Halton Region - Permit for activities to achieve an overall benefit to a species

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Type d'acte: Permit for activities to achieve an overall benefit to a species

Numéro du REO
019-0771
Numéro de référence du ministère
AU-C-005-11
Type d'avis
Instrument
Loi
Endangered Species Act , R.S.O. 1990
Affiché par
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Étape de l'avis
Décision
Décision publiée
Période de consultation
Du 28 octobre 2019 au 27 novembre 2019 (30 jours) Fermé
Dernière mise à jour

Il n’existe aucune obligation d’afficher cet avis sur le Registre environnemental de l’Ontario, mais nous voulons connaître votre opinion. Nous vous remercions de vos commentaires.

Cette consultation a eu lieu :

du 28 octobre 2019
au 27 novembre 2019

Résumé de la décision

The Minister has issued an overall benefit permit under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) to the Regional Municipality of Halton for road construction work that will impact Redside Dace and its habitat. The permit includes actions to benefit the species and minimize adverse effects, and outlines monitoring and reporting requirements.

Détails de l'emplacement

Détails de l'emplacement du site

A tributary of Sixteen Mile Creek between Tremaine Road and Peru Road in the Town of Milton, Ontario.

Promoteur(s)

Halton Region
1151 Bronte Road
Oakville, ON
L6M 3L1
Canada

Détails de la décision

On September 13, 2020, the Minister issued a permit under the ESA to Regional Municipality of Halton for the purpose of widening and realigning Tremaine Road and associated Highway 401 interchange in the Town of Milton, Regional Municipality of Halton.

The permit will authorize the Regional Municipality of Halton to impact Redside dace and damage and/or destroy 13.99 ha of its habitat.

The permit includes conditions that require the Regional Municipality of Halton to undertake measures that will:

  • Minimize adverse effects to Redside Dace.
  • Achieve an overall benefit to Redside Dace within a reasonable time frame.

Actions to minimize adverse effects to species

The permit requires the Regional Municipality of Halton to:

  • Construct the new channel section offline and in the dry season, which minimizes the potential for sedimentation.
  • Install erosion control Fences prior to vegetation stripping, with a temporary, double silt fence around the channel and riparian area to protect sensitive features and prevent egress of sediments from the construction site.
  • Undertake in water, culvert-related works (extension of existing highway 401 culvert and removal of Peru Road culvert at downstream tie-in) using a temporary dewatering plan to maintain clean flow around the localized construction zones.
  • Use a pond as a temporary sediment pond for the small areas of disturbance and including the use of turbidity curtains within the pond cells.
  • Offset any reduction in groundwater seepage to the existing channel that may occur during the temporary dewatering period by returning the captured water from the excavation to the existing watercourse.
  • Use well point dewatering systems to minimize suspended sediment loads in the discharge if dewatering is necessary during construction.
  • Sediment traps and filter bags will be provided where pumping or dewatering flow is discharged. Filter bags will be used to treat the dewatering effluent by removing suspended solids and to act as a buffer to ensure the discharge of treated water will not create erosion as it flows onto the floodplain
  • Pumped water will be discharged to the existing channel upstream of the excavations to a) offset water losses in the creek, and b) allow the water temperature to acclimatize before reaching the creek.
  • The replacement channel section will be constructed in advance and allowed to stabilize.
  • Fish using the section of channel to be abandoned including any resident Redside Dace will be rescued and released in appropriate habitat in accordance with protocols.
  • The new and replacement culverts along the main channel have been designed with much wider spans and low flow channels than the existing culverts.
  • The Highway 401 culvert extension and replacement sections have been designed with open bottoms and low flow channels instead of the existing concrete slab floor.
  • Temporary flow transfer measures will be implemented during the on-line highway culvert works.
  • Ensuring a qualified professional oversees the implementation of the permit conditions.

