January 21, 2015 Mr. James Wilson File: MV2014X0027 President Gwich’in Tribal Council 1-3 Council Crescent Box 1509 INUVIK NT X0E 0T0 Fax: (867) 777-7919 Dear Mr. Wilson: Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) - Department of Finance Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link Project - Land Use Permit MV2014X0027 Thank you for your letter received on January 16, 2015 regarding condition 78 of Land Use Permit (Permit) MV2014X0027. In response, the Board wishes to clarify the purpose of condition 78, which relates to the manual clearing of vegetation. In the Application for the Permit, the GNWT – Department of Finance indicated that vegetation will be cleared utilizing D7 caterpillar dozers or an equivalent, which would be equipped with a low ground pressure undercarriage to cut vegetation above the root mat. Vegetation in steep terrain or in environmentally sensitive areas, such as riparian zones, would be cut by hand. The Board included condition 78 in the LUP to address the removal of vegetation in these environmentally sensitive areas. For other areas that were identified in the Application to be cleared, condition 11, which requires bulldozer blades to be equipped with “mushroom” type shoes or other similar devices, applies. The Board also included additional conditions in the Permit to ensure that impacts to the environment from the use of machinery and equipment are minimized. These conditions can be found throughout the Permit, specifically under 26(1)(c) Type and Size of Equipment and 26(1)(d) Methods and Techniques. Please also note that the use of equipment for clearing land has been screened. The Preliminary Screening is attached and can also be found on the MVLWB website. The purpose of the Preliminary Screening is to outline any potential effects and mitigation measures, and it is to be considered when reviewing permit conditions. …/2 -2- If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact Tyree Mullaney at (867) 766-7464 or email [email protected]. Yours sincerely, Willard Hagen Chair Copied to: Wayne Drury, Acting President, Gwich’in Development Corporation Conrad Baetz, Regional Superintendent, GNWT – Lands Steve Deschene, Regional Superintendent, GNWT – Lands Laurie Nadia, Regional Superintendent, GNWT – Lands Sandy Kalgutkar, Deputy Secretary of the Financial Management Board, GNWT – Department of Finance Sean Craig, P3 Analyst, Department of Finance Distribution List Attachment: Preliminary Screening Preliminary Screening Report Form Preliminary screener: MVLWB EIRB Reference/File number: MV2014L1-0011/MV2014X0027 Reference TITLE: Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optics Link number: ORGANIZATION: GNWT- Department of Finance MEETING DATE: December 16, 2014 Type of Development: New (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY) Amend, EIRB Ref. # Requires permit, licence, or authorization Does not require permit, licence, or authorization Project Summary The Applications are for the construction, operation and maintenance of a buried fibre optic cable system along the Mackenzie Valley; The purpose of the development is to provide a high speed fibre optic communications link to communities along the Mackenzie Valley, replacing the lower-capacity microwave communication systems currently serving communities; a. A 6m wide working area approximately 795km in length (approx. 477 ha) will need to be cleared between Wrigley and the Dempster Highway, along the winter road ROW and preferred alignment of MH infrastructure corridor. b. Turnouts (5 x 20m) will be required every 5km along 6m working area, attempts to utilize naturally occurring cleared areas; however, if all new areas required would result in 66 turnouts of 100m2 each (0.66 ha). c. If required a temporary bard landing and laydown area will be established at Little Chicago on the Mackenzie River to support construction between Fort Good Hope and Inuvik. Project activities during the construction phase include: Mobilization and staging of equipment and materials; Clearing of new work areas; Excavating, backfilling and installation of the cable in a trench by plough, rock saw or by directional drill; and Operation of temporary mobile camps. Estimated fuel containment requirements: Diesel P-50 (ULSDF): 13,500L to be stored in 6 single walled fuel tanks positioned within a sleigh-mounted steel tub style berm designed to hold 110% of total volume stored (2,250L); Gasoline Mid-Grade: 4,100L to be stored in 20 205L new sealed drums stored on a deck sleigh; will be transported to camp sites in manageable volumes through course of the construction program; Jet Fuel: 615L: to be stored in 3 205L new sealed drums on a deck sleigh; and Oil and Grease 22L: to be stored in 20 pails. There are five different sections proposed for the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link installation which are: o Section 1: McGill Lake Microwave Site (24km