tREC'D- OCU -I.J -.- .... Hf Ottawa ~~~ 18 20'6 Constituency Room 540, Confederation Building 403 2nd Ave West Suite 2 Ottawa, Ontario KIA OA6 RE<;U -ll~~ M- MDt:.j Brooks, AB T I R OS3 Tel.: 613-992-0761 Tel.: 403-793-677 5 Fax.: 6 13-992-0768 To! Free: 1-844-241-0020 [email protected] Fax: 403-793-6778 martin.shields.c I @parl. gc.ca HOUSE OF COMMONS (HAMBRE DES COMMUNES CANADA cMartin C::!Jhields Member of Parliament ~IECCIEUV\ED '\ Bow River JUN 2 8 2016 June 14, 2016 ---------------1 The Hon. Catherine McKenna, P.C., M.P. Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Fontaine Building 200 Sacre-Coeur Boulevard, 2nd Floor Gatineau QC KIA OH3 Dear Minister McKenna, I write today supporting the request from the Rocky View County that the Canada Environmental Assessment Agency conduct a review of the proposed Springbank Off-stream Reservoir Project. Rocky View County, a portion of which is in the Bow River Constituency, has a vested interest as the project is within their municipal boundaries. The County has as number of concerns with the project, namely: Jurisdictional Concerns; Impacts to Fish, Fish Habitat and Navigable Waters; Species at risk; Impacts to Aboriginal Peoples; Impacts to residents, including loss of air quality; Loss of agricultural land; NEB Pipelines and Emergency Response; As well as other considerations. I am attaching the letter sent by the County to the CEAA for your records and for informational purposes. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. I look forward to your reply. <Original Signed By> Martin Shields, M.P. Bow River Encl (1) CC: Reeve Greg Boehlke, Rocky View County www.martinshieldsbowri ver.ca ~ ROCKY VIEW COUNTY Office of the Reeve ~ Cultivating Communities 911·32 Ave NE iCalgary, AB IT2 E 6X6 403-520-1290 I www. rockyvicw.ca May 30, 2016 Springbank Off-stream Reservoir Project Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Canada Place 9700 Jasper Avenue, Suite 1145 Edmonton, AB , TSJ 4C3 Attention: CEAA Agency Re: Springbank Offstream Reservoir Project Rocky View County ("County") wishes to provide comments with respect to the Springbank Off­ stream Reservoir Project ("Springbank Project"), proposed to be located within the municipal boundary of Rocky View County. The County understands the rationale for the Spring bank Project, but strongly believes a federal environmental assessment is required to ensure protection of the environment and public interest. Rocky View County submits that the Springbank Project meets the criteria required to trigger an environmental assessment under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 ("CEAA, 2012"). Lands within County are located in a horseshoe shape around the City of Calgary; to the west, north and east of Calgary. Rocky View County is home to approximately 38,000 residents. The County provides numerous services to its residents, including fire, emergency, roads, water, utilities, waste management, and recycling. The map provided below shows the location of the County in relation to the City of Calgary: r tor:. .... I -- ROCKY VIEW COUNTY -[] - ~ __ __./- ~,,~~] I '-------.. -- i~---' ·= TS UU'MNA M.O. ol Foo iNII• \ The proponent, Alberta Transportation, seeks to locate the Springbank Project in the southern tip of the western arm of the County, immediately north of the Tsuut'ina Nation lands, as shown below in the map below from the Springbank Off-stream Reservoir Project Description, April 18, 2016 ("Project Description"): '8· 1 I' 1'NA .~ATW) 1.&5 F oothill; ·so > 1 Rocky View County submits the following issues with respect to the Springbank Project raise concerns sufficient to warrant an environmental assessment under CEM, 2012: 1) Jurisdictional concerns; 2) Impacts to fish, fish habitat and navigable waters; 3) Impacts to species at risk; 4) Impacts to Aboriginal people; 5) Impacts to residents, including air quality impacts; 6) Loss of agricultural land; 7) NEB Pipelines and Emergency Response; 8) Other considerations; and 9) Relevant precedents. This submission will discuss the above issues briefly in turn as they apply to the Springbank Project. 1) Jurisdictional Concerns Rocky View County has limited jurisdiction with respect to the Project, as Development permits may not be required for provincial infrastructure works under its Land Use Bylaw. In addition, the Project Description indicates that Rocky View County will have limited discretion with respect to approving a change in land use from its current agriculture designation to a district that is more suitable for the intended use, given section 619(1) of the Municipal Government Act. Therefore, since the Alberta government is itself the proponent of the Project, it remains essential that federal authorities conduct the environmental assessment for the Springbank Project to ensure that all stakeholder interests and environmental effects are appropriately considered. 