REPLACEMENT CLASS SCREENING REPORT FOR ROUTINE IN-WATER WORKS PROJECTS: • DEWATERING AND MINOR LOCK/DAM MAINTENANCE • BRIDGE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR • BOATHOUSE REPAIRS AND REMOVAL • DOCK INSTALLATION REPAIR AND REMOVAL • LAUNCH RAMP INSTALLATION MAINTENANCEAND REMOVAL • SHORELINE STABILIZATION ALONG THE RIDEAU CANAL AND THE TRENT-SEVERN WATERWAY Prepared for: Parks Canada Agency Prepared by: Kelli E. Saunders, M.Sc. Resource Consultant October 2006 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................ iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...........................................................................................................iv 1.0 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................1 1.1 Class Screening and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act ............................1 1.2 Rationale for Replacement Class Screening ...................................................................4 1.3 Consultation ...........................................................................................................6 1.4 Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry......................................................6 2.0 PROJECTS SUBJECT TO CLASS SCREENING........................................................7 2.1 Projects Subject to the Act .....................................................................................7 2.2 Projects Not Subject to this Replacement Class Screening Report........................7 2.3 Projects Subject to this Replacement Class Screening Report...............................8 3.0 DESCRIPTION OF SUB-CLASS PROJECT ACTIVITIES......................................12 3.1 Dewatering and Minor Lock/Dam Maintenance..................................................12 3.2 Bridge Repair .......................................................................................................13 3.3 Boathouse Repairs and Removal..........................................................................14 3.4 Dock Installation, Repair and Removal ...............................................................15 3.5 Launch Ramp Installation and Maintenance ........................................................17 3.6 Shoreline Stabilization .........................................................................................17 4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.....................................................................................19 4.1 Management of Historic Waterways....................................................................19 4.2 Boundaries............................................................................................................19 4.3 Environmental Setting and Valued Environmental Components.........................19 4.4 Issues Scoping......................................................................................................20 4.5 Potential Environmental Effects and Mitigation ..................................................21 4.6 Effects of the Environment on the Projects..........................................................23 4.7 Effects of Accidents and Malfunctions ................................................................23 4.8 Analysis and Prediction of Significance of Residual Adverse Environmental Effects..........................................................................................23 4.9 Potential Cumulative Environmental Effects .......................................................27 5.0 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES .............................................................................31 5.1 Federal/Provincial/Local Coordination ................................................................31 6.0 PROCEDURES FOR AMENDING THE REPLACEMENT CLASS SCREENING REPORT..................................................................................................31 6.1 Term of Application .............................................................................................31 6.2 Amendment Procedures .......................................................................................31 i 7.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................33 GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS ...................................................................................34 APPENDICES: .............................................................................................................................39 Appendix A: Typical Environmental Setting ................................................................ 39 Appendix B: Rideau Canal Species Lists...................................................................... 60 Appendix C: Trent Severn Waterway Species Lists..................................................... 64 Appendix D : Sources for Best Management Practices/Standard Mitigation................. 68 Appendix E: Potential Environmental Effects, Mitigation And Residual Effects ........ 69 ii ACRONYMS ARVPO – Atlas of the Rare Vascular Plants of Ontario CAs – Conservation Authorities CEAA – Canadian Environmental Assessment Act CEA The Agency – Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency CEAR The Registry – Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry COSSARO – Committee of the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario COSEWIC – Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada DFO – Fisheries and Oceans Canada EA – Environmental Assessment EC – Environment Canada FA – Federal Authority HADD – Harmful Alteration, Disruption or Destruction NWPA – Navigable Waters Protection Act MNR – Ministry of Natural Resources OMNR – the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources OMOE – the Ontario Ministry of the Environment QRAP – Quinte Remedial Action Program RA – Responsible Authority RCSR – Replacement Class Screening Report SAR – Species at Risk SARA – Species at Risk Act TSW – the Trent-Severn Waterway TC – Transport Canada VEC(s) – Valued Environmental Component(s) iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada and the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW) National Historic Site of Canada in Ontario were originally built for transportation, trade and in some cases defence. These two canals have now developed into places where the public can appreciate and enjoy the cultural and natural heritage through land- and water-based activities. The Parks Canada Agency (Parks Canada) administers both canals. Proponents must obtain permits through Parks Canada in order to proceed with various projects along each canal. Note that, in some cases, Parks Canada would be the proponent. A number of repetitive projects occur along both canals: Dewatering and Minor Lock/Dam Maintenance; Bridge Repair; Boathouse Repairs; Docks; Launch Ramps; and Shoreline Stabilization. These repetitive projects are subject to screening under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (The Act) and they meet the six criteria of the applicability of a Replacement Class Screening detailed in Section 1.2. As Responsible Authority, Parks Canada initiated the preparation of this Replacement Class Screening Report (RCSR) in order to define a uniform approach to environmental assessment for these routine projects, which is consistent with the objectives of Parks Canada’s environmental protection mandate and the requirements of the Act. This RCSR includes six sub-classes of repetitive projects noted above and are described in Section 3.0. Given the number of sub-classes and the potential for many of these routine projects to occur anywhere along the two waterways, broad descriptions of the various types of environments within which projects may or may not occur are provided in Appendix A as reference information for Parks Canada’s staff reviewing applications. Valued Environmental Components (VECs), which are components of the environment most likely to be adversely affected by these routine projects, were identified in Section 4.3. In order to assess the potential project/environment interactions, tables were devised (See Tables 4.2-1 - 4.2-10 in Appendix E) outlining the potential environmental effect of each scoped project activity on the VECs, the recommended mitigation and a rating of the significance of potential residual effects. The mitigation measures reflect accepted environmental best management practices and standards for the construction (repair), operation and, where applicable, decommissioning of the sub-classes of routine projects included in this RCSR, while the rating of significance of residual effects following the application of effective mitigation measures was undertaken by considering the magnitude, geographic extent, duration, frequency of occurrence, reversibility and ecological/historical context, as defined in Table 4.5. In all cases, the recommended mitigation measures are known to reduce the potential adverse environmental effects to insignificant levels. iv 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada and the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW) National Historic Site of Canada in Ontario form extensive cultural and natural heritage corridors that link cities and towns and have drainage basins which encompass large geographical areas. The Rideau Canal is 202 kilometres long and stretches from Kingston, at the foot of Lake Ontario, to Ottawa, Canada's capital (see Figure 1). The TSW meanders 386 km across Central Ontario, linking Lake Ontario with Georgian Bay (see Figure