Section 6.8 Marine Aquatic Resources
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KITSAULT MINE PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Section 6.8 Marine Aquatic Resources VE51988 KITSAULT MINE PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT MARINE AQUATIC RESOURCES TABLE OF CONTENTS 6.8 Marine Aquatic Resources ..................................................................................... 6.8-1 6.8.1 Valued Component Selection Scoping and Rationale .............................. 6.8-2 6.8.1.1 Project Interaction Matrix ...................................................... 6.8-2 6.8.1.2 Issue Scoping and Identification ........................................... 6.8-4 6.8.1.3 Valued Component Selection Rationale ............................... 6.8-7 6.8.2 VC #1: Marine Water Quality .................................................................. 6.8-10 6.8.2.1 Introduction ......................................................................... 6.8-10 6.8.2.1.1 Relevant Legislation and Legal Framework ..... 6.8-10 6.8.2.1.2 Spatial Boundaries ........................................... 6.8-10 6.8.2.1.3 Temporal Boundaries ....................................... 6.8-13 6.8.2.2 Information Source and Methods ....................................... 6.8-13 6.8.2.3 Detailed Baseline for Marine Water Quality ....................... 6.8-14 6.8.2.3.1 Historical Overview ........................................... 6.8-14 6.8.2.3.2 2009 and 2010 Baseline Results ..................... 6.8-15 6.8.2.4 Cultural Ecological or Community Knowledge ................... 6.8-19 6.8.2.4.1 Nisga’a Nation .................................................. 6.8-19 6.8.2.4.2 Aboriginal Groups ............................................. 6.8-19 6.8.2.5 Past, Present, or Future Projects / Activities ...................... 6.8-19 6.8.2.6 Potential Effects of the Proposed Project and Proposed Mitigation ............................................................................ 6.8-20 6.8.2.6.1 Identification and Analysis of Potential Project Effects ............................................................... 6.8-20 6.8.2.7 Potential Residual Effects and Their Significance .............. 6.8-24 6.8.2.8 Cumulative Effects Assessment ......................................... 6.8-24 6.8.2.9 Conclusion .......................................................................... 6.8-25 6.8.3 VC#2: Marine Biota ................................................................................. 6.8-25 6.8.3.1 Introduction ......................................................................... 6.8-25 6.8.3.1.1 Relevant Legislation and Legal Framework ..... 6.8-25 6.8.3.1.2 Spatial Boundaries ........................................... 6.8-26 6.8.3.1.3 Temporal Boundaries ....................................... 6.8-28 6.8.3.2 Information Source and Methods ....................................... 6.8-28 6.8.3.3 Detailed Baseline for Marine Biota ..................................... 6.8-28 6.8.3.4 Cultural Ecological or Community Knowledge ................... 6.8-28 6.8.3.4.1 Nisga’a Nation .................................................. 6.8-28 6.8.3.4.2 Aboriginal Groups ............................................. 6.8-29 6.8.3.5 Past, Present or Future Projects / Activities ....................... 6.8-29 6.8.3.6 Potential Effects of the Proposed Project and Proposed Mitigation ............................................................................ 6.8-29 6.8.3.6.1 Identification and Analysis of Potential Project Effects ............................................................... 6.8-31 6.8.3.7 Cumulative Effects Assessment ......................................... 6.8-33 6.8.3.8 Conclusion .......................................................................... 6.8-33 REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 6.8-34 Version 1.0 VE51988 – Section 6.8 April 2012 TOC 6.8-i KITSAULT MINE PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT MARINE AQUATIC RESOURCES List of Tables Table 6.8.1-1: Valued Component / Issue Interaction Matrix for Marine Aquatic Resources ........ 6.8-2 Table 6.8.1-2: Potential Key Issues by Project Component and Valued Component – Construction Phase ................................................................................................ 6.8-5 Table 6.8.1-3: Potential Key Issues by Project Component and Valued Component – Operations Phase ................................................................................................... 6.8-5 Table 6.8.1-4: Potential Key Issues by Project Component and Valued Component – Closure and Decommissioning Phase ................................................................... 