Public Notice

Sagkeeng First Nation - Shoreline Stabilization - Segment 4 – Public Comments Invited

March 17, 2025 – Indigenous Services Canada must determine whether the proposed the shoreline stabilization segment 4 project, located in Sagkeeng First Nation is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

To help inform this determination, Indigenous Services Canada is inviting comments from the public respecting that determination. All comments received will be considered public and may be posted online.

Written comments must be submitted by April 16, 2025 to:

Indigenous Services Canada
Angela Bidinosti, Senior Environmental Officer
200-365 Hargrave Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 3A3
Telephone: 204-984-0964
Fax: 204-983-2936
Email: angela.bidinosti@canada.ca

 

The Proposed Project

Erosion along the shoreline at Traverse Bay has been well documented over the last 145 years and public assets (houses, roads, utilities, land, etc.) are at risk due to their proximity to the actively eroding bank. The continued loss of these assets along the shoreline and the associated social consequences are inevitable unless erosion protection works are implemented. The consequences of delaying the work will result in continued loss of property, and the disruption to Provincial Trunk Highway 11 (PTH 11) and associated utilities.

Shoreline stabilization Project Phases I and II included the work identified in the 2008 functional design report prepared by UMA Engineering Ltd. for placement of hard armouring along approximately 3,264 meters of shoreline between Catfish Creek near the west limit of the Fort Alexander Reserve and Bruyere Point near the mouth of the Winnipeg River at Lake Winnipeg.

In 2010, 2011, and 2014, Shoreline Stabilization Phase I project total of approximately 1,100 meters of hard armouring was placed along the shoreline at greatest risk. Traverse Bay Shoreline Stabilization Phase II project (I/O# AS934, CS934) was substantially completed in 2019 which consisted of the design and implementation of bank erosion protection using large rip rap as identified in the 2008 functional design report prepared by UMA Engineering Ltd. The Phase II portion of the stabilization project included the remaining unprotected 2,164 meters of the project area.

Following the most recent storm in July 2022, Emergency Repairs project was undertaken for maintenance, but also minor repairs of several locations (supplemental riprap placement) and significant repairs (reconstruction) in one area that lost a portion of the structural integrity of the protection. In particular, the repairs tend to be in areas that were recently constructed in 2019 as this was the first major windstorm these areas have been subjected to.

Phase III works are split into three Work Packages based on their readiness for execution. Work Package 1 includes "Bruyere Point - South"; Work Package 2 includes "Traverse Bay - Section 4", "Site A - Cheryl Guilmond Site", and "Site B - South of Bruyere Point Adjacent to PTH 11"; and Work Package 3 includes "Site C - Art Jr. Boubard", "Culturally significant Site - Treaty Point", and "Bunn Area".

Current works for this review (Bruyere Point extension - Work Package 1) will occur in 2024-2025 (March 2025), while the remainder of the Phase III work is anticipated for 2025-26 (Work Packages 2 and 3). This work (Bruyere Point extension) will involve the construction of erosion protection works along Bruyere Point, which is considered an extension of previously completed works within Segment 5 that were originally protected in 2011. At this location (50.626664, -96.322440), 165m of shoreline directly bordering residential property, from the east end of Bruyere Point to the eastern edge of the sandbar, is inneed of repair. This section is directly adjacent to the previously completed works along Segment 5, although not subject to as high of wave energy. The 165m stretch is also part of this lake system, and still experiences significant erosion pressures due to its positioning along the shoreline. These works have previously been subject to ISC review in 2020 (Traverse Bay Shoreline Stabilization Phase II) and was planned to be constructed as part of the Phase II work with the remaining budget; however, a construction blockade put in place by the contractor prevented construction from taking place at that time. This project has therefore been carried over into another ISC funded project (Phase III). Due to potential funding limitations, stabilization efforts may be limited to less than the full 165m section, and thus the tender package estimates 80m of shoreline protection (Class B estimate of 75-85m). The planned work will begin from the existing riprap along the northwest side of the segment with the intention of completing as much of the 165m as possible. This is due to the erosion protection benefit at Bruyere Point gradually diminishing along the 165 m stretch, with the greatest effect towards the northwest end. The lake environment of the Winnipeg River runs from the mouth at Lake Winnipeg upstream to the rapids (hydraulic control) which is 2.7 km downstream of the Pine Falls Generating Station. Water levels along this reach of river are governed solely by the elevation of Lake Winnipeg. As a result, the stabilization work (detailed below) has been designed to withstand the hydrology of this lake environment and the ER PDF reflects the analysis of effects and proposed mitigation measures for this area.

The proposed works will be based on the same engineered design, will follow all project tender specifications and environmental mitigation measures, and will overseen by the engineer as the 2018/2019 and 2020 work (Bruyere Point Design Brief, 2025). Construction involves the following in frozen conditions: trimming the over-steepened, eroding upper bank to a stable slope
 3.5H:1V); excavation of a key trench at the base of the slope; and, installation of non-woven geotextile, granular bedding and riprap to engineered specifications. Salvaged sand will be used to restore the beach at the toe of the riprap blanket. Site restoration will be completed in summer, including placement of topsoil and seed over exposed soils above the high water mark. Erosion and sediment control measures, including woven straw blankets on sloped areas, will be implemented as appropriate throughout the project. All work will be done above the water (lake ice) level, without disturbing wetted habitat.