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1 Report #EWW REPORT TO CORE AREA LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING OF WEDNESDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2011 SUBJECT ENVIRONMENTAL FEASIBILITY OF THE DREDGING OPTION FOR PIPING FROM ESQUIMALT PROGRAM TO COLWOOD COREE AREA WASTEWATER TREATMENT ISSUE To respond to the motion to enter into discussions with federal and provincial government to determine their concerns with regard to environmental feasibility of the dredging option for piping from Esquimalt to Colwood. BACKGROUND At its meeting of 12 January 2011, the Core Area Liquid Waste Management Committee (CALWMC) approved a motion to direct staff to enter into discussions with the federal and provincial governments to determinee their concerns with regard to environmental (regulatory) feasibility of the dredging option for piping (sewage) from Esquimalt to Colwood. As Westland Resource Group have done all the environmental assessments on the project and are familiar with both the Federal and Provincial agencies, staff engaged Westland to contact relevant provincial and federal agencies to identify potential concernss and the potential need to obtain permits or authorizations. Westland s findings are outlined in the memorandum provided in Appendix A. The option to pump raw sewage from Esquimalt to a central wastewater treatment plant in south Colwood, via a dredged pipeline, requires an 1800 mm diameter pipeline approximately 4.6 kilometres long. This pipeline would likely require a trench along the seafloor and cover material for the entire route. As a result, this pipeline would displace approximately 12,0000 cubic metres of material, and this does not include material that would be displaced by rip rap to protect the pipeline in some areas. Also, the pipeline trench in the sediment will be up to 40 metres wide in the area where 3 metres of cover material is required to protect the pipe from anchors. The volume of displaced material and disturbance to the seafloor epresent two significant environmental impacts. The other areas of concern are the rocky seafloor alignment along the Esquimalt shoreline and the alignment parallel to the Coburg Peninsula. Blasting will be required to install the pipeline in the rocky seafloor areas which have higher biodiversity and ecological value than the sediment areas. The alignment along the Coburg Peninsula is in an area prone to sediment movement and the area is also within the federally designated Migratory Bird Sanctuary. The following provides a list of the permits or authorizations that may be required for a dredged pipeline between Esquimalt and Colwood: Navigable Waters Protection permit (Transport Canada) Disposal at Sea permit (Environment Canada) Migratory Bird Sanctuary Regulations permit (Environment Canada) Fisheries Act authorization (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) Species at Risk Act compliance (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) Provincial crown land tenuree (Ministry of Natural Resource Operations)

2 Core Area Liquid Waste Management Committee 23 February 2011 Re: Environmental Feasibility of the Dredging Option for Piping from Esquimalt to Colwood Page 2 The memorandum in Appendix A provides a detailed description of the related issues for each of these permits or authorizations. Page 11 describes a number of environmental investigations that would be required to determine the scope and content of environmental assessments and the specific permitting and/or authorization requirements. CONCLUSION There are a number of significant environmental impacts that would need to be addressed to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals for a dredged pipeline from Esquimalt to Colwood. The process would be lengthy and require considerable effort to complete the environmental investigations to identify the scope of impact and to obtain the necessary permits and authorizations. RECOMMENDATION That the Core Area Liquid Waste Management Committee receive this report for information. Tony Brcic, PEng Project Manager, Wastewater Treatment Project J.A. (Jack) Hull, MBA, PEng General Manager, Integrated Water Services Concurrence TB:hr Attachment:

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