The environmental assessment for the new bridge for the St. Lawrence project began on January 22, 2012. This process predicts the environmental effects of the project before it is carried out.
The environmental assessment:
- identifies possible adverse environmental effects;
- proposes measures to mitigate these adverse environmental effects;
- identifies potential adverse environmental effects that would remain even after the implementation of the mitigation measures; and
- contains follow-up programs to verify the accuracy of the environmental assessment and the effectiveness of the mitigation measures.
The environmental assessment for the new bridge for the St. Lawrence was conducted in two stages. A description of the project and the environment were provided in the first report, which was publicly available on November 16, 2012. A second report was then published on April 2, 2013 describing the environmental effects of the project and recommending mitigation measures. These two reports are consolidated into the final report, called the “screening report”, which is signed by the responsible authorities involved in the environmental assessment, in this case, Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment Canada.
The environmental assessment contains over 200 measures to mitigate the effects of the project on the biophysical components of the environment and the quality of life of people living near the proposed project. The federal government will ensure that all measures identified in the report to minimize the project’s impact on the environment and nearby residents are implemented.
As part of the environmental assessment, two series of open houses were held in the Montreal area in December 2012 and April 2013. This was an opportunity for the public to meet with environmental specialists and learn about the different aspects of the environmental assessment. With over 1,000 attendees, this series of open houses enabled citizens to speak directly with project authorities.
In addition, the new bridge for the St. Lawrence team also met several times with external stakeholders such as representatives of surrounding municipalities, the Government of Quebec, non-governmental organisations, and the Mohawk community of Kahnawake.
The public was also invited to submit its concerns and suggestions in writing during three comment periods as well as at the open houses. The first and second parts of the environmental assessment reports contain a synthesis of all the comments submitted as well as responsible authorities’ responses to each comment. The complete comments were also published in separate reports available in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry.
Overall, the comments received demonstrated general satisfaction with the environmental assessment. Most of the comments dealt with the importance of minimizing the impact on air quality, the sound environment, and traffic flow during the work. These concerns were taken into account in preparation of the final screening report, and several mitigation measures were developed to address them.
Overall, the comments received from the public made it possible to improve various aspects of the environmental assessment.
Throughout the next steps of the project, and when and where needed, additional environmental studies will be carried out to detail the environmental effects and refine the mitigation measures. Transport Canada will continue the dialogue established with the different stakeholders.
October 2013
