Terms of Reference

Review of a Fundy Tidal Energy Project Environmental Effects Monitoring Report

Regional Science Special Response Process – Maritimes Region

2 March 2012
Dartmouth, NS

Chairperson: Eddy Kennedy

Context

The Fundy Tidal Energy Project, located near Black Rock in the Minas Passage of the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, is a research and development demonstration site dedicated to testing tidal power technologies, in particular Tidal In-stream Energy Conversion (TISEC) devices. The project consists of four undersea berths for four TISEC subsea turbine generators, subsea cables and associated land-based infrastructure.

The project was assessed under a harmonized provincial and federal environmental assessment process. As a condition of the provincial environmental assessment approval and authorizations issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE), was required to develop and implement an Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) program for the project.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Ecosystem Management Branch, Maritimes Region, is now reviewing FORCE’s EEM Report (September 2009 to January 2011) to identify whether the monitoring studies, procedures, equipment, technologies, frequencies, and analyses used to evaluate the potential impacts of the Fundy Tidal Energy Project are complete.

Objectives

• For each of the monitoring studies, are the sampling procedures, equipment, techniques, frequencies, and analyses appropriate? Can changes be made to any monitoring component that would improve the monitoring plan?
• Are there any missing monitoring studies, sampling procedures, frequencies, or analyses that should be incorporated into the monitoring plan?
• In consideration of a commercial scale scenario (i.e., tidal power device arrays) and the potential environmental effects, are there any other monitoring studies, sampling procedures, frequencies, or analyses that should be incorporated into the monitoring plan?

Expected Publication

• Science Response

Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Science Branch and Ecosystem Management Branch
• Natural Resources Canada