WWF-Canada Tel: (416) 489-8800 410 Adelaide St. West Toll-free: 1-800-26-PANDA Suite 400 (1-800-267-2632) Toronto, Ontario Fax: (416) 489-8055 Canada M5V 1S8 wwf.ca Nunavut Impact Review Board 29 Mitik St. P.O. Box 1360 Cambridge Bay NU X0B 0C0 [email protected] Re: WWF-Canada’s Final Written Submission to the NIRB’s Strategic Environmental Assessment in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait Dear NIRB: Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments to the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) on the Preliminary Findings Report for the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait. WWF-Canada supports the SEA process and believes it is an important component in ensuring that offshore oil and gas activities in Canada’s Eastern Arctic are conducted safely with the lowest possible risk to human health and the environment, if such activities are to be carried out at all. We commend the NIRB for its efforts to engage stakeholders comprehensively throughout the SEA process. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is one of the largest independent conservation organizations in the world, with projects in more than 100 countries. WWF-Canada creates solutions to the environmental challenges that matter most for Canadians. We work in places that are unique and ecologically important, so that wildlife, nature and people thrive together. With respect to our Arctic oil and gas and marine conservation work, WWF-Canada believes healthy coastal communities depend on healthy oceans. We are working in partnership with coastal communities, Indigenous peoples and other groups to advocate for marine protected areas and sustainable oceans management, and to ensure the rules governing offshore oil and gas activities are consistent with international best practices for safety, accountability and environmental protection. WWF-Canada has reviewed the Preliminary Findings Report (Public Registry ID 320496) and the Nunami Stantec documents Oil and Gas Life Cycle Activities and Hypothetical Scenarios (Public Registry ID 318009) and the Environmental Setting and Review of Potential Effects of Oil and Gas Activities (Public Registry ID 318010). Our final written submission below provides an assessment of these reports and includes an overview of the economic prospects of offshore oil and gas in the eastern Arctic, the downstream climate change impacts, and the prospect of development alternatives to offshore oil and gas, all of which are not being considered by the NIRB in its assessment but are a critical component of any fulsome and robust SEA process. Accompanying our submission is a series of maps showing ecologically and biologically sensitive areas in the SEA focus area, species diversity hotspots, shipping traffic, oil spill trajectories, and commercial fishing interests. As requested, we have also provided a table in Appendix A with our detailed comments on the reports, subsequent recommendations and references for further information. 1 WWF-Canada Tel: (416) 489-8800 410 Adelaide St. West Toll-free: 1-800-26-PANDA Suite 400 (1-800-267-2632) Toronto, Ontario Fax: (416) 489-8055 Canada M5V 1S8 wwf.ca Contents Contents ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 5 ᑎᑎᕋᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᓇᓗᓇᐃᔭᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ .............................................................................................................. 7 SOMMAIRE EXÉCUTIF ................................................................................................................................... 9 2. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................. 11 3. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 13 4. GENERAL COMMENTS ON THE BAFFIN BAY/DAVIS STRAIT SEA ..................................................... 16 4.1 Uncertain community economic benefits ...................................................................................... 18 4.2 No alternatives to oil and gas ......................................................................................................... 19 4.3 Insufficient baseline data ................................................................................................................ 20 4.4 Unknown scale of offshore operations and development ............................................................. 20 4.5 Challenges with community engagement and understanding ....................................................... 20 4.6 WWF-Canada summary and recommendations ............................................................................. 21 4.7 Key SEA international best practice resources ............................................................................... 22 5. ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREAS .................................................................................................... 23 5.1 Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs), Significant Benthic Areas (SBAs) and species diversity hotspots ........................................................................................................................... 23 5.2 EBSAs ............................................................................................................................................... 25 5.2.1 Eclipse Sound/Navy Board Inlet .......................................................................................... 26 5.2.2 Admiralty Inlet .................................................................................................................... 27 5.2.3 Lancaster Sound .................................................................................................................. 27 5.2.4 Hatton Basin/Labrador Sea/Davis Strait ............................................................................. 27 5.2.5 Baffin Bay Shelf Break ......................................................................................................... 27 5.2.6 North Baffin Bay .................................................................................................................. 27 5.2.7 Southern Baffin Bay ............................................................................................................ 27 5.2.8 Eastern Baffin Island Coastline ............................................................................................ 28 5.2.9 Isabella Bay ......................................................................................................................... 28 5.2.10 Scott Inlet ............................................................................................................................ 28 5.2.11 North Water Polynya .......................................................................................................... 28 2 WWF-Canada Tel: (416) 489-8800 410 Adelaide St. West Toll-free: 1-800-26-PANDA Suite 400 (1-800-267-2632) Toronto, Ontario Fax: (416) 489-8055 Canada M5V 1S8 wwf.ca 5.2.12 Jones Sounds Entrance ....................................................................................................... 28 5.2.13 Jones Sounds: Hell Gate/Cardigan Strait ............................................................................ 28 5.3 Significant Benthic Areas (SBAs) ..................................................................................................... 29 5.4 Abundance and Species diversity hotspots .................................................................................... 30 6. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF OIL AND GAS ................................................................................. 33 6.1 Seismic testing and underwater noise ............................................................................................ 33 6.1.1 Comments on the treatment of seismic testing and underwater noise in the SEA ........... 33 6.1.2 Detailed comments – Preliminary Findings Report ............................................................ 36 6.1.3 Detailed comments – Nunami Stantec Report ................................................................... 45 6.1.4 References – Seismic and ocean noise only ........................................................................ 48 6.2 Well Blowouts and Major Accidents ............................................................................................... 49 6.2.1 Risk ...................................................................................................................................... 49 6.2.2 History of blowouts and major accidents ........................................................................... 51 6.3 Chronic spills and pollution ............................................................................................................. 55 6.4 Shipping ........................................................................................................................................... 58 6.4.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................. 59 6.4.2 Disturbance and conflicts with marine mammals .............................................................. 59 6.4.3 Underwater noise from ships ............................................................................................