The Corporation of the TOWN OF MILTON

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1 Report to: From: Mayor G. A. Krantz and Members of Council M. Paul Cripps, P. Eng., Director, Engineering Services Date: February 23, 2009 Report No. ENG Subject: Fifth Line Union Gas Pipeline for TransCanada-Halton Hills Generating Station RECOMMENDATION: That Council receive Report ENG for information purposes and endorse the issuance of a Road Cut Permit for the construction of a natural gas pipeline for the supply of natural gas to the TransCanada-Halton Hills Generating Station; EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND THAT, Council authorize staff to negotiate and enter into an agreement with Union Gas to address the remediation of vegetation and the disposition of easements within the future road allowance along Fifth Line. TransCanada is currently constructing the Halton Hills Generating Station at Steeles Avenue and Sixth Line. Union Gas will be supplying natural gas to fuel the station and have concluded an Environmental Assessment approved by the Ontario Energy Board for the pipeline installation project The pipeline will be installed along the west side of Fifth Line from the Union Gas Corridor south of Derry Road to Highway 401 The installation of the pipeline will require the removal of trees along the west property line of the road allowance Traffic will be affected along Fifth Line during the February to October construction period, however, most construction activity will occur within temporary construction easements negotiated with private property owners, which will mitigate traffic disruption Reinstatement of vegetation, ditches and pavement along the construction corridor will be the responsibility of Union Gas Union Gas has applied to the Town for a Road Cut Permit to initiate construction

2 Council Report No.ENG Page No. 2 REPORT Background There have been numerous reports to Council throughout the planning stages for the TransCanada-Halton Hills Generating Station being constructed at Sixth Line and Steeles Avenue in the Town of Halton Hills. Most recent is report PD where it was reported that the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch of the Ministry of the Environment denied the Town of Milton s request for an individual Environmental Assessment for the project and informed the Town of their intent to approve the project. The following is an excerpt from the previous report PD to Council: Town staff will continue to work with TransCanada Energy in regard to other issues surrounding the project, including making connections to the main power grid and establishing a natural gas supply to the site. In keeping with this direction of Council, Town staff has been working with TransCanada Energy through Union Gas and their contractors for both the installation of transmission cables from the plant and now the installation of the pipeline to supply the plant with natural gas. In addition to the Environmental Review Report prepared for TransCanada, Union Gas conducted a separate Environmental Assessment for the supply of natural gas fuel for the plant. Natural gas will be supplied through a pipeline connected to the Union Gas corridor south of Derry Road and will follow Fifth Line north to Highway 401. Discussion TransCanada Energy Ltd. is currently constructing an electric power generation plant at the corner of Steeles Ave. and Sixth Line in the Town of Halton Hills for the supply of electricity to the Golden Horseshoe area. The plant is fuelled by natural gas and in order to supply the plant, Union Gas has concluded an Environmental Assessment of the pipeline route. The pipeline will connect to the Union Gas corridor running eastwest through the Town and will be installed along the west limit of the Fifth Line road allowance (see Appendix I for route). The Union Gas Halton Hills Generating Station Pipeline project Environmental Report was completed by Stantec Consulting Limited and submitted to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) in December of The OEB granted Union Gas a leave to construct the pipeline on June 16, 2008.

3 Council Report No.ENG Page No. 3 During the planning stages and throughout the Environmental Assessment, Union Gas has been in contact with property owners along Fifth Line. Public information centres were conducted to inform the public of the impacts of the installation and to receive input to the pipeline project. Union Gas has negotiated permanent and working easements with the affected property owners in order to facilitate the installation of the pipeline. At this time, Union Gas has applied for a Road Cut Permit to initiate the construction along the pipeline corridor. The plans for the installation have been reviewed by all other utilities and comments have been incorporated into the design. In order to accommodate the installation of the pipeline within the current road allowance and to plan for the future road allowance, Union Gas coordinated with the Town Public Utilities Coordination Committee. A modified future cross section was developed to accommodate the pipeline in the future (see Appendix II). Currently, Fifth Line is a 20m rural cross section road allowance and eventually will become a 30m Minor Arterial urbanized cross section as part of the Derry Green Corporate Business Park. The first stage in preparation for the construction of the pipeline is the clearing of trees and vegetation along the corridor route. This is contemplated and discussed within the Union Gas Environmental Report along with remediation of any affected vegetation. There are 132 trees to be removed along the route that are within the road allowance. The Town is currently negotiating a compensation plan for the removal of the existing trees. A compensation plan for the removal of 73 trees on private property along the route has been negotiated with the individual property owners (see Appendix III). Town staff will be discussing the most appropriate remediation action for the replacement of the vegetation to be removed to allow the construction. Staff recommends entering into an agreement with Union Gas in addition to the Road Cut Permit that details the tree replacement plan. Following the clearing of vegetation, the installation of the pipeline will take place from the end of February 2009 to the end of October Most of the construction activity will take place off the road allowance in the temporary construction easements that have been arranged with property owners. This will mitigate the affects on traffic. During the delivery of pipe and equipment to the construction site trucks will occupy the southbound lane to unload. Traffic control measures will be in place during any lane closures and will conform, as per our permit conditions, to the Ontario Traffic Manual

4 Council Report No.ENG Page No. 4 Book 7 standards. The Town will be requesting preconstruction advisory signs prior to construction activities commencing. Any lane closures that are necessary will be conducted during daylight hours. As the pipeline is not being installed within the travelled portion of the road allowance an open cut method of installation will be used. Any road crossings will utilize directional boring and will not require road closures. Remediation and reinstatement of any and all damages that result from the construction process will be the responsibility of Union Gas and are a requirement of the OEB leave to construct in accordance with recommendations in the Environmental Study Report filed with the OEB. Relationship to the Strategic Plan The recommendations of Report ENG are consistent with the overall goals and objectives of Milton s Strategic Plan (DM2) in that, specifically, Council is engaged in transparent and accountable decision-making processes and actions; Council decisions ensure the effective management of capital assets and municipal services to meet existing and future demands and ensure that Federal and Provincial programs that may benefit Milton are considered whenever possible. Financial Impact There is no financial impact to this report. Respectfully submitted, M. Paul Cripps, P.Eng., Director, Engineering Services MPC/jpb If you have any questions on the content of this report: John Brophy, P.Eng., ext Attachments: Appendix I Pipeline Route Appendix II Revised future cross section Appendix III Tree inventory CAO Approval:

5 Appendix I

6 Appendix II

7 HALTON HILLS POWER GENERATION PROJECT TREE REMOVAL Municipal Road Allowance Tree Removal Species DBH Swamp Red Bur Ash Black Walnut Silver Poplar Elm Basswood Manitoba Cedar Total Total DBH Diameter at Breast Height Note: Union will work with the City of Milton to determine the desired species and replacement location. All ash material will be chipped to guard against the possible distribution of the Emerald Ash Borer. Many portions of the road allowance consist of shrub species such as Hawthorn and Grey Dogwood which are not in the count. Private Land Tree Removal Species DBH Swamp Bur Ash Black Walnut Silver Poplar Elm Manitoba Pine Willow (Clump) Total > Total Note: Union is committed to working with the landowners to replace trees.