MACTAQUAC PROJECT: FINAL COMPARATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CER) REPORT 9.0 VEGETATION AND WETLANDS 9.1 SCOPE OF THE REVIEW The combination of vegetation and wetlands is an important environmental component that is valued by the people of New Brunswick for environmental, recreational, aesthetic and socio-economic reasons. The integrity of vegetation and wetlands has an influence on wildlife and wildlife habitat (Section 10), as vegetation communities (including wetlands) provide habitat for wildlife species. Vegetation and wetlands are also connected to surface water resources (Section 6), as wetland functions can interact with surface water conditions. 9.1.1 Why Vegetation and Wetlands is a Valued Component Under Option 1 or 2, vegetation will be directly affected by construction and demolition, and by downstream sediment transport associated with construction and demolition. More interactions may occur under Option 3. For example, upstream wetlands and vegetation in the headpond area will experience water drawdown as that section of the Saint John River returns to normal river flow conditions. The return to normal flow will result in interactions with vegetation communities (including wetlands) and will change the environmental conditions for individual plant species. 9.1.2 Regulations and Policies Relevant to Vegetation and Wetlands Vegetation and wetlands are protected under federal and provincial legislation, including: Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 and associated regulations; federal Species at Risk Act (SARA); the federal policy on wetland conservation (Government of Canada 1991); New Brunswick Species at Risk Act (NB SARA); New Brunswick Clean Water Act and the associated Watercourse and Wetland Alteration Regulation (WAWA Regulation); New Brunswick Clean Environment Act and the associated Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation (EIA Regulation); and New Brunswick Wetlands Conservation Policy (NBDNRE 2002). August 2016 9-1 MACTAQUAC PROJECT: FINAL COMPARATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CER) REPORT 9.1.2.1 Species at Risk and Species of Conservation Concern Species at Risk (SAR) are defined in this CER as species listed as Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened, or Special Concern under the NB SARA or the federal SARA, or by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). The purposes of the NB SARA and federal SARA are to prevent wildlife species (including plants) from becoming extinct (extirpated); to provide for the recovery of species that are Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened; and to manage species of Special Concern to prevent them from becoming Endangered or Threatened. While only species listed as Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened in Schedule 1 of the federal SARA and those species listed under Schedule A of the Prohibitions Regulation of NB SARA currently have regulatory protection, the definition above also includes those species on the NB SARA List of Species at Risk Regulation and those listed by COSEWIC that are candidates for further review and may become protected within the timeframe of this Project. The federal SARA is co-administered by Environment Canada, Parks Canada Agency, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. NB SARA is administered by the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources (NBDNR). Species of Conservation Concern (SOCC) are not listed under federal or provincial legislation but are considered rare in New Brunswick and/or the long- term sustainability of their populations has been Did you know? evaluated as tenuous. SOCC are typically included in The Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre is an the description of existing conditions (Section 9.2) as a important resource for ecological data and precautionary measure, in order to reflect knowledge. observations and trends in the provincial population It is a registered charity and part of NatureServe and status. For this CER, SOCC are defined as species that NatureServe Canada. The NatureServe Network provides similar service in all of the Canadian provinces do not meet the above definition of SAR but have and territories with the exception of Nunavut, in all 50 been ranked in the province by the Atlantic Canada American states, as well as in a number of Latin American countries (http://www.accdc.com/en/about Conservation Data Centre (AC CDC) as S1 or S2, or S3 -us.html). with a Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council (CESCC) general status rank of at risk, may be at risk, or sensitive. 