Science Response 2015/022

Technical review of predicted effects and proposed mitigation of underwater noise and potential vessel strikes on marine mammals, from the December 2013 Facilities Application and supplemental information for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project

Context

Trans Mountain Pipeline ULC (Trans Mountain) is proposing an expansion of its current 1,150 km pipeline system between Strathcona County, AB and Burnaby, BC (the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, hereafter ‘the Project’).  On December 16, 2013, Trans Mountain filed a Facilities Application for the Project with the National Energy Board (NEB), pursuant to the National Energy Board Act,and on April 2, 2014, the NEB determined that the Application was complete, thereby commencing a 15-month environmental assessment review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.

As part of the application, NEB included a requirement that the Proponent (Trans Mountain) consider the environmental and socio-economic effects of the increase in marine tanker traffic; this was delivered by way of issue # 5 in the NEB’s list of Issues that will be considered at the Hearings (NEB 2013a) and was provided to Trans Mountain in a letter outlining its filing requirements with respect to this topic (NEB 2013b).

Through scoping, the Proponent has identified underwater noise from Project-related marine vessel traffic as a potential source of sensory disturbance to marine mammals. They consider ship strikes to marine mammals as a potential accident or malfunction that could occur between marine mammals and Project-related traffic. The assessment of potential effects of the increase in Project-related marine vessel traffic is centered on the established in-bound and out-bound marine shipping lanes in the Marine Regional Study Area (Marine RSA) (Figure 1).

As an intervenor in the environmental assessment hearing process for the Trans Mountain Project, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) will be presenting written evidence to the NEB 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 and offsetting measures, monitoring and follow-up programs proposed by the Proponent, and the conclusions reached in Facilities Application for the Project.

DFO’s Pacific Region Fisheries Protection Program (FPP) is responsible for reviewing potential effects of the marine terminal and shipping components of the Project on fish, fish habitat and marine mammals. In December 2014, FPP requested that DFO Science Branch conduct a sufficiency review of the information on the effects of marine shipping on marine mammals in the Facilities Application for the Project, and in February 2015, DFO Science Branch published a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Science Response (SR) to this request.  This CSAS SR contributed to DFO’s information request (DFO IR No.2) filed with the NEB in Round 2 of information requests made of the Proponent.  Trans Mountain responded to DFO IR No.2 on February 13, 2015.

Based on information provided by the Proponent within the Facilities Application and in relevant supplemental filings with the NEB (including Trans Mountain’s response to DFO IR No. 2), FPP is now requesting DFO Science Branch provide advice on whether the Proponent’s assessment of effects related to underwater noise and ship strikes on marine mammals from increased Project-related vessel traffic supports their conclusions. Furthermore, FPP is seeking advice to understand if effects related to underwater noise and ship strikes on marine mammals are measureable in relation to current conditions, and whether there are mitigation measures available to reduce these effects. DFO Science Branch has been asked to focus its review on direct effects on marine mammals, not including potential effects of underwater noise on prey species, such as fish. The assessment and advice arising from this CSAS SR will assist in the development of DFO’s written evidence submission to the National Energy Board for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

The objective of this SR is to review information provided by the Proponent in the December 2013 Facilities Application and in relevant supplemental filings with the NEB to answer the following questions:

1. Does the Proponent’s assessment of the effects of underwater noise and ship strikes on marine mammal indicator species (i.e., the Southern Resident Killer Whale, Humpback Whale, and Steller Sea Lion) accurately characterize potential direct effects on these marine mammal species within the Marine Regional Study Area1 (Marine RSA), and does their assessment support their conclusions?
2. For this project, is it possible to measure the effect of underwater noise and mammal-vessel ship strikes from increased Project-related vessel traffic on marine mammal indicator species above the status quo (i.e., current noise conditions), and if so, how does this effect differ from current conditions?
3. If measureable effects exists in (2) above, are there mitigation measures that may be implemented to reduce the residual effect on the marine mammals indicator species?

This Science Response Report results from the Science Response Process of March 20, 2015 on the Technical review of predicted effects and proposed mitigation of underwater noise and potential vessel strikes on marine mammals, from the December 2013 Facilities Application and supplemental information for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

Complete document (PDF, 1,551 KB)

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