Terasen Pipelines (Trans Mountain) Inc. Environmental Assessment TMX - Anchor Loop Project Section 6.1 6.0 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS ASSESSMENT The description of the environmental and socio-economic setting, and current state of the environment within the Local Study Area (LSA) and, where applicable, the Regional Study Area (RSA) (Section 5.0), are compared in this Section of the EA report against the Project Description (Section 2.0) to identify potential effects that might be caused by the Project. The environmental and socio-economic effects assessment uses the information provided in the environmental and socio-economic setting to: • evaluate the environmental and socio-economic elements of importance in the LSA and RSA; • formulate appropriate site-specific mitigative measures that are technically and economically feasible; • identify and evaluate Project residual effects associated with each environmental and socio-economic element of importance; and • identify the effects of the environment on the Project. In addition, the environmental and socio-economic effects assessment has determined the significance of potential adverse residual effects resulting from construction and operation activities after taking into consideration proposed mitigation and compensation measures. 6.1 Methodology The assessment evaluated the environmental and socio-economic effects of the construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment phases of each component of the Project (i.e., pipeline and facilities). The assessment method included the following components: • determination of spatial and temporal boundaries for this assessment; • identification of biophysical and socio-economic elements and associated Valued Ecosystem Components (VECs); • identification of potential environmental and socio-economic impacts; • development of technically and economically feasible mitigation and, where appropriate, compensation measures; • identification of anticipated residual effects; and • determination of the significance of adverse residual effects. This environmental and socio-economic effects assessment methodology has been developed based on the Canadian Environmental Assessment (CEA) Agency’s The Authority's Guide to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEA Agency 1994), the CEA Agency’s Cumulative Effects Assessment Practitioners Guide (Hegmann et al. 1999), the CEA Act and the National Energy Board's (NEB) Filing Manual (NEB 2004). The environmental and socio-economic effects assessment associated with the construction and operation of the Project was a collaborative effort of several qualified professionals with element-specific expertise, under the guidance of representatives of TERA/Westland. Table 6.1 acknowledges the contribution of these experts and professionals by biophysical or socio-economic element. November 2005 Page 6-1 3739 Terasen Pipelines (Trans Mountain) Inc. Environmental Assessment TMX - Anchor Loop Project Section 6.1 TABLE 6.1 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS ASSESSMENT TEAM Biophysical/Socio-Economic Element Assessor Physical Environment Geo-Engineering (M.S.T.) Ltd., TERA/Westland, SEACOR Environmental Inc. Soil Capability Mentiga Pedology Consultants Ltd., TERA/Westland Water Quality and Quantity TERA/Westland, Salmo Consulting Inc. Greenhouse Gases, Climate Change and Air Quality Lynn Ross Consulting, TERA/Westland Acoustic Environment HFP Acoustical Consultants Corp., TERA/Westland Fish and Fish Habitat Salmo Consulting Inc., Applied Aquatic Research Ltd. Wetlands TERA/Westland and R.U. Kistritz Consulting Ltd. Vegetation TERA/Westland, B.A. Blackwell & Associates Ltd. Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat TERA/Westland, A. Grant MacHutchon Species at Risk TERA/Westland, Salmo Consulting Inc. Heritage Resources R&W Archaeological Consulting Ltd., Madrone Environmental Services Ltd., L.V. Hills, TERA/Westland Traditional Land and Resource Use TERA/Westland Human Occupancy and Resource Use TERA/Westland Social and Cultural Well-Being TERA/Westland Human Health TERA/Westland Infrastructure and Services TERA/Westland Employment and Economy TERA/Westland Accidents and Malfunctions Terasen Pipelines, TERA/Westland 6.1.1 Spatial and Temporal Boundaries 6.1.1.1 Spatial Boundaries The spatial boundaries considered one or more of the following study areas. • A Project Footprint study area made up the area directly disturbed by assessment, construction and clean-up activities, including associated physical works and activities (i.e., permanent right-of-way, temporary construction workspace, temporary access routes, temporary stockpile sites, temporary staging areas, construction work camps, off load areas, borrow pits, facility sites). • A Local Study Area (LSA) consisting