Public Comment Period on Intent to Make a Determination
Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Wood Waste Remediation Project – Esquimalt Harbour

September 25, 2025 — The authorities must decide whether the proposed project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

To help inform this decision, the authorities are inviting comments from the public on the project and its potential effects on the environment. All comments received will be considered public. For more information, individuals should consult the Privacy Notice on the Registry website.

Written comments must be submitted by October 14, 2025 to:
Becky MacInnis, Environment Officer / MARPAC Formation Safety and Environment
Mailing Address:  Formation Safety and Environment, Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, PO Box 17000 Stn Forces
Victoria, BC, Canada, V9A 7N2
E-mail:  Becky.MacInnis@forces.gc.ca

The Proposed Project

The Department of National Defence (DND), which administers Esquimalt Harbour in British Columbia, is planning to implement Phase 1 of a remediation and risk management project in the northern portion of the harbour called the Wood Waste Remediation Project.

Due to various historical log booming and wood milling activities, wood waste has accumulated on the sea floor of the harbour which has negatively impacted the marine benthic community through physical alteration of the substrate and creation of toxic byproducts via anaerobic decomposition. The natural recovery time of benthic communities impacted by wood waste has been estimated to be unacceptably long and deemed insufficient to address existing and future negative effects to the benthic community. Therefore, DND is proposing the placement of remedial material over approximately 139,130 m² of wood waste within portions of the Project Site where wood waste coverage is greater than 25%, and impacts to the benthic community are known to occur. Post-placement monitoring will be conducted, and it is expected that the Project will result in a healthier benthic community and greater ecological function than is currently present in northern Esquimalt Harbour.