2 With the greatest respect, an outcom_e where Alberta is both the proponent and the approving environmental assessment authority for the Spring bank Project will not serve the public interest Rocky View County also submits that federal authorities have significant expertise in reviewing projects of this nature and other projects involving the diversion of water resources, as discussed below. Federal authorities are in the best position to ensure a robust and objective environmental assessment is undertaken with respect to the Springbank Project. 2) Impacts to Fish, Fish Habitat and Navigable Waters The Elbow River is a valued ecosystem component within the County. Residents of Rocky View County value the Elbow River as an important part of their community. As identified in the Project Description, the Elbow River contains a number of recreational fish species which are available for residents to harvest and enjoy. Given the importance of the Elbow River to life in Rocky View County, it is important to ensure that impacts on fish and fish habitat are appropriately studied by federal authorities. This will ensure the diversion of the river and the subsequent flooding of the Off-stream Storage Reservoir do not have impacts to fish and fish habitat, or such impacts are appropriately mitigated. The Project Description indicates in Section 5.1.6.2.2 that Elbow River tributaries in the Project area do not contain sensitive fish habitat. However, Rocky View County submits that the definition of fish . habitat includes ephemeral tributaries to the Elbow River1 and should be part of any environmental impact assessment conducted. Rocky V,iew County has concerns that if a CEAA, 2012 assessment does not take place, a robust assessment of impacts to fish habitat will not take place. Rocky View County notes that ephemeral watercourses connected to fisheries can still be 2 protected by the Fisheries Act. · The Project Description indicates impacts to fish and fish habitat, including the following : • Construction of the Springbank Project and associated works could impact gravel spawning beds for salmonids, or scoured pools that provide high quality overwintering habitat for fish . • Other areas of fish habitat within or downstream of the Project Area have the potential to . become degraded during construction, due to sediments being washed into the river where they could settle over sensitive fish habitat such a spawning beds. • Fish migration in the Elbow River may be disrupted for a portion of the construction period in the Project Area as the Diversion Structure is installed within the river channel. The Elbow River may also be a navigable water, subject to common law protections and the potential protection of the Navigation Protection Act, including provisions prohibiting dewatering navigable waters without Cabinet approval (s .23). Certain canoe enthusiasts and kayakers are known to use the Elbow River as a waterway for recreational purposes. Rocky View County submits that the above noted impacts require assessment by federal authorities through a CEAA, 2012 environmental assessment. 1 Fisheries Protection Policy Statement, October, 2013. 2 Fisheries Protection Policy Statement, October, 2013, p. 4, 7, and 18. 3 3) Species at Risk The Project Description indicates that numerous species at risk, including twelve (12) species protected under the Species at Risk Act ("SARA") protected species may reside within the Springbank Project area and could be impacted. Rocky View County takes the position that these species at risk require appropriate protection and an environmental assessment of applicable impacts prior to the Springbank Project proceeding. As these species do not reside on federal lands, they will not be protected by SARA, except indirectly if a CEAA, 2012 assessment occurs due to the operation of section 79 of SARA. Section 79 of SARA will only apply to the Springbank Project within the context of a CEAA, 2012 assessment. Only if a CEAA, 2012 assessment is required will Alberta be required to, "identify the adverse effects of the project on the listed wildNfe species and its critical habitat and, if the project is carried out, must ensure that measures are taken to avoid or lessen those effects and to monitor them ... [t]he measures must be taken in a way that is consistent with any applicable recovery strategy and action plans." 4) Impacts to Aboriginal Peoples Rocky View County understands that the Tsuut'ina First Nation is submitting comments with respect to this screening process. Rocky View County will leave it to the Tsuut'ina to set out their own concerns, but notes that impacts on the Tsuut'ina Nation may be a strong factor in support of a federal assessment taking place. 5) Impacts to residents, including loss of air quality The Project Description suggests that air emissions do not represent a serious concern, as air quality impacts will only arise from construction vehicles, and the use of these vehicles will not have a measureable impact on air quality. Nevertheless, the County remains concerned about the particulates generated during construction activities. Of long term concern are the impacts on the health of Rocky View County, Tsuut'ina First Nation, Red Wood Meadows and City of Calgary residents.