southeast of Checkpoint Junction - between GNWT Highways 1 and 7) to Wrigley . This section is within the existing right of way of the Mackenzie Highway. o Section 2: Wrigley to Fort Good Hope . This section is within the existing right of way of the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road. o Section 3: Fort Good Hope to KP 258 of the Dempster Highway . This section is along the Mackenzie Highway infrastructure corridor – temporary snow trail construction. o Section 4: KP 258 of the Dempster Highway to Terminal Facility in Inuvik . This section is within the existing right-of-way of the Dempster Highway. o Section 5: Fort Simpson Junction of the Mackenzie Highway to Fort Simpson . This section is within the existing right-of-way of the Mackenzie Highway along the municipal road right of way. o The total cable length to be installed is 1,154 km long, 13 mm in diameter, to approximate depth of 30-100cm below ground surface; . ~822 km would be installed within existing ROWs (305 km within existing MH ROW, 473 km within the winter road ROW and 13 km within the Dempster Highway ROW); and . ~31 km will be aerially placed on existing pole lines inside the various communities along route. 44 water sources identified for withdrawal. The permit area will be located 12 to 15 metres from the centreline of the existing rights-of-way of the Mackenzie Highway, the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road, and the Dempster Highway and will be 6 metres in width. Burial technique includes boring and dry open-cut trenching with horizontal directional drilling at certain river crossings o The trencher will open a 10-15cm wide trench which will be filled with same trench material as the cable is laid Use of machinery for construction. Use of mobile camp and emergency shelters for a limited period during winter construction. MV2014X0027/MV2014L1-0011 - GNWT Finance - Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optics Link Scope Construct, operate and maintain a high speed fibre optic telecommunications cable system, along the following route: a. Starting approximately 24 km southeast of Checkpoint Junction (junction between GNWT Highways 1 and 7), near the McGill Lake Microwave Site, within the existing right-of-way of the Mackenzie Highway, to Wrigley; b. From Wrigley to Fort Good Hope, within the existing right-of-way of the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road; c. From Fort Good Hope to KP 258 of the Dempster Highway, along the Mackenzie Highway infrastructure corridor; d. From KP 258 of the Dempster Highway, within the existing right-of-way of the Dempster Highway, to a Terminal Facility in Inuvik; and, e. From the Fort Simpson Junction of the Mackenzie Highway, a spur fibre link cable, within the existing right-of-way of the Mackenzie Highway along the municipal road right-of-way to Fort Simpson. For the Mackenzie Highway, the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road, and the Dempster Highway, the permit area will be located 12 to 15 m from the centreline of the existing rights-of-way, and will be 6 m in width. The activities also include: a. A 6 m wide access will be cleared, constructed, maintained and used to facilitate the installation of the fibre optic cable system between the terminus of the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road and the Demspter Highway; b. A 2 km long winter access trail may be cleared, constructed, maintained and used between the barge landing site at Little Chicago, to join with the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Line; c. Geotechnical and directional drilling, boring, and dry open-cut trenching at selected watercourse crossings; d. Access to water sources for the construction, maintenance, and use of the roads; e. Construction, operation, and maintenance of camps, laydown areas, and barge landing sites at strategic locations along the route; f. Use and storage of fuel; g. Use of temporary mobile camps; and, h. Use of equipment, vehicles, and machines. All activities will be bounded by the following area: 61o22’20.6”N – 120o52’58.7”W and 68o18’15”N – 133o28’58”W Land Use Eligibility - Section 18 MVLUR: Access Agreements with Gwich’in Tribal Council (29-Oct-14) and K’asho Got’ine Lands Corporation Ltd/Yamoga Lands Corporation (10-Oct-2014). Type of Disposition Disposition Number(s) Mineral Claims Prospecting Permit (s) Mineral Leases Oil and Gas: EL/SDL/PL Quarry Permit Timber Permit Other: Principal Activities (related to scoping) (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY) Construction Exploration Decommissioning Installation Industrial Abandonment Maintenance Recreation Aerial Expansion Municipal Harvesting Operation Quarry Camp Repair Linear / Corridor Scientific/ Research Sewage Solid Waste Water Intake Other: Principal Development Components (related to scoping) Access Road Waste Management construction disposal of hazardous waste