City of Brampton - permit for activities with conditions to achieve overall benefit to the species - Permit for activities to achieve an overall benefit to a species

Description

The City of Brampton has applied for a permit under clause 17(2)(c) of the Endangered Species Act to allow impacts to species at risk in order to extend Cottrelle Boulevard by approximately 700 metres between Humberwest Parkway and Goreway Drive in the City Brampton.

Purpose of the notice

The purpose of this notice is to ensure that the public is made aware of, and given an opportunity to comment on, the Endangered Species Act permit application.

The proposed permit would allow the City of Brampton to damage habitat of Redside Dace and Little Brown Bat, in order to extend Cottrelle Boulevard by approximately 700 metres between Humberwest Parkway and Goreway Drive in the City Brampton.

The permit will be issued under clause 17(2)(c) of the Endangered Species Act.

Decision

This notice will be updated when more information is available.

Other information

The proposal will result in a contravention of subsection 10(1) of the Endangered Species Act through:

• destruction of up to 17,300 square metres of currently occupied Redside Dace habitat,
• damage of up to 8,700 square metres of currently occupied Redside Dace habitat and
• destruction of up to 1.73 hectares of Little Brown Bat habitat.

This damage and destruction will be a result of road grading, tree removal and the installation of two bridges.

The proposal may result in a contravention of subsection 9 of the Endangered Species Act through killing, harming and harassing individuals of the species; however, the likelihood of this is expected to be low given the proposed mitigation measures.

Both Redside Dace and Little Brown Bat are listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List, in Ontario Regulation 230/08 of the Endangered Species Act as endangered.

Subsection 9(1) of the ESA provides protection for these species while subsection 10(1) provides protection for the habitat of these species.

The specific habitat of Redside Dace has been prescribed by Ontario Regulation 242/08.

The proponent successfully completed the Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) for the proposed extension of Cottrelle Boulevard in December 2008.

The Endangered Species Act allows some activities to proceed under a clause 17(2)(c) permit with specific conditions if: avoidance and reasonable alternatives have been considered; adverse effects will be minimized; and an overall benefit will be achieved for the species in Ontario. Providing an overall benefit to a protected species under the Endangered Species Act 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.

The Minister may issue a permit under clause 17(2)(c) of the Endangered Species Act that authorizes a person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited by sections 9 or 10 of the ESA if the Minister is of the opinion that:

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

Reasonable alternatives are being considered, including alternatives that would not adversely affect the species, and may include:

• not extending Cottrelle Boulevard,
• increasing the span of the bridges to avoid encroaching on Redside Dace habitat.

Potential approaches to minimize adverse effects on the species and its habitat may include:

• avoiding work at the times of the year when the species are most sensitive to disturbance (i.e. maternity season for Little Brown Bat, spawning season for Redside Dace);and
• installing bat boxes to provide potential maternity habitat for Little Brown Bat.

Potential approaches to achieve an overall benefit for the species may include:

• creating 1.73 hectares of habitat for Little Brown Bat by reforesting an area adjacent to the site and
• retrofitting two existing stormwater management ponds to include a bottom draw outlets to assist in meeting the cool stream temperatures preferred by Redside Dace. Pre and post-implementation effectiveness monitoring will be in place to demonstrate the performance of the retrofits.

A government response statement published under subsection 11(8) of the Endangered Species Act exists for Redside Dace.

The government response statement will be considered when reviewing proposed permit conditions.

Please note that the posting of this proposal on the Environmental Registry does not imply that a permit will be approved; a permit may only be issued where the legal requirements set out in clause 17(2)(c) of the Endangered Species Act have been satisfied.

The following web-links provide additional information:

Ontario's Species at Risk website
http://www.ontario.ca/speciesatrisk

Endangered Species Act, 2007
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_07e06_e.htm

Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List, Ontario Regulation 230/08
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_080230_e.htm

General regulations and species-specific habitat regulations under the ESA, Ontario Regulation 242/08
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_080242_e.htm