Appendix J1(Part 1)
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Appendix J Cycle 7 EEM Results Appendix J1 – 2016 EEM with Appendices Appendix J2 – What is Environmental Effects Monitoring Environmental Assessment Registration Document Replacement Effluent Treatment Facility January 2019 Appendix J1 2016 EEM with Appendices Environmental Assessment Registration Document Replacement Effluent Treatment Facility January 2019 Page 1 of 1 Context for 2016 EEM Report What is an EEM In May 1992, Environment Canada (now referred to as Environment and Climate Change Canada - ECCC) and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) amended the Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations (PPER) under the Fisheries Act. These amendments prescribed that all mills were required to conduct an Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) program. EEM programs are designed to detect and measure changes in aquatic ecosystems, including assessment of long-term effects. ECCC provides review of study design and monitoring results. The Current EEM Study Framework is for the Boat Harbour Facility not the Replacement Effluent Treatment Facility The EEM study results have been requested by the public during 2017 Community Open Houses on the proposed replacement effluent treatment facility. This EEM study is not directly applicable to the proposed replacement effluent treatment facility and associated treated effluent. The EEM study evaluates the existing effluent being discharged into the Northumberland Strait from the Boat Harbour Effluent Treatment Facility. Samples for Cycle 7 were collected from the downstream end of the Boat Harbour Estuary and from three reference areas (i.e., Merigomish Harbour, Logan’s Point and Little Harbour). EEM is an on-going monitoring program as required by ECCC. The monitoring will continue for the new discharge location, if approved, subsequent to the Environmental Assessment process; however new EEM methodology would likely be required to address the new area and effluent. A new discharge location would require a new plume delineation study to be conducted to determine the extent of the 1% effluent envelope for the purpose of identifying exposure and reference sampling locations for EEM. The implication of the proposed replacement offshore discharge location is that new benthic and fish survey programs would likely have to be designed and implemented – essentially the EEM field survey program would have to be revamped. The exposure areas that have previously been sampled presumably won’t be relevant anymore, and new reference locations may also need to be established to match the new exposure area habitat(s). Also, the overall quality of treated effluent that would be discharged from the replacement effluent treatment system is expected to be better than that of today, thus reaffirming that this EEM study is not directly applicable to the proposed replacement effluent treatment facility and associated treated effluent. DILLON CONSULTING LIMITED www.northernpulpeffluenttreatmentfacility.ca EEM Cycle 7 Interpretive Report for the Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corp. Facility near Pictou, Nova Scotia Report prepared for: NORTHERN PULP NOVA SCOTIA CORP. (Pictou Mill) P.O. Box 549 New Glasgow, NS B2H 5E8 Report prepared by: ECOMETRIX INCORPORATED 6800 Campobello Road Mississauga, Ontario L5N 2L8 14-2077 March 2016 EEM Cycle 7 Interpretive Report for the Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corp. Facility near Pictou, Nova Scotia Joe Tetreault B.Sc. Project Manager and Author Brian Fraser M.Sc. Project Principal/Reviewer NPNS EEM Cycle 7 Interpretive Report Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EcoMetrix Incorporated was retained by Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corp. (NPNS) to implement the seventh-cycle EEM program at its mill near Pictou, Nova Scotia. The program included sublethal effluent toxicity testing, a benthic community survey, and an investigation of cause (IOC) on confirmed effects on fish. This report documents the methods by which the Cycle 7 field program was conducted, the results generated by the field program and the interpretation of these results, as well as the results of the sublethal toxicity testing program. The results of previous EEM studies at the mill, as well as other relevant information, are also included to provide the results of this current study context. The NPNS mill is located at Abercrombie Point along the shore of Pictou Harbour. A mill has been in operation at this site since 1967. In February 2016, the mill produced on average about 782 ADT/d of bleached Kraft pulp, from mostly softwood chips. Mill effluent is piped several kilometres east from the mill to the Effluent Treatment Centre (ETC). Primary treatment is provided in one of two settling ponds, with