June 10, 2025 – Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) and Transport Canada (TC) must determine whether the proposed O'Chiese First Nation (OCFN) – Baptiste River Bridge Replacement Project, taking place near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

To help inform this determination, HICC and TC are inviting comments from the public respecting that determination. All comments will be considered public. For more information, individuals should consult the Privacy Notice on the Registry website (https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/Protection?culture=en-CA).

Written comments must be submitted by July 25^th to:

Stéfanie Larose, Environmental Review Officer, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada

The Proposed Project

The proposed project is the replacement of the Baptiste River Bridge on the proponent's reserve lands (O'Chiese First Nation No. 203 Reserve). The Project also includes realigning and rehabilitating segments of roadway leading up to the bridge. The new clear span bridge will be designed to accommodate an one in 100-year flood event and the road rehabilitation will present a safer approach for traffic flow across the bridge. The Baptiste River Bridge and Range Road 94A are essential structures to the Nation since they form the primary access point from the nearest town to the community for emergency services, community members accessing specialized services, and commuters from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. Therefore, this project is imperative to the O'Chiese First Nation because the new bridge and updated road corridor will increase safety for community members by mitigating potential flood impacts and ensuring efficient response times from emergency services while also contributing to increased economic development opportunities for the Nation.

Project works include:

• Construction of a clear span bridge
• Instillation of Rip rap
• Realignment (paving) of approximately 500 m of Range Road 94A on either side of the bridge (total 1 km)

The Project involves works in water (Baptiste River). Excavation and grading will also be required for the road realignment. The Project will take place on federal lands (O'Chiese No. 203 IR) and has requirements under section 82 of the Impact Assessment Act (IAA).