The Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, has announced the following relative to Part 10 Environmental Assessment of the Environmental Protection Act.

UNDERTAKING REGISTERED:

Humber Village Forage Production                                                      (Reg. 2267)
Proponent: Briarside Affair Limited

The Proponent is proposing to develop 5.53 hectares of Crown land for the production of forage crops near the community of Humber Village, and approximately 15 kilometres northeast of the City of Corner Brook. The development would be an extension of the Proponent’s existing apple orchard and forage farm. Work would include vegetation clearing, tilling, aeration, soil supplementation and seeding. A description of the project can be found on the department’s webpage at: www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/env-assessment/projects-list/.

The undertaking was registered on September 7, 2023; the deadline for public comment is October 12, 2023, and the minister’s decision is due by October 22, 2023.

UNDERTAKINGS RELEASED:

Stephenville Crossing Bridge Removal                                             (Reg. 2255)
Proponent: Department of Transportation and Infrastructure

The project is released from environmental assessment subject to the following conditions:

• The Proponent must uphold all commitments made in the environmental assessment submission to mitigate the effects of the project on the environment.

• The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture (FFA) requires the following:
  • Vegetation clearing is not to occur within 800 metres of a bald eagle or osprey nest during the nesting season (March 15 to July 31) and within 200 metres during the remainder of the year. The 200-metre buffer also applies to all other raptor nests (e.g. Northern Goshawk. Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, American Kestrel, Great-horned Owl, Boreal Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl). The location of any raptor nest sites must be reported to the Wildlife Division.
  • The project area falls within the Species at Risk Act critical habitat for the

Piping Plover. On-site activities that may disturb the Piping Plover (such as use of heavy machinery) must not occur between March 15 – November 15, which covers the breeding and migration periods for the Piping Plover and other shorebird species.

• • The registration document indicates that the proponent will require the contractor(s) to submit a Contractor Environmental Mitigation Plan to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure for approval. FFA requires that the Contractor Environmental Mitigation Plan must also be submitted to its Wildlife Division for approval, prior to the start of project construction.
• The Proponent must advise the Environmental Assessment Division when the conditions of release have been met, by emailing a written description, documents, and images (where applicable) to demonstrate that the conditions have been fulfilled.
• The Proponent must update the Environmental Assessment Division on the status of the project, including a copy of all  permits, licences, certificates, approvals and other authorizations required for the project, one year from the date of this release letter and to provide additional updates if required.

Happy Valley – Goose Bay Aggregate Quarry                                  (Reg. 2258)
Proponent: Tundra Services Ltd.

The project is released from environmental assessment subject to the following conditions:

• The Proponent must uphold all commitments made in the environmental assessment submission to mitigate the effects of the project on the environment.
• The Water Resources Management Division (WRMD) of the Department of Environment and Climate Change requires a Water Resources Management Plan to address the following:
  • The type of water body and its distance from the site must be provided for any brook/river/stream, pond or wetland present in or within the proximity of the project boundary.
  • A description must be provided of any impacts from site operations to the above-mentioned water bodies. A permit/license from the Water Resources Management Division may be required.
  • Where there is any potential for onsite drainage water or dewatering water to discharge into a natural water body, a description must be included of the precautionary measures, such as vegetative cover, filter strip, silt curtain, etc., to be deployed to ensure the effluent or runoff meets the requirements of the Environmental Control Water and Sewage Regulations, 2003.
  • A description must be provided of water control measures to be deployed onsite for daily workings as well as for high-precipitation storms.
  • A description must be provided of sediment control measures to be deployed onsite to avoid discharging sediment-laden water into the natural waterbody.
• The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture requires the following:
• A minimum 30-metre undisturbed riparian buffer must be maintained from the high water mark of all wetlands and waterbodies within and adjacent to the project that are identified on either the 1:50,000 scale National Topographic System maps, or the topographic mapping layer shown in the Provincial Land Use atlas, to protect sensitive riparian and aquatic species and their habitats.
• No vegetation clearing is to occur within 800 metres of a bald eagle or osprey nest during the nesting season (March 15 to July 31) or within 200 metres during the remainder of the year. The 200-metre buffer also applies to all other raptor nests (e.g. Northern Goshawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, American Kestrel, Great-horned Owl, Boreal Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl). The location of any raptor nest site must be reported to the Wildlife Division.
• The Proponent must advise the Environmental Assessment Division when the conditions of release have been met, by emailing a written description, documents, and images (where applicable) to demonstrate that the conditions have been fulfilled.
• The Proponent must update the Environmental Assessment Division on the status of the project, including a copy of all  permits, licences, certificates, approvals and other authorizations required for the project, one year from the date of this release letter and to provide additional updates if required.

Learn more
Environmental Assessment Division
Department of Environment and Climate Change
West Block, Confederation Building
P.O. Box 8700, St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6

Environmental assessment information is available at:

www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/env-assessment/

www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/files/GUIDE-TO-THE-PROCESS_May-2023.pdf

Follow us on Twitter @GovNL and @ECC_GovNL

Public comments may be forwarded to: EAprojectcomments@gov.nl.ca

If you submit comments on a project that is under environmental assessment, please advise the department if you DO NOT wish to share your comments with the project proponent.