Milner Expansion – 2010 Supplementary Fisheries Information
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Milner Expansion – 2010 Supplementary Fisheries Information November 2010 Prepared for: MAXIM Power Corp. Calgary, Alberta Prepared by: Stantec Consulting Ltd. Calgary, Alberta Project Number: 123510029 Milner Expansion – 2010 Supplementary Fisheries Information Table of Contents November 2010 Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1-1 2.0 PROJECT LOCATION .................................................................................................................2-1 3.0 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................3-1 3.1 HABITAT SURVEY.......................................................................................................................3-1 3.2 FISH COMMUNITY SAMPLING...................................................................................................3-1 4.0 RESULTS .....................................................................................................................................4-1 4.1 FISH HABITAT .............................................................................................................................4-1 4.2 FISH COMMUNITY.......................................................................................................................4-5 5.0 SUMMARY....................................................................................................................................5-1 6.0 REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................6-1 6.1 LITERATURE CITED....................................................................................................................6-1 6.2 INTERNET SITES.........................................................................................................................6-1 List of Tables Table 4-1 Fish Species Known to Occur in the Study Area .............................................................4-6 Table 4-2 Relative abundance of large bodied fish species in the Smoky River .............................4-7 List of Figures Figure 2-1 Project Development Area, Local Assessment Area and Regional Assessment Area for Aquatic Ecosystem.............................................................................................2-2 Figure 3-1 August 2010 Depth Profile Transects in the Local Assessment Area .............................3-3 Figure 4-1 Aquatic Habitat of the Smoky River Within the Study Area .............................................4-3 List of Photos Photo 4-1 View Upstream of Proposed Water Intake Structure Location ........................................4-1 Photo 4-2 View Downstream of Proposed Water Intake Structure Location....................................4-2 Photo 4-3 Existing Bank Habitat at Proposed Intake Location.........................................................4-2 Photo 4-4 Typical Substrate Along Depositional Areas Within the LAA...........................................4-5 i Milner Expansion – 2010 Supplementary Fisheries Information Section 1.0: Introduction November 2010 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report is a follow-up to the second round SIR 20 for the proposed HR Milner Expansion Project. In the response to SIR 20, a commitment was made to conduct additional fish sampling in the vicinity of the project during the late fall period. This report presents the results of the late fall sampling including fish species present and whether evidence of use of the area for spawning was found. The results have been combined with previous information to give context and to provide a complete view of the fisheries sampling in a single document. 1-1 Milner Expansion – 2010 Supplementary Fisheries Information Section 2.0: Project Location November 2010 2.0 PROJECT LOCATION The proposed intake is part of the Milner Site expansion and is located 20 km north of the Town of Grande Cache. Figure 2-1 shows the regional setting, topography and major water features in the vicinity of the Milner Site. The Project is located in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains north of the Willmore Wilderness Park. The existing facility is presently reached by a private access road off Highway 40. Highway 40 is the primary transportation corridor in the vicinity for the Milner Site. Highway 40 and the private road will also serve as access to the Proposed Facilities including the proposed water intake. The Smoky River is the nearest water body, and is located adjacent to the Milner Site. A wetland body is located in the northern portion of the Milner Site. The Muskeg River joins the Smoky River downstream (north) of the Milner Site and