Science Response 2018/050

Technical review: Potential effectiveness of mitigation measures to reduce impacts from project-related marine vessels on Southern Resident Killer Whale

Context

Trans Mountain Pipeline ULC (Trans Mountain) is proposing an expansion of its current 1,150 km pipeline system between Edmonton, Alberta (AB) and Burnaby, British Columbia (BC), along with an expansion of the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burrard Inlet, to accommodate increased marine vessel traffic. On November 29, 2016, the Government of Canada granted approval for the Project, following a 29-month environmental assessment review by the National Energy Board (NEB), which concluded that the Project is in the Canadian public interest and recommended that the federal Governor in Council (GiC) approve the expansion. On August 30, 2018, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) released its decision with respect to judicial review applications challenging the federal approval of the Project. The Court ordered that the Order in Council (OIC) approving the Project be set aside. On September 20, 2018, the GiC sent the NEB’s Recommendation Report back to the NEB for reconsideration to address the issues specified by the FCA ruling and gave the NEB 155 days to complete its Reconsideration. Therefore, the Board must complete the Reconsideration process and issue its Reconsideration report no later than February 22, 2019.

On October 12, 2018, the NEB released Hearing Order MH-052-2018, announcing that it will hold a public hearing and set out the timelines and process for the Reconsideration. On the same day, the NEB sent a letter to federal authorities (including Fisheries and Oceans Canada [DFO]) requesting specialist or expert information to support the Reconsideration. Specifically, the NEB has requested information in regard to the effectiveness of mitigation measures aimed at avoiding or reducing impacts from Project-related marine vessels on the Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW). Existing and proposed Project-related marine vessel traffic are expected to use the established in-bound and out-bound marine shipping lanes in the Marine Regional Study Area (Marine RSA), which intersect critical habitat for SRKW (Figure 1).

As an intervenor in the Reconsideration hearing process for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) will be presenting written evidence and responding to information requests from the NEB and other Intervenors in relation to its expertise on the effects of the Project on marine fish and fish habitat and marine mammals (including aquatic species at risk), the efficacy and adequacy of mitigation measures, and monitoring and follow-up programs that were not considered in the last NEB Hearing (OH-001-2014).

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