Public Comment Period on Intent to Make a Determination

Dredging at the Commercial Port of Cap-aux-meules, Îles-de-la-Madeleine – Public Comments Invited

2023-06-12 – Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada must determine whether the proposed project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

To help inform this determination, Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada are inviting comments from the public respecting that determination. All comments received will be considered public (and may be posted online). For more information, individuals should consult the Privacy Notice on the Registry website.

Written comments must be submitted by July 12th, 2023, to: aea-eaa@tc.gc.ca

Context

In fall 2023 and 2024, Transport Canada (TC) will continue the dredging work begun in 2020 at Cap-aux-Meules harbour. An environmental impact assessment (EIA) was carried out in 2020 for this project, covering the dredging of approximately 55,000 m3 (68,700 m2) of in situ sediment to reach depths of -7.1 m in the harbour and -6.5 m in the access channel.

Subsequently, two addendums to the EEE were issued for the following activities:

- 2021: same work as in 2020, with the addition of a new depth to be reached in the channel area, from -6.5 to -6.8 m (total area approx. 10,645 m2).

- 2022: same work as in 2021, with the addition of a new dredging zone at the fishermen's wharf (5,700 m2).

Work scheduled for 2023-2024

The areas and depths targeted by dredging work in 2023-2024 will be the same as in 2022, with the addition of dredging in front of wharf no. 7, the area alongside the breakwater and a new depth to be reached in the access channel, increasing from -6.8 m to -7.1 m, as follows:

-7.0 m in the harbor;

-7.1 m in the access channel (including the gauge widening zone; corresponding to 53,000 m2);

-7.0 m along the breakwater (6,762 m2);

-2.5 m for the rocky shoal in front of wharf no. 7 (20 m2);

-7.5 m at the tanker dock (4,508 m2);

-4.5 m in the fishermen's wharf area (5,700 m2).

The estimated volume of sediment to be dredged in 2023-2024 is 37,000 m3. As for the rocky shoal in front of wharf no. 7, to comply with the various clauses of the disposal at sea permit, the contractor will have to crush the shoal with a jackhammer, remove the boulders from the water with his bucket and manage them on land. The seabed in this area will then have to be levelled using a steel beam, scraper blade or hydraulic shovel.

For the other areas, uncontaminated excavated sediments will be removed using a hydraulic shovel, a crane fitted with a half-shell bucket or a pump (hydraulic suction dredge) and disposed of at the PBCM-1 East disposal site (47, 36650°N, -61.79967°W NAD83), located 4.3 km southeast of Cap-aux-Meules harbour (47.37612ºN and -61.85292ºW NAD83).

TC, ECCC and Fisheries and Oceans Canada are participating in the EA addendum for the 2023-2024 work.