Terms of Reference

Assessment of the Effectiveness of Mitigation Measures in Reducing the Potential Impacts of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production on Areas with Defined Benthic Conservation Objectives

National Peer Review – National Capital Region

June 26-28, 2018
St. John’s, Newfoundland

Chairperson: Mike Chadwick

Context

The Government of Canada is committed to increasing the protected coastal and marine areas of Canada to 10% by 2020, as agreed to through international Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 and domestic Biodiversity Target 1. To achieve this goal, marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OEABCMs) are being established. Many MPAs and OEABCMs have valued benthic components with defined conservation objectives. Valued benthic components defined in conservation objectives can include: benthic species (fish and invertebrates); benthic habitats including benthic spawning, nursery and feeding grounds; and Sensitive Benthic Areas (SBAs) including corals, sponges, canyons and other benthic features where corals or sponges are likely, seamounts, and hydrothermal vents.

Oil and gas exploration and production activities considered at this meeting will include seismic surveys, controlled source electromagnetic surveys and geotechnical/geohazard surveys that may involve the placement of structures on the bottom or physical collection of bottom samples (cores/grabs), and drilling-related activities which may have direct or indirect impacts on valued benthic ecosystem components. Although there are other activities related to oil and gas exploration and production (accidental events, decommissioning, etc.) these are the subject of other Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat reviews^{Footnote 1} and so we have limited the scope of this meeting to only include those activities listed above. The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard recently announced the formation of a National Advisory Panel on Marine Protected Area Standards, which will gather perspectives and offer recommendations to the Minister on categories and associated protection standards for federal MPAs, using the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidance as a baseline. The degree to which oil and gas activities are compatible with MPAs is expected to be a topic of interest to the panel.

Oceans Management is seeking national guidance and advice on the effectiveness of existing mitigation measures in reducing the impacts of oil and gas exploration and production activities in Canadian waters, including seismic surveys and drilling, on areas with defined benthic conservation objectives. The advice generated from this request will be used to refine policy related to oil and gas activities in areas with defined benthic conservation objectives (such as MPAs and OEABCMs), and will provide guidance to share with other federal departments and oil and gas industry partners. The scientific advice from this meeting will also be provided to the Panel prior to providing their recommendations to the Minister in a final report by September 15, 2018.

Objective

The objectives of the science peer review meeting are to provide advice on the potential impacts of oil and gas exploration and production on areas with defined benthic conservation objectives and to assess the effectiveness of potential mitigation measures in the Canadian context. Specifically, the meeting will review:

1. The extent and significance of potential impacts of oil and gas exploration and production activities on valued benthic components, including benthic species (fish and invertebrates); benthic habitats such as spawning, nursery and feeding grounds; and Sensitive Benthic Areas (SBAs) including corals, sponges, seamounts, and hydrothermal vents. For the purpose of this meeting “exploration and production activities” includes:
• seismic surveys, in particular sound energy emitted from these surveys;
• controlled source electromagnetic surveys, (that may include placement of structures/materials on the seabed);
• geotechnical/geohazard surveys that may involve the physical collection of bottom samples (e.g., cores, grab samples)
• exploration and/or delineation drilling, including placement of structures on the seabed and authorized discharges (e.g. water and synthetic based muds, drill cuttings and cement) associated with the activities, and recovery/removal of wellheads and/or related structures; and
• development drilling and production, including placement of structures on the seabed and authorized discharges associated with the activities, and recovery/removal of related structures; but excluding accidental events and decommissioning.
2. the effectiveness of existing mitigation measures for activities associated with oil and gas exploration in relation to the identified impacts to valued benthic components.
3. the effectiveness of existing mitigation measures for oil and gas production in relation to the identified impacts to the valued benthic components.
4. Recommendations about which mitigation measures are most effective in areas with valued benthic components and the degree to which they are consistent with the achievement of benthic conservation objectives in the Canadian context.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Proceedings
• Research Document

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Ecosystems and Oceans Science, Aquatic Ecosystems, Fisheries and Harbour Management)
• Other federal departments
• Academia
• Industry
• Invited experts