City of Hamilton - Permit for activities to achieve an overall benefit to a species

The City of Hamilton is seeking an overall benefit permit for the construction of a new section of arterial roadway (New East-West Road Corridor) as well as expanding/widening of Parkside Drive in the Community of Waterdown, Hamilton.

The proposal may adversely impact:

• Blanding’s Turtle individuals
• approximately 1.58 hectares of Category 2 Blanding’s Turtle habitat
• approximately 2.18 hectares of Category 3 Blanding’s Turtle habitat

The main threats to Blanding’s Turtle are:

• loss or fragmentation of habitat
• motor vehicles
• raccoons and foxes that prey on eggs

Blanding’s Turtle are generally threatened by habitat loss and degradation caused by urban and agricultural development.

A general habitat description provides a framework for identifying areas of habitat that may be able to tolerate alterations, based on how Blanding’s Turtles use the area to carry out their life functions. For Blanding’s Turtles:

• Category 1 Habitat is considered to have a low tolerance to alteration, and includes habitat features used nesting and overwintering sites
• Category 2 Habitat is considered to have a moderate tolerance to alteration and includes wetland complexes
• Category 3 Habitat is considered to have a high tolerance to alteration and include movement corridors around the wetland complexes

Protecting species under the Endangered Species Act

The Ontario government is committed to protecting species at risk and providing strong environmental oversight, while working to support development opportunities in the province.

Sections 9 and 10 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) provide protection for individual members of a species and their habitat if that species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as either:

• extirpated
• endangered
• threatened

Blanding’s Turtle is listed as threatened and therefore protected.

Under clause 17(2)(c) of the ESA, the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks 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 the minister believes that:

• 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

Actions to achieve an overall benefit to the species

The City of Hamilton is working to identify actions that would achieve an overall benefit for Blanding’s Turtle, which may involve:

• restoring a minimum of 1.17 ha of wetland habitat and restoring a minimum of 4.99 ha of upland habitat to function as Category 2 and Category 3 habitats, respectively
• installing permanent exclusion fencing (with jump-outs) and an ecopassage on Robson Road, thereby reducing the risk of turtle road mortality
• undertaking a turtle road mortality assessment study along Robson Road

These proposed actions are expected to achieve overall benefits for Blanding’s Turtle, resulting in:

• an increase in suitable habitats at the site
• a reduction in the risk of turtle road deaths along Robson Road

Reasonable alternatives being considered

The City of Hamilton has explored a range of alternatives, including alternatives that would not adversely affect Blanding’s Turtle and their habitat. These include:

• not proceeding with the proposed project
• “New Roadway Capacity Option 1”, involving a new north road “by-pass” link from Dundas Street West at Rock Chapel to Dundas Street East, east of Evans Road which would:
  • have the greatest impacts to Blanding’s Turtle impacting Category 1 (overwintering/nesting) habitat, Category 2 (wetland) habitat and Category 3 (upland/movement) habitat
  • pass through a provincially significant wetland that has documented historical occurrences of Blanding’s Turtles
• “New Roadway Capacity Option 2”, involving a widening of Parkside Drive to 4 lanes from Dundas Street West at Rock Chapel Road to Dundas Street East, east of Evans Road which:
  • avoided all Blanding’s Turtle habitat
  • had some economic and social effects
• “New Roadway Capacity Option 3” involving a widening of Dundas Street to 4-lanes from Rock Chapel Road to Highway 6, to 6-lanes from Highway 6 to Berry Hill Avenue, to 4-lanes from Berry Hill Avenue to a point just east of Pamela Street and to 6-lanes from just east of Pamela Street to Dundas Street, east of Evans Road which:
  • avoided all Blanding’s Turtle habitat
  • had the highest overall cost
  • involved the most significant economic and social effects
• “New Roadway Capacity Option 4”, involving the widening of the eastern section of Parkside Drive and then extending northward from Parkside Drive between Robson Road and Centre Road along a new east-west northern “green-field” road (“North Waterdown Road”) which would impact a total of:
  • 1.58 ha of Category 2 habitat
  • 2.18 ha of Category 3 habitat

The City of Hamilton has concluded that the best alternative includes proceeding with “New Roadway Capacity Option 4” which provides a balance between achieving the objective of:

• constructing a new section of arterial roadway (New East-West Corridor)
• expanding/widening of Parkside Drive in the Community of Waterdown
• limiting the adverse effects to Blanding’s Turtle

Actions to minimize negative effects to the species

The City of Hamilton is seeking ways to minimize adverse effects on Blanding’s Turtle and its habitat. These may include:

• installing temporary exclusion fencing before the Blanding’s Turtle active season to prevent turtles from entering the work area
• removing vegetation outside of the active period for Blanding’s Turtle while working in Category 2 and 3 habitat areas
• installing permanent exclusion fencing (with jump-outs) to prevent Blanding’s Turtle from accessing the new right-of-way
• installing ecopassages along North Waterdown Road and Parkside Drive to allow turtles to safely pass under the road
• adhering to a spills response plan
• adhering to a clean equipment protocol to prevent the spread of invasive species
• adhering to a species at risk encounter protocol
• installing Turtle Crossing Road Signs in the area of Centre Road Woodlot and Grindstone Creek to inform drivers here may be turtles on or near the road
• ensuring that all site workers receive species awareness training before starting work at the work area
• using Qualified Professionals to oversee and take on important aspects of the permit

Other information

The Province has published a government response statement under section 12.1 of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 with respect to Blanding’s Turtle.

A copy of the government response statement for Blanding's Turtle is available at: https://www.ontario.ca/page/blandings-turtle-government-response-statement.

This response statement will be considered in:

• determining whether or not to approve the permit
• developing any future permit conditions

Posting this proposal on the Environmental Registry does not imply that the Minister will issue a permit. A permit may only be issued where the legal requirements set out in clause 17(2)(c) of the ESA have been satisfied.