Science Response 2009/005

Science Advice on Potential Impacts of Sydney Harbour Access Channel Deepening and the Proposed Sydport Container Terminal

Context

In December 2008, the Laurentian Energy Corporation (LEC) submitted a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) report to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) as part of its application for approval of the Sydney Harbour Access Channel Deepening and Sydport Container Terminal project (hereafter referred to as “the draft EA”). Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) received the draft EA for review under the lead of the Environmental Assessment and Major Projects (EAMP) division of the Oceans, Habitat, and Species at Risk Branch in the Maritimes Region. EAMP requested DFO Science advice on the draft EA document related to two issues:

1. Sedimentation rates and dispersion
   1. Are changes to the tidal currents in Sydney Harbour likely as a result of the Terminal construction and could this potentially result in the resuspension of contaminated sediments?
   2. How do the predicted plume deposition models compare with naturally occurring sediment dispersion as a result of storm events? Are there likely any impacts to benthic habitats as a result of the plume deposition?
2. Lobster habitat
   1. Would the increase in depth as a result of the dredging (increasing depth by a maximum of 3 meters) impact the suitability of the habitat for benthic species such as lobster (assuming no change in substrate composition)? Could the new change impact the movement of species such as lobster and rock crab?

A response to these questions was requested by the end of January 2009. Given the short timeframe for review, DFO’s Science Special Response Process was used. Representatives from Maritimes Science met with representatives from EAMP on January 21, 2009, to discuss the issues and concerns relating to sedimentation rates and dispersion.

The final EA for the Sydney Harbour Access Channel Deepening and Sydport Container Terminal project (hereafter referred to as “the final EA”) was provided to DFO in early March 2009. DFO Science was asked by EAMP whether previous comments had been adequately addressed in the final EA, and also what the feasibility might be of relocating lobsters out of the way prior to the initiation of the dredging project. A response was requested by 30 March 2009. Given the short timeframe for response, DFO’s Science Special Response Process was used again to develop the response.

The DFO Science responses to EAMP’s questions on both the draft and final EAs have been combined and published in this single Science Response Report.

Complete document (PDF, 55 KB)

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