore of the bay do not appear to have been negatively influenced by bay activities. Shoreline conditions have, however, been influenced by past shoreline armouring and backfilling.

The study also provided an opportunity to assess water quality within the various surface water or piped outfalls from the base. While the quality of the discharge from these outfalls was not seen to have a measurable influence on conditions within adjacent areas of the Bay of Quinte, some point source problems were identified. These included concentrations of contaminants which were in excess of federal or provincial guidelines or objectives, or which are contributing to problems which have been identified within the Bay of Quinte (which has been identified as an "Area of Concern"" by the International Joint Commission and where a Remedial Action Plan is currently underway). Additionally, the channelization and maintenance of some of the surface water courses from the base was identified as an area where base activities have had some impacts.

Several recommendations are made with regard to the protection and enhancement of conditions r within the nearshore environment adjacent to CFB Trenton. These include:

a) creation of more natural, meandering surface water courses within the southern portion of the property; b) better source control of contaminants in coI\iunction with other Best Management Practices for storm water; and c) the restoration of a more natural shoreline edge.

The adoption of these recommendations will also allow DND to improve the quality of discharges to the Bay of Quinte and proactively contribute to the goals of the Remedial Action Plan Coordinating Committee, designed to restore the overali ecological integrity of the Bay of Quinte.

ii (:rb032Sgn!.B 180194)