retention time of about 12 to 24 hours depending on mill operation. Secondary treatment is provided in an aerated stabilization basin (ASB) that has a five-day retention time. Treated effluent is discharged to the Pictou Road area of the Northumberland Strait and currently satisfies all provincial and federal effluent quality limits. The spatial extent of the mill’s effluent plume in the receiving environment is variable and is affected by the direction and magnitude of the prevailing tide and wind. In some instances (e.g., rising tide, on-shore wind) the 1% effluent concentration envelope does not extend beyond the nearshore area. Alternatively, the 1% effluent envelope sometimes exists (e.g., falling tide, off-shore wind) as a relatively narrow, surface layer that can extend over greater distances towards Logan’s Point to the north and beyond Mackenzie Head to the east. THE CYCLE 7 EEM STUDY The Cycle 7 EEM program at NPNS included sublethal effluent toxicity testing, a benthic macroinvertebrate survey and an IOC related to effects on fish measured in previous EEM cycles. Water quality was characterized coincident with the fish and benthic field collections. Sediment quality was characterized coincident with the benthic collections. Sublethal Toxicity Sublethal effluent toxicity tests using invertebrates (sea urchin; Lytechinus pictus) and plants (red alga; Champia parvula) were completed semi-annually over the duration of the three-year cycle. Geometric mean IC25 concentrations (i.e., effluent concentrations that result in a 25% decrease in a measured endpoint) for Cycle 7 tests were as follows: Lytechinus pictus GMIC25 = 2.44%; and Champia parvula GMIC25 = 0.62%. 14-2077 March 2016 i NPNS EEM Cycle 7 Interpretive Report Executive Summary The results of seventh-cycle EEM sublethal toxicity testing indicated that the NPNS effluent quality has increased marginally with results for both Champia and Lytechinus being some of the best reported since Cycle 4. The pattern of toxicity was varied in Cycle 7 with some results showing a positive trend, especially two of the last three for sea urchin and the third last for C. parvula. Despite signs of improvement during this current cycle a response to very low concentrations of effluent remains. In an attempt to address the sublethal toxicity values available effluent treatment system data for the period 2009 until March 2016 was analyzed to determine if there was any relationships between conventional parameters and the sublethal results. However, only dissolved sulphate, COD and volatile suspended solids showed any linear decline over the timeframe and no parameters showed marked increases at times that corresponded with low toxicity results. Given the present data it does not appear likely that a conventional parameter is the potential cause of sublethal toxicity. Therefore, as part of the Cycle 8 EEM consideration will be made to measuring an additional suite of parameters in effluent in conjunction with the toxicity tests. Benthic Macroinvertebrates The Cycle 7 benthic invertebrate community survey (ICS) followed a control/impact design with three exposure areas (i.e., near field, far field and far-far-field) and two reference areas (Merigomish Harbour and Logan’s Point) sampled. There were no statistical differences between Logan’s Point and any exposure area for density or richness whereas the near- field and far-field areas had significantly higher density and all three exposure areas had significantly higher richness compared to the Merigomish Harbour reference area. The Bray-Curtis comparisons were suggestive of differences in community structure among the sampling areas; however these differences were not limited to exposure vs. reference comparisons, as using Logan’s Point as the median also lead to a significant difference from the Merigomish Harbour reference area and vice versa. These community differences seem to be related to the feeding habits of the resident benthos. Generally speaking, the near-field and far-field areas had a larger proportion of deposit feeding taxa than the other areas. Overall, the nature of differences in benthic invertebrate assemblages seen in the study may be related to or associated with subtle habitat differences. This combined with the fact that the effluent is buoyant and has limited contact with the benthic community likely means that the differences are not mill related. These results are similar to all past EEM benthic surveys at NPNS. Fish The Cycle 7 study design was developed to investigate the potential cause of the increased liver size in Boat Harbour Estuary Mummichogs and to confirm the absence of an age effect reported in Cycle 6. Exposure area Mummichogs were collected from the Boat Harbour 14-2077 March 2016 ii NPNS EEM Cycle 7 Interpretive Report Executive Summary Estuary and reference fish were collected from