A resident with concerns about the province’s environmental review of the City of Saint John’s Spruce Lake Industrial Park expansion has asked the federal government to step in.
But staff from two federal ministries say the government took part in the review and the man’s concerns about watercourse identification and bird studies were taken into account.
An environmental impact assessment submitted by the province’s Regional Development Corporation to clear part of the land identified for an expansion of the Spruce Lake Industrial Park in Lorneville received ministerial approval Aug. 20. The province is in discussion to transfer the land to the city, which passed an associated rezoning in July over concerns from about 120 residents who spoke at public hearings.
The approval came with 23 conditions for the project, which focuses on a 107-hectare portion of the 510 hectares between King William Road and Lorneville Road that have been identified for commercial development opportunities. Those include abiding by promises not to work within 15 metres of a watercourse and apply for a watercourse and wetlands alteration permit for any work within 30 metres.
Resident Chris Watson, a member of the Save Lorneville group, said he filed complaints with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) as well as Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) regarding the approval. Watson, a UNB physics researcher who previously identified issues with old-growth trees in the project area, said he and others identified watercourses, including creeks and streams, that should have been included on the project map.
“Earlier this year, I kind of got curious, and after I read through the EIA I started wandering in the woods behind my house,” Watson said Sept. 3. “I started coming across these watercourses and I cross-referenced them to the site plan … and I noticed that there were several watercourses that didn’t appear.”
Watson said the concerns were raised to the province and Dillon Consulting, which prepared the EIA. During the technical review committee stage of the process, the site plan was modified to include two more for a total of six watercourses in the project area, some as branching parts of creek systems.
But Watson said several of the streams he identified were not included, saying he was told the “vast majority” of what he identified weren’t watercourses.
“There’s still a good chunk of watercourses that aren’t on the site plan that are obviously watercourses, there’s channels and there’s water flowing through,” Watson said. “If you’re not mapping these features, I feel that it completely undermines the commitment of the proponent to impose these 15-metre buffers around all watercourses in the area. I feel it completely invalidates the entire EIA and will potentially compromise the health of this ecosystem.”
One of the conditions of approval is to update the site plan to include everything that fits the ministry’s “working definition of a watercourse.” That was identified during the technical review committee part of the process as a landscape feature whose main function is as a “conveyance or containment of water” greater than half a metre in width.
He also questioned whether 15-metre buffers is enough compared to a 30-metre buffer, calling the current arrangement a “massive risk to the environment” done to “maximize their development area.”
During the technical review process, the proponent noted the amount of affected wetland that will lie outside of watercourse buffers amounts to 44 hectares. Watson said that’s still a “massive area of wetlands” to fill in, and said the water flows into salt marshes and other wetlands that have been designated as provincially significant.
Watson said environmental studies aren’t his “area of expertise” as a researcher, but he is “familiar with the scientific process.” He said a bird survey conducted as part of the project, which was requested by the review committee, was completed in a single day out of peak season using a cellphone app to identify birds by sound.
He compared that to the Burchill Wind Project’s avian studies, which were performed during the fall and winter migration seasons over multiple days. A Dillon-authored EIA for the Natural Forces Developments Ltd. Salmon River Wind Project submitted Sept. 5. promises two years of fall and spring migration surveys, as well as breeding bird and owl surveys.
Watson said Lorneville “appears to be getting the short end of the stick here,” alleging that it reflects a desire to “push this through at all costs.”
He said he’s also concerned with the impact of the project on water wells, which he said was only addressed by a desktop search of a database dating only as far back as 1994. He also said the conditions don’t touch on the discovery of old growth trees, which he said was validated by an expert in the field.
“There’s been no commitment to a comprehensive old growth survey and a comprehensive assessment of old growth in this area,” Watson said. “We’re asking for proper conservation and proper protection of these old growth areas.”
Brunswick News reached out to Dillon Consulting and did not receive a response.
A map prepared as part of the Spruce Lake Industrial Park project shows developer-marked watercourses outlined with purple, with additional watercourses added in orange by Lorneville resident Chris Watson. Watson alleges these are additional watercourses that were not included in the project’s site plan.
Watson’s complaint to DFO asks for an investigation into whether the omission of watercourses is a breach of the Fisheries Act, and asks for further consideration of wetlands impacts and mitigation measures. The complaint to ECCC asks for a review and replacement of the avian study, as well as for the ministry to investigate compliance with the Migratory Birds Convention Act and Species at Risk Act, both of which are part of the EIA conditions.
On behalf of the provincial Department of Environment and Local Government, which conducted the review, spokesperson Bruce MacFarlane said the technical review committee included representatives from both DFO and ECCC “that reviewed the relevant technical issues identified.”
RDC spokesperson Mary-Anne Hurley Corbyn declined further comment.
Krista Peterson, spokesperson for DFO, said the ministry’s fish and fish habitat protection program took part in the EIA review as part of the technical review committee.
“As part of our review, DFO considered all watercourses in the project area that may contain fish and fish habitat,” Peterson said. “We also received a letter from a concerned citizen, which provided additional information for consideration. That input was carefully reviewed and taken into account during the assessment.”
Hannah Boonstra, spokesperson for ECCC, said Sept. 2 the ministry is “aware of the allegations” and is reviewing the information in the complaint. She said the ministry issued comments during the technical review committee process, and it’s the province’s responsibility to determine if the respondents provided enough information on the project’s impacts.
“ECCC enforcement officers will continue to monitor the situation,” Boonstra said. “If enforcement officers find evidence of non-compliance, they will take appropriate action in accordance with the compliance and enforcement policy for wildlife legislation.”
Saint John Industrial Parks declined comment, with spokesperson Erin White calling the EIA a “third-party study” commissioned by the province.
Watson called the technical review committee process “extremely frustrating,” saying he tried to contact the government but the questions and answers all went through Dillon. He said he heard back from DFO confirming his letter, but he did not get a clear answer on the definition of watercourses and which ones are and are not included.
Watson said the development will have a “permanent and massive impact on our community,” and said rushing through the process isn’t fair to residents. He acknowledged the need for a “middle ground” between environmental protection and development.
“But if you want to find a middle ground, you could start with doing a proper EIA, which has adequate protections for our community,” Watson said.