6.8-6 Table 6.8.1-5: Potential Key Issues by Project Component and Valued Component – Post Closure ........................................................................................................... 6.8-6 Table 6.8.1-6: Marine Aquatic Resources Valued Component Selection Rationale ..................... 6.8-8 Table 6.8.2-1: Total and Dissolved Metals Concentrations (mg/L) at Water Quality Sampling Stations ................................................................................................. 6.8-17 Table 6.8.2-2: Summary of Potential Interaction Between Project Direct Effects on Other Valued Components and Marine Water Quality ................................................... 6.8-20 Table 6.8.2-3: Predicted Average Annual Percent Change in Lime Creek Discharge to Alice Arm .............................................................................................................. 6.8-22 Table 6.8.2-4 : Potential Indirect Proposed Project Effects on Marine Water Quality .................. 6.8-24 Table 6.8.3-1: Summary of Potential Interaction between Project Direct and Indirect Effects on Other VCs and Marine Biota ............................................................... 6.8-30 Table 6.8.3-2: Potential Indirect Project Effects on Marine Biota ................................................ 6.8-32 List of Figures Figure 6.8.2-1: Marine Aquatic and Fisheries Resources Study Areas, Alice Arm, BC ............... 6.8-12 Figure 6.8.2-2: Seasonal Flow Distribution at Lime Creek Node LCK-H2 .................................... 6.8-23 Figure 6.8.3-1: Marine Mammals Study Areas, Alice Arm, Observatory Inlet and Portland Inlet, BC ................................................................................................................ 6.8-27 List of Appendices Appendix 6.8-A: Marine Aquatic Resources Baseline Report Version 1.0 VE51988 – Section 6.8 April 2012 TOC 6.8-ii KITSAULT MINE PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT MARINE AQUATIC RESOURCES 6.8 Marine Aquatic Resources This section addresses the marine aquatic resources of the proposed Kitsault Mine Project (proposed Project), and includes an assessment of potential effects of the proposed Project on marine estuarine water quality associated with surface drainage, as well as an assessment of potential proposed Project effects on select marine biota. Alice Arm, the closest body of seawater to the proposed Project, is located approximately 7 kilometres (km) northwest of the proposed Project site. It is one of two terminal branches of Observatory Inlet, Hasting Arm being the other. Like most North American west coast inlets, Alice Arm is a glacially-fed, steep-sided, U-shape fjord. Two major rivers, the Kitsault and Illiance rivers, and several smaller creeks, including Lime Creek, flow into the head and sides of the inlet. The climate in the area is influenced by low-pressure systems moving eastward from the Pacific Ocean. Heavy precipitation and strong winds are typical of winter, while clearer and drier conditions prevail in the summer (Krauel 1981; Littlepage 1978). The physical and chemical structure of the water column in Alice Arm has been well characterised and is typical of glacially fed inlets along the coast. In summer months, high runoff from snowmelt and low wind conditions produce a marked horizontal stratification of temperature and salinity (Littlepage 1978; Krauel 1981). During the winter, low discharge and high wind-driven mixing lead to more uniform (e.g., isothermal and isohaline) conditions throughout the inlet, with the exception of a shallow layer of cold freshwater close to the river mouths at the head of Alice Arm (Littlepage 1978). The basic circulation pattern in Alice Arm is typical of estuarine circulation in British Columbia (BC) coastal inlets (Krauel 1981; Littlepage 1978): seawater entrained and carried seaward by river outflow is replenished by a net inflow at depth. This is also typical of shallow sill, cold-water fjords (Littlepage 1978; Krauel 1981). Alice Arm provides valuable habitat for many species of benthic infauna and epifauna, fish, marine mammals, and marine birds. Baseline studies conducted in 2009 and 2010 were designed to address potential effects of the proposed Project, which included upgrades and operations of two foreshore Barge Landing Facilities, one near Kitsault Townsite and one southwest near Rocky Point, just north of the mouth of Roundy Creek (Appendix 6.8-A Marine Aquatic Resources Baseline Report). At the time, marine transport of construction supplies and ore concentrate related to the proposed Project was under consideration. Thus, the 2009 and 2010 baseline studies collected relevant baseline data at the two proposed Barge Landing Facility sites and gathered oceanographic and marine biological data to characterise the physical, chemical, and biological marine environment of Alice Arm. In