Sheep Creek joins the Smoky River further downstream (north) of the Muskeg River/Smoky River confluence. The Smoky River originates in the Rocky Mountains near Jasper National Park and flows 492 km north toward the Peace River, draining about 20 percent of the Peace River basin (Northern River Basins Study 2009, Internet site). The Smoky River is a small, clear river with a rocky substrate located throughout its length providing habitat to several important sport fish species as well as many coarse forage fish species. There is an existing water intake located in 2-10-58-8 W6 (UTM 5986296 N, 362573 E, Zone11). This intake, which was constructed in August 1969, covers an area 107 m by 143 m (approximately 1.5 ha). The proposed intake is located at 16-10-58-8 W6 (UTM 5986280 N, 362980 E, Zone 11) on Maxim Power Corps. Milner Site and covers an area approximately 0.21 ha, including the floodplain excavation required for the shallow bay to be created 2-1 TWP. 59 TWP. 59 TWP. 59 RGE. 9 RGE. 8 TWP. 59 RGE. 7 RGE. 6 Sheep Creek TWP. 58 RGE. 9 Wanyandie Flats (West Cooperative) Smoky River Muskeg River TWP. 57 RGE. 9 Mitayimin CreekWashy Creek B ea ve r D am R Gr ande oa Carconate Creek d Joachim Mount ain (Enterprise) Susa Creek Roddy Creek Peavine Lake Kamisak (Enterprise) Victor Lake HR Milner Generating Station Victor Lake (Cooperative) Aquatics Local Assessment Area Aquatics Regional Assessment Area Town Boundary TWP. 56 Railway RGE. 9 Road Highway 40 Enterprise/CO-OP Zone 0 1 2 3 kilometres - 1:150,000 UTM Zone 11 - NAD 83 JW-1033372-053 NT PREPARED BY HR MILNER EXPANSION PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT BC AB SK PREPARED FOR Area Project Development Area, Local Assessment Area and of Interest Regional Assessment Area for Aquatic Ecosystem FIGURE NO. Data Provided By: AltaLIS (2006), Government of Canada (2007), Colt Engineering (2008), Valtus (2006). NOTE: Drawing originally formated for 8.5X11 printing size. 2-1 Last Modified: October 8 2010 By: csteiner Milner Expansion – 2010 Supplementary Fisheries Information Section 3.0: Methods November 2010 3.0 METHODS Fish habitat and fish community information was collected within a 5-km reach of the Project Site, from 1 km upstream to 4 km downstream (Figure 3-1). This area is referred to as the Local Assessment Area (LAA). The intent of the study was to: identify aquatic habitat parameters such as substrate, channel morphology, instream cover (e.g., logs, boulders), overhead cover, bank stability, potential instream barriers and aquatic vegetation identify critical or sensitive areas for fish spawning, rearing and overwintering identify potential areas for compensation, if required, of existing fisheries and aquatic resources characterize the fish community during different seasons. measure general water quality parameters such as water temperature, pH, conductivity and turbidity. Site visits were conducted in October 2006, June 2008, August 2010 and October 2010. 3.1 Habitat Survey The habitat survey of the Smoky River LAA was completed in June 2008. The survey included the shoreline immediately adjacent to the existing development area. Habitat classification was primarily based on the Large River Habitat Classification System (R.L. & L. 1994), with some reference to the Stream Survey Field Guide and Fish Habitat Inventory and Information Program (Department of Fisheries and Oceans and British Columbia Ministry of Environment 1989). An additional habitat survey was conducted within the LAA on August 28, 2010. Depth along the thalweg (deepest part of the channel) was measured throughout the entire reach. Five depth transects across the width of the channel were conducted in the vicinity of the proposed intake location. Other habitat features were noted and compared to the previous habitat map for the area. Flow at the time of assessment was approximately 100 m3/s as recorded at the gauging station above Hells Creek (nearest gauging station upstream of the Town of Grande Cache). 3.2 Fish Community Sampling On October 9, 2006, fish sampling was conducted on the Smoky River, in the vicinity of the Milner Site. Fish sampling was conducted using a backpack electrofisher (settings: K5 300-400 volts) at 2226, 1184, 676 seconds, respectively for each site. Two Gee-type minnow traps were also utilized for a duration of 12 hours per set. Additional collection of field data was conducted on two separate trips, August 25-26, 2010 and October 26-27, 2010. The purpose of the August survey was to collect data from the summer season. In addition, relative abundance information was obtained from RL&L (2001) in order to facilitate a comparison to the 3-1 Milner Expansion – 2010 Supplementary Fisheries Information Section 3.0: Methods