Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa www.kipawariver.ca 6925 rue Lacroix, Montreal, Quebec H4E 2V4 October 25, 2005 Kim Turnbull Environmental Regulations Officer Office of Greening Government Operations, PWGSC 380 Hunt Club Road Ottawa ON K1A 0S5 RE: Laniel Dam Environmental Assessment Dear Ms Turnbull: Thank you for the opportunity to formally comment on the Public Works and Government Services Canada environmental assessment report dated October 14, 2005, titled: Excerpts translated by PWGSC from the Environmental Assessment Laniel Dam - Replacement of the spillway and earth dyke It is with considerable regret that I am compelled to inform you that the concerns and issues raised by Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa about the impact of your project on our activities and our annual river festival, have not been adequately researched, acknowledged or addressed in this report. In this respect, the report and impact assessment, as it relates to our organization and our activities, is seriously flawed. We believe the potential impacts of that failure on our organization are significant, including the risk of serious physical injury for participants in our annual river festival. The report and impact assessment also fail in that the financial and operational impact of this project on commercial rafting operations during our annual festival have been completely ignored. Let me say, as we have said many times in this process, we understand completely the reasons why the aging flood control structure on the Kipawa River in Laniel needs to be replaced and we fully support this project. Les Amis, to the best of our ability as a volunteer organization, has made considerable effort to contribute in a positive way to this environmental assessment. We attended an EA session in Laniel last March and have continued to contribute to the process by providing additional information about our activities since then.
Summary of the Major Issues Raised by Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa During the Environmental Assessment Process 1) We are concerned that our historic navigation of the Kipawa River at the location of the Laniel Dam will be altered or made more dangerous through the design of the new structure or through changes in the operating regime for the new structure. 2) We are concerned that our historic access to the river at this location will be severely and permanently impacted by the site alterations planned for this project. 3) We are concerned that the construction phase of this project will have an immediate and severe impact on the 2006 Festival Rivière Kipawa. The 2006 event, scheduled for June 23, 24, 25 and 26, is our 20 th anniversary festival. We are expecting 500 or 