9.1.2.2 Wetlands Wetlands are defined in federal and provincial policy as land permanently or temporarily submerged or saturated by water near the soil surface, for long enough that the area maintains aquatic processes. These aquatic processes are characterized by plants that are adapted to saturated soil conditions, wet or poorly drained soils, and other biotic conditions found in wet environments (Government of Canada 1991; NBDNRE and NBDELG 2002). Wetlands in New Brunswick are managed by the New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government (NBDELG), and their management is guided by the New Brunswick Wetlands Conservation Policy (NBDNRE 2002). This policy aims to protect wetlands through securement, stewardship, education and awareness, and to maintain wetland function within New Brunswick. Legislation that supports the policy includes the New Brunswick Clean Water Act and associated WAWA Regulation, and the New Brunswick Clean Environment Act and associated EIA Regulation. August 2016 9-2 MACTAQUAC PROJECT: FINAL COMPARATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CER) REPORT NBDELG maintains the official map of known wetlands in the province; it is available to the public on the GeoNB website (SNB 2011). As of November 2011, NBDELG considers the GeoNB map to represent the extent of “regulated” wetlands within the province. Any wetlands labelled as “Provincially Significant Wetlands” in this database are subject to a greater level of protection, as outlined in the New Brunswick Wetland Conservation Policy (NBDNRE and NBDELG 2002). 9.1.3 Area of Review The area of review includes the Mactaquac headpond, which is defined by NB Power as extending from the Mactaquac Generating Station (the Station) to 97 km upstream of the Station, and extends 63 km downstream of the Station to approximately the Highway 2 overpass in Coytown, near the Village of Gagetown. Laterally, it also includes a 500 m buffer on either side of the Saint John River (Figure 9.1). This area of review is the same as that used in the discussion of interactions with wildlife and wildlife habitat (Section 10). 9.1.4 Key Issues Construction of the Station and creation of the headpond in the late 1960s flooded many landscape features (e.g., islands, wetlands and upland areas) upstream of the Station. Many of these features had provided habitat for SAR/SOCC and may have included wetlands that would today be considered Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSW). Although the headpond will be maintained under Options 1 and 2, interactions with vegetation communities and SAR/SOCC could occur as a result of construction and demolition. Option 3 will involve demolition of the Station and the return of the headpond to a near natural flow regime. Option 3 will interact with vegetation communities, SAR/SOCC, and wetlands. The key issues of concern for this VC are listed in Table 9.1. Table 9.1 Description of Key Issues for Vegetation and Wetlands Key Issue Description Potential change in Direct and indirect disturbance or removal of habitat. vegetation communities Changes in species richness and diversity. Potential change in species Changes in plant species and potential SAR/SOCC habitat. at risk and/or species of conservation concern Potential change in Direct loss of wetland area. wetland area and/or Change in, or loss of, wetland functions and values. function 9.2 EXISTING CONDITIONS 9.2.1 Sources of Information The following sources of information were used to characterize existing conditions: available data on vegetation communities, vegetation species records, habitat (including wetlands) and Environmentally Significant Areas (ESA) from AC CDC, NBDELG, NBDNR, and GeoNB; historical information on the Saint John River, including aerial photography; August 2016 9-3 DRAFT - For Internal Use Only U:\121811151\3_drawings\3_draft_figures\mxd\rpt\cer\4_veg_wetlands\121811151-0054.mxd 60 107 160 L 130 UV i UV t 80 t 140 l QC e 180 P ! 280 r 220 e m Hartland 340 a s 300 q e 320 ue I r s 380 ! 160 le t 180 - 260 S NB 100 120 200 Stanley 220 PE esw R K ick r i v e ME 140 240 e v Area of r i 360 280 R Interest 103 120 s UV in Ca 140 NS 200 40 180 260 ver South Ri Ta y UV95 ! Woodstock 240 140 40 100 220 UV8 ! 160 120 Millville 80 160 100 UV104 120 180 UV148 80 220 160 M a 40 act q 200 uac S 140 tr eam 200 165 40 UV 100 180 60 80 60 Meductic ! Nackawic ! ! Keswick 10 40 UV r 2 e UV 20 v i l R 60 e 120 ! E UV102 ^ 140 Fredericton UV105 20 S h Prince 80 P o ! New Maryland o lo Stre g William rtobel a ! o Kingsclear ! m m ! Canterbury o Dea C c 100 ! ohn Grand d r S int J Ri e k t a ve e r S r e Hanwell Lake a 160 140 220 m 40 ! Oromocto ! UV122 Coytown UV105 ^ Mactaquac Generating Station r e iv Contour (20m Interval) R R 280 S o oc well k t 300 ! 260 t c r e o a Gagetown m 7 Area of Review 160 m 240 o UV r 60 140 O First Nations Reserve Harvey 120 T re 20 ! Y h e 200 o T 60 160 r 102 Municipal Area ho e UV S 101 e C t UV 120 r r e m e a e e 40 k 80 180 a tr Waterbody 200 m S L y e y l 140 3 o z 120 1:500,000 UV n i s r ream 0 5 10 15 180 St B t rea S ! u 100 m a 160 20 e Kilometres 100 Fredericton Junction r rs e 80 e 121811151-0054 NAD 1983 CSRS NBDS UV4 M 120 100 Base Data: Contours, First Nations Reserve and Roads are from SNB and Waterbodies and Watercourses data from NBDNR.