Environmental Assessment Bulletin

  • Municipal Affairs and Environment

January 27, 2020

The Honourable Derrick Bragg, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment, has announced the following events relative to Part 10 Environmental Assessment of the Environmental Protection Act.

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC REVIEW:
Long Harbour Access Road Industrial Composting Facility
Proponent: Newfoundland Industrial Composting Ltd.                  (Reg. 2017)

The proposed Argentia Access Road Industrial Composting Facility project is undergoing a provincial environmental assessment and requires an environmental impact statement (EIS). The environmental assessment committee has prepared draft EIS Guidelines that identify the information that must be included in the EIS. The public is invited to review these guidelines and to provide written comments by March 7, 2020. Comments received will be reviewed and considered before the EIS guidelines are finalized and issued to the proponent. More information on the project is available on the department’s website at: www.mae.gov.nl.ca/env_assessment/projects/Y2019/2017/index.html

Written comments must be sent by March 7, 2020 to:
John Reynolds
Project EA Committee Chair
Environmental Assessment Division
Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment
West Block, Confederation Building
P.O. Box 8700
St. John’s NL A1B 4J6
Fax: 709-729-0320
Email: EAProjectComments@gov.nl.ca

UNDERTAKINGS RELEASED:

Forest Management District 20 – Five Year Operating Plan (2020-2024)
Proponent: Department of Fisheries and Land Resources   (Reg. 2049)

The project is released subject to the following conditions:

  • A minimum 30-metre undisturbed vegetated buffer is required along all waterbodies and wetlands that appear on a 1:50,000 topo map to protect sensitive riparian and aquatic species and their habitat.
  • Domestic harvesters are to apply for a permit if proposing to cut within the planning area boundary of the Town of Cartwright.
  • There will be no commercial or domestic wood harvesting inside or within 100 metres of the proposed Eagle River Waterway Provincial Park.
  • A Greenhouse Gas Management Plan must be prepared and submitted for approval by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment. A draft of this plan must be submitted within one year of the date of this letter with an update on the progress of this plan to be submitted in six months. The plan is expected to include:
    • Any carbon modeling that has been or will be used to inform forest management planning;
    • Projections on the level of Green House Gas emissions that are anticipated to be captured and/or released over the five-year period; and
    • A description of how forest management will be informed by carbon modelling with regard to climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation.

Baker’s Brook Rock Quarry Expansion                                              (Reg. 2056)
Proponent: Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd.

The project is released subject to the following conditions:

  • The proponent must prepare and submit an environmental protection plan (EPP) for the construction and operation phases of the undertaking to be approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment prior to construction. The EPP shall include, but not be limited to:
    • A blasting operations plan that meets the standard terms and conditions of a quarry permit, and which also includes the notification process to nearby residents, methods for monitoring and dampening blast vibrations, methods for controlling fly rock and dust, video recording of each blast for fly rock assessment, and a pre-blast survey. The pre-blast survey must include a determination of the impact of blasting on the Town of Hughes Brook water supply reservoir dam. This determination must be supported by a geotechnical/seismic assessment conducted by a qualified geotechnical engineer. The blasting operations plan shall also commit to notifying the Occupational Health and Safety Division – Corner Brook Office (709-637-2946), prior to the day of any blasting activity;
    • Control measures to reduce dust generation from all quarry operations; and
    • Control measures to mitigate noise from the site to surrounding areas.
  • The proponent must submit a viewscape management plan that systematically evaluates visibility of the proposed quarry from all locations of potential concern, including locations within the Town of Hughes Brook. This plan must be reviewed and approved by the Department of Natural Resources prior to any construction activities. Depending on the results of the viewscape management plan, modifications to the quarry development plan may be required. For the requirements of this plan, please contact the Department of Natural Resources at (709) 729-5748.
  • No vegetation clearing is to occur within 800 metres of a bald eagle or osprey nest during the nesting season (March 15 to July 31) and 200 metres during the remainder of the year. The 200-metre buffer also applies to all other raptor nests (e.g. Northern Goshawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, American Kestrel, Great-horned Owl, Boreal Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl). The location of any raptor nest site must be reported to the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources, Forestry and Wildlife Branch, Wildlife Division. Please call (709) 637-2025.
  • A minimum 30-metre undisturbed vegetated buffer is required along all waterbodies and wetlands that appear on a 1:50,000 topo map to protect sensitive riparian and aquatic species, and their habitat.

Lake St. John ATV Trail                                                                           (Reg. 2059)
Proponent: Eldon Spurrell

The project is released subject to the following conditions:

  • A minimum 30-metre undisturbed vegetated buffer is required along all waterbodies and wetlands that appear on a 1:50,000 topo map to protect sensitive riparian and aquatic species, and their habitat.
  • No vegetation clearing is to occur within 800 metres of a bald eagle or osprey nest during the nesting season (March 15 to July 31) and 200 metres during the remainder of the year. The 200-metre buffer also applies to all other raptor nests (e.g. Northern Goshawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, American Kestrel, Great-horned Owl, Boreal Owl, and Northern Saw-whet Owl). The location of any raptor nest site must be reported to the Wildlife Division of the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources. For further information, please contact the Wildlife Division at (709) 637-2025.
  • The trail must not exceed four metres in width. Although the proponent has specified that an excavator will be used in the construction of the trail, it is not to be constructed in a manner that allows for vehicular traffic (cars and trucks) and is intended for All-Terrain Vehicles use only. For further information, please contact the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources at (709) 729-1364.
  • The proposed trail is located in a Cottage Development Area and must not be constructed within 20 metres of cabins other than the proponent’s cabin. For further information, please contact the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources at (709) 729-1364.

Bay d’Espoir Hill Cottage Access Road                                              (Reg. 2060)
Proponent: Michael Strickland

The project is released subject to the following conditions:

  • A minimum 30-metre undisturbed vegetated buffer is required along all waterbodies and wetlands that appear on a 1:50,000 topo map to protect sensitive riparian and aquatic species, and their habitat.
  • No vegetation clearing is to occur within 800 metres of a bald eagle or osprey nest during the nesting season (March 15 to July 31) and 200 metres during the remainder of the year. The 200-metre buffer also applies to all other raptor nests (e.g. Northern Goshawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, American Kestrel, Great-horned Owl, Boreal Owl, and Northern Saw-whet Owl). The location of any raptor nest site must be reported to the Wildlife Division of the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources. For further information, please contact the Wildlife Division at (709) 637-2025.

Mount Pearl Phase Separation of Spend Drilling Mud Fluids       (Reg. 2061)
Proponent: Pardy’s Waste Management and Industrial Services Ltd.

Learn more
Environmental Assessment Division – toll-free at 1-800-563-6181 or by mail:

Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment
West Block, Confederation Building
P.O. Box 8700, St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6

Public comments may be forwarded to: EAprojectcomments@gov.nl.ca

Environmental assessment information: www.mae.gov.nl.ca/env_assessment/

Follow us on Twitter: @GovNL and @MAE_GovNL

Media contact
Lynn Robinson
Municipal Affairs and Environment
709-729-5449
lynnrobinson@gov.nl.ca

2020 01 27 4:05 pm