Actions to achieve an overall benefit to species

The permit requires the Regional Municipality of Halton to achieve an overall benefit to the species within a reasonable timeframe, including:

  • Increase the overall length of the existing channel from approximately 1329 to 1859 metres adding an additional 530 metres to the channel length.
  • Remove two existing small 3-metre-wide culverts at 3 Side Road and Peru Road and install a larger 14.64-metre-wide open bottom culvert at Peru Road.
  • Implement natural channel design to enhance a minimum of 6.08 hectares of riparian habitat.
  • Five years of effectiveness monitoring has been proposed to following channel construction and corridor planting to assess the performance of the channel creation and corridor planting.

Habitat degradation is a significant threat to Redside Dace in Ontario. While the created 6.08 hectares of habitat is less than the total habitat lost, the above beneficial activities are still expected to achieve overall benefits for Redside Dace. Conditions in the permit will result in an additional 530 metres of channel length and significantly improved in-water habitat conditions for Redside Dace (e.g. deeper pools, spawning habitat, in-stream cover etc.). The quality of the riparian and floodplain habitat will be improved and will provide better conditions for insect production necessary for foraging. There will be improvements to water flow in the channel and overall channel form and function as a result of installing larger culverts at 3 Sideroad.

Other information

Other alternatives were considered by the Regional Municipality of Halton, including those that would not adversely affect the species, such as:

  • Realign channel to cross Highway 401 perpendicularly by constructing new culvert -140m east of existing Tremaine Road. Realign creek corridor to follow outside edge of Highway 401 interchange right of way down to intersection point with existing channel on east side of realigned Tremaine Road.
  • Maintain existing culvert with extensions to accommodate the future Highway 401 widening, to convey channel under Highway 401. Realign channel to cross the West-North/South ramp, with a small pool between the culverts. Channel would then be realigned to run along the outside edge of the interchange right of way and tie in back to the original creek on the east side of the proposed Tremaine Road.
  • Maintain existing culvert with extensions to accommodate the future Highway 401 widening and convey channel under Highway 401. Channel would be realigned to flow along and then under the West-North/South ramp. Creek corridor would run along the outside edge of the interchange right of way and tie in back to the original creek on the east side of the proposed Tremaine Road
  • Use existing Highway 401 culvert with short extension under the North-East ramp. The creek corridor would then veer to the south, cross the West-North/South and tie back to the existing creek.
  • New culvert to east and through eastbound ramps. Proposed realignment on the north side of Highway 401 running along the outside edge of the North-West ramp right of way. The creek corridor would then cross Highway 401 through a new culvert, go under the North-East ramp and tie back to the existing creek on the east side of the proposed Tremaine Road.

Ontario has published a government response statement under section 12.1 of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 with respect to Redside Dace.

The Redside Dace government response statement specifies actions, such as:

  • Investigate the effectiveness of habitat rehabilitation work that has been completed to date. Where appropriate, continue riparian and in-stream work on existing rehabilitation projects and initiate projects on top priority areas that are adjacent to occupied reaches.

These actions were supported in the permit.

A copy of the government response statement for Redside Dace is available at: https://www.ontario.ca/page/redside-dace-government-response-statement

Commentaires reçus

Par l'entremise du registre

1

Par courriel

0

Par la poste

0
Consulter les commentaires soumis par l'entremise du registre

Effets de la consultation

One comment was received in response to the ER posting expressing concerns about impacts to Redside Dace and its habitat, as well as concerns unrelated to the ESA authorization. No changes were made to the proposed permit as a result of these comments, since the proposed permit includes actions to minimize impacts to Redside Dace and create additional habitat. These actions support the protection and recovery of the species.

Documents justificatifs

Consulter les documents en personne

Certains documents justificatifs peuvent ne pas être accessibles en ligne. Si tel est le cas, vous pouvez demander à consulter les documents en personne.

Veuillez communiquer avec le bureau mentionné ci-dessous pour savoir si les documents sont accessibles.

How to Appeal

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Ce type d’acte ne peut être porté en appel. En savoir plus sur notre processus de consultation.