of a 2 km buffer centered on the proposed pipeline right-of-way. The LSA is based on the typical ‘indirect footprint’ of pipeline facilities and activities (i.e., the zone of influence within which plants (50 m), animals (500 m), and humans (500-800 m) are most likely to be affected by project construction and operation. For the pump stations, the LSA consists of a 1 km radius centred on the pump station site. • A Regional Study Area (RSA) including 9,319 km2 captured in the ten 1:50,000 map sheets that could be affected by the Project. Includes the following communities most likely to experience socio- economic effects of the Project: Hinton; Jasper townsite; Tete Jaune Cache; and Valemount. • A Supra-regional Study Area (SRSA) extending beyond the RSA but within the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia (BC). • A Continental Area extending outside Canada. This includes the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) corridor proposed for wide ranging species such as grizzly bear and wolves. November 2005 Page 6-2 3739 Terasen Pipelines (Trans Mountain) Inc. Environmental Assessment TMX - Anchor Loop Project Section 6.1 The ecological boundary is described within the discussions of each element. Spatial ecological boundaries were determined by the distribution, movement patterns and potential zones of interaction between an element and the Project. The ecological boundary may be limited to the Project Footprint (e.g., pipeline easement or facility) or extend beyond the physical boundaries of the area of the Project component since the distribution or movement of an element can be local, regional, supra-regional or continental in extent. 6.1.1.2 Temporal Boundaries The time frames used in the assessment of the Project include the planning, construction, operations, and decommissioning and abandonment phases. The construction period (includes clearing, grading, trenching, testing, and reclamation) for the pipeline and associated appurtenances in Alberta, including JNP, is assumed to take eight months from August 2007 to March 2008. The construction period for the same components in BC is assumed to be eleven months within the period September 2007 to November 2008. A detailed pipeline construction schedule is provided in Section 2.7.4.1 of this EA report. Construction of Wolf and Chappel pump stations and associated infrastructure is anticipated to commence concurrently with pipeline construction and extend over a period of up to six months. Construction delays will not affect the overall assessment of environmental and socio-economic effects since it is assumed pipeline construction will occur during these times in a subsequent year. The operations phase was considered to commence in November 2008 following construction and extend an estimated 100 years. 6.1.2 Biophysical and Socio-Economic Elements Potential biophysical and socio-economic elements interacting with the Project were identified through the public and government consultation process including the Scoping and Requirements of the EA (TOR) (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency et al. 2005), through experience gained during other construction programs in areas with similar conditions as well as the professional judgment of the assessment team. Identifying potential Project interactions with biophysical and socio-economic elements is also guided by the operating experience of Terasen Pipelines' Pipeline Maintenance (PLM) staff. Key to determining element interactions with the Project was the identification of issues noted during public consultation with Parks Canada, BC MOE and other federal and provincial government agencies, local industry people, interested stakeholders and the general public (Section 4.0 of this EA report). Biophysical and socio-economic elements potentially interacting with the Project include: • physical elements such as physical environment, soil capability, water quality and quantity, greenhouse gases (GHG) and air quality, and acoustic environment; • biological elements such as fish and fish habitat, wetlands, vegetation, wildlife and wildlife habitat, and species at risk; and • socio-economic elements such as human occupancy and resource use, heritage resources, traditional land and resource use, social and cultural well-being, human health, infrastructure and services, and employment and economy. Effects arising from accidents and malfunctions, and effects of the environment on the Project were also considered. Those biophysical and socio-economic elements which are not considered to interact with a component of the Project are identified and justified in Sections 6.2 and 6.3, respectively of this EA report. As per Guide A.2.5 of the NEB Filing Manual, no further analysis is necessary for those elements where interactions between