Laurentia Project: Port of Quebec Deep-Water Wharf – Beauport Sector DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT November 2020 IMPACT ASSESSMENT AGENCY OF CANADA © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 2020. Catalogue No: EnXXX-XXX/XXXXF ISBN : XXX-X-XXX-XXXXX-X This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes, and in any format, without charge or further permission. Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials, in whole or in part, for the purpose of commercial redistribution without prior written permission from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3 or [email protected]. This document has been issued in French under the title: RAPPORT PROVISOIRE D’ÉVALUATION ENVIRONNEMENTALE – Projet Laurentia : Quai en eau profonde dans le port de Québec – Secteur de Beauport DRAFT ENVIRONMENTALE ASSESSMENT REPORT – LAURENTIA PROJECT: PORT OF QUEBEC DEEP-WATER WHARF – BEAUPORT SECTOR i IMPACT ASSESSMENT AGENCY OF CANADA Summary The Quebec Port Authority (the proponent) proposes to extend the line of the existing wharf eastward by 610 metres in order to operate a deep-water terminal dedicated to containerized general cargo. The 31.7 hectare Project would include the construction of a new berth and a retaining dyke that would allow the development of an additional 17 hectares of backshore space. The Project also includes the construction of railways and road access, the reconfiguration of two rainwater outlets and Henri-Bourassa Boulevard with the addition of an overpass, as well as the redevelopment of part of the Port of Quebec's existing land for truck loading and the partial relocation of the recreation and tourism area for the development of the operations support area and empty container storage. The Canadian Impact Assessment Agency (the Agency) is carrying out an environmental assessment of the Project in accordance with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (2012) (CEAA 2012). The Project is subject to CEAA 2012 as it was designated on July 31, 2015, by the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change under subsection 14(2): “The Minister may, by order, designate a physical activity that is not prescribed by regulations made under subsection 84(a) if, in the Minister’s opinion, either the carrying out of that physical activity may cause adverse environmental effects or public concerns related to those effects may warrant the designation.” The environmental assessment continues under CEAA 2012 as it was initiated prior to the coming into force of the Impact Assessment Act. The submitted Project did not undergo a provincial environmental assessment, but collaboration has been ongoing with the Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques du Québec (MELCC) for port expansion projects currently under assessment by the Agency, including that of the proponent. The approach, developed in the spirit of the Canada-Quebec Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation, provides for the participation of the Quebec government in the federal environmental assessment under the coordination of the MELCC. MELCC's participation ensures the integration of provincial expertise and perspectives with those of the federal government at each stage of the environmental assessment process. This draft Environmental Assessment Report was completed following a technical review of the Environmental Impact Statement and additional documentation from the proponent, and after an assessment of the potential environmental effects of the Project by the Agency, supported by an Environmental Assessment Committee composed of Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Health Canada, Parks Canada, Transport Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Laurentian Pilotage Authority, the Canadian Coast Guard and the MELCC. As part of the environmental assessment, the Agency also took into account the concerns and comments of the Huron-Wendat Nation, the Grand Conseil de la Nation Waban-Aki, the Mohawk First Nations of Kahnawà:ke, Kanesatake, and Akwesasne, the Innu First Nations of Essipit, Pessamit and Pekuakamiulnuatsh (Mashteuiatsh), and the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) Wahsipekuk First Nation. It also took into account the comments of citizens' groups, environmental and economic groups, as well as the public. In conducting this environmental assessment, the Agency considered the effects that the Project is likely to have on the following components: Those under federal jurisdiction, as described in subsection 5(1) of the CEAA 2012; DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT – LAURENTIA PROJECT: PORT OF QUEBEC DEEP -WATER WHARF – BEAUPORT SECTOR ii IMPACT ASSESSMENT AGENCY OF CANADA Those that are directly related to or result from federal decisions enabling the Project to be carried out in accordance with subsection 5(2) of the CEAA 2012; Species mentioned in the Species at Risk Act and their critical habitat, as well as species designated as threatened or vulnerable under the Quebec Act Respecting Threatened or Vulnerable Species; Species designated by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The Agency also considered the factors set out in subsection 19(1) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (2012). In light of concerns raised by the public and various experts from federal and provincial governments, the Agency identified the effects on air quality and human health caused by road and rail transportation associated with the project, which would take place in the borough of La Cité- Limoilou, as another factor relevant to the environmental assessment under paragraph 19(1)(j) of CEAA 20121. The issues mainly concern the activities planned during the construction and operational phases in relation to air quality, noise and light management. The environmental assessment conducted by the Agency identified the following key potential environmental effects: Air quality effects related to air contaminant emissions; Transboundary effects resulting from greenhouse gas emissions; Loss or alteration of wetlands caused by the presence of Project infrastructure or activities; Loss of terrestrial environments (soil and vegetation) linked in particular to soil contamination and the spread of invasive alien species; Effects on fish and fish habitat resulting from Project infrastructure and activities that would take place in or near water that could result in mortality and disturbance of individuals and loss and alteration of aquatic habitat, including through noise, water contamination and changes in water regime; Disturbance of birds, their eggs and nests as well as habitat loss and modification caused by the Project's infrastructure and activities that could result in disturbance by noise, light and human presence; Effects on Striped Bass, Bank Swallow, Nighthawk, Peregrine Falcon, Chimney Swift, Monarch and Victorin's Water-hemlock, which are special status species due, in particular, to the disturbance by noise, light and human presence caused by the Project's infrastructure and activities; Effects on human health resulting from air contaminant emissions, noise and light emissions caused by the Project's infrastructure and activities; Effects on First Nations' use of lands and resources for fishing and cultural practices caused by environmental changes on fish and fish habitat; Effects on commercial fishing, recreational fishing, recreational activities, such as kite-surfing, and other recreational activities caused by changes to the environment on wind patterns, aquatic habitats, wetlands or landscape that could affect fish and fish habitat as well as air and water quality; Effects on natural and cultural heritage as well as archaeological and historical resources caused by the modification of the landscape. 1 https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/document/132490 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT – LAURENTIA PROJECT: PORT OF QUEBEC DEEP -WATER WHARF – BEAUPORT SECTOR iii IMPACT ASSESSMENT AGENCY OF CANADA The proponent has committed to incorporating mitigation measures into the Project that would avoid or minimize its adverse effects. Compensation measures are also proposed to offset residual adverse effects, if any. The Agency has identified key mitigation and follow-up measures required to avoid significant adverse environmental effects by taking into account the measures proposed by the proponent, the opinion of government authorities and comments received from First Nations and the public. However, these measures taken together would not sufficiently mitigate the potential effects of the Project to conclude that these residual effects are not significant. The Agency is of the opinion that the Project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects, including: Significant direct and cumulative residual adverse environmental effects on fish and fish habitat due to destruction and permanent alteration of habitat, even with the application of mitigation, monitoring, compensation and follow-up measures; Significant direct and cumulative residual adverse environmental effects on air quality and human health due to increased emissions of particulate matter and contaminants from fossil fuel combustion during both the construction and operational phases of the terminal in an environment previously saturated with airborne contaminants; Significant direct and cumulative residual adverse environmental effects on