Communiquer avec nous

Contact

Todd Copeland

Phone number
Email address
Office
Species at Risk Branch - Permissions and Compliance
Address

5520 Hwy 101 East
PO Bag 3020
South Porcupine, ON
P0N 1H0
Canada

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Proposition initiale

Numéro du REO
019-0771
Numéro de référence du ministère
AU-C-005-11
Type d'avis
Instrument
Loi
Endangered Species Act , R.S.O. 1990
Affiché par
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Proposition affichée

Période de consultation

28 octobre 2019 - 27 novembre 2019 (30 days)

Pourquoi une consultation n’est pas nécessaire

We are not required to consult on this proposal for an instrument since it does not meet the criteria set out in subsection 1.3(6) of Ontario Regulation 681/94 of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993.

We are voluntarily posting this notice to advise the public of this proposal and to invite the public to submit written comments to the contact person identified in this notice.

Détails de la proposition

The Regional Municipality of Halton has submitted an application for an overall benefit permit under clause I 7(2)(c) of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA), with respect to the Redside Dace, in order to widen and realign Tremaine Road and associated Highway 401 interchange in the Town of Milton, Regional Municipality of Halton.

The proposed works has the potential to adversely affect Redside Dace, a small fish, and its habitat.

Subsection 9(1) of the ESA protects endangered, threatened (and extirpated) species on the Species at Risk in Ontario List.

Habitat protection under subsection 10(1) of the ESA applies to Redside Dace. Ontario Regulation 242/08 prescribes the specific habitat of Redside Dace.

Under clause 1 7(2)(c) of the ESA, the minister may issue a permit authorizing a person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited by sections 9 or 10 of the ESA if:

  • an overall benefit to the species will be achieved within a reasonable time through the conditions of the permit
  • reasonable alternatives have been considered, including alternatives that would not negatively affect the species, and the best alternative has been adopted
  • reasonable steps to minimize negative effects on individual members of the species are required by conditions of the permit

Providing an overall benefit to a protected species under the ESA involves undertaking actions to improve circumstances for the species in Ontario. Overall benefit is more than "no net loss" or an exchange of "like for like". Overall benefit is grounded in the protection and recovery of the species at risk and must include more than mitigation measures or "replacing" what is lost.

Consideration of Alternatives

Reasonable alternatives are being considered, including alternatives that would not adversely affect Redside Dace, and include:

  • realign channel to cross Highway 401 perpendicularly by constructing new culvert -140m east of existing Tremaine Road. Realign creek corridor to follow outside edge of Highway 401 interchange right of way down to intersection point with existing channel on east side of realigned Tremaine Road
  • maintain existing culvert with extensions to accommodate the future Highway 401 widening, to convey channel under Highway 401. Realign channel to cross the West-North/South ramp, with a small pool between the culverts. Channel would then be realigned to run along the outside edge of the interchange right of way and tie in back to the original creek on the east side of the proposed Tremaine Road
  • maintain existing culvert with extensions to accommodate the future Highway 401 widening and convey channel under Highway
    401. Channel would be realigned to flow along and then under the West-North/South ramp. Creek corridor would run along the
    outside edge of the interchange right of way and tie in back to the original creek on the east side of the proposed Tremaine Road
    • uses existing Highway 401 culvert with short extension under the North-East ramp. The creek corridor would then veer to the south, cross the West-North/South and tie back to the existing creek
    • new culvert to east and through eastbound ramps. Proposed realignment on the north side of Highway 401 running along the
    outside edge of the North-West ramp right of way. The creek corridor would then cross Highway 401 through a new culvert, go
    under the North-East ramp and tie back to the existing creek on the east side of the proposed Tremaine Road

The best Alternative that was chosen includes

  • Re-introducing a meandering channel planform that was lost in the historical channelization and thereby increase in-channel length, habitat area and habitat quality for Redside Dace.
  • This longer section of channel proposed for realignment impacts more existing habitat than the above. However, the selected alignment enables incorporation of several important benefits along the downstream portion: The alignment removes the habitat further from the new roadway, facilitating continuation of a more natural corridor and channel planform and providing the opportunity to enhance the existing habitat in the balance of the downstream portion significantly, in the same manner as the upstream portion.

Actions to minimize adverse effects to species

Potential approaches to minimize adverse effects on Redside Dace may include:

  • constructing the new channel section offline and in the dry which minimizes the potential for sedimentation
  • prior to initiation of vegetation clearing, a temporary, double silt fence will be erected properly around the channel and riparian area to protect sensitive features
  • all on-line culvert-related works (extension of existing highway 401 culvert and removal of Peru Road culvert at downstream tie-in) will be undertaken using a properly designed and implemented temporary dewatering plan to maintain clean flow around the localized construction zones
  • a ditch will be created upgradient of the excavation to prevent overland flow and tile drainage water from entering the excavation 
  • a pond will be used as a temporary sediment pond for the small areas of disturbance and will include the use of turbidity curtains within the pond cells
  • gravel mud mats will be used at construction vehicle access points to minimize off-site tracking of sediment
  • any reduction in groundwater seepage to the existing channel that may occur during the temporary dewatering period would be offset by returning the captured water from the excavation to the existing watercourse
  • if dewatering is necessary during construction, the use of well point dewatering systems will minimize suspended sediment loads in the discharge typically associated with pit sumping dewatering methods 
  • sediment traps and filter bags will be provided where pumping or dewatering flow is discharged. Filter bags will be used to treat the dewatering effluent by removing suspended solids and to act as a buffer to ensure the discharge of treated water will not create erosion as it flows onto the floodplain
  • pumped water will be discharged to the existing channel upstream of the excavations to a) offset water losses in the creek, and b) allow the water temperature to acclimatize before reaching the creek
  • the replacement channel section will be constructed in advance and allowed to stabilize
  • fish using the section of channel to be abandoned including any resident Redside Dace will be rescued and released in appropriate habitat in accordance with protocols
  • the new and replacement culverts along the main channel have been designed with much wider spans and low flow channels than the existing culverts
  • the Highway 401 culvert extension and replacement sections have been designed with open bottoms and low flow channels instead of the existing concrete slab floor
  • temporary flow transfer measures will be implemented during the online highway culvert works
  • ensuring a qualified professional oversees the implementation of the permit conditions

Actions to achieve an overall benefit to species

The Regional Municipality of Halton is working to identify proposed actions that would achieve an overall benefit to Redside Dace, which may involve:

  • increasing the overall length of the existing channel by approximately 530 metres
  • removing the existing small culverts at 3 Side Road and Peru Road and replacing the 3 Side Road culvert with a much larger structure and re-instating a naturalized open channel section at Peru Road
  • enhancing instream habitat through natural channel design and widening and naturalizing the associated floodplain and riparian
    habitat corridor
  • Effectiveness monitoring has been proposed following channel construction and corridor planting to assess the performance of the channel creation and corridor planting

In summary, the proposed activities are intended to improve water quality, create new habitat within the tributary and in riparian areas adjacent to the creek, improve fish passage at the culverts, increase stream bank vegetation cover and enhance overall aquatic habitat for Redside Dace.


We have published a government response statement under subsection 11(8) of the ESA  for Redside Dace. The response statement will be considered before a decision to issue an overall benefit permit.


Please note that the posting of this proposal on the Environmental Registry does not imply that a permit will be issued; a permit may only be issued where the legal requirements set out in clause 1 7(2)(c) of the ESA  have been satisfied.

Documents justificatifs

Consulter les documents en personne

Certains documents justificatifs peuvent ne pas être accessibles en ligne. Si tel est le cas, vous pouvez demander à consulter les documents en personne.

Veuillez communiquer avec le bureau mentionné ci-dessous pour savoir si les documents sont accessibles.

Commentaire

La consultation est maintenant terminée.

Cette consultation a eu lieu 28 octobre 2019
au 27 novembre 2019

Communiquer avec nous

Contact

Todd Copeland

Phone number
Email address
Office
Species at Risk Branch - Permissions and Compliance
Address

5520 Hwy 101 East
PO Bag 3020
South Porcupine, ON
P0N 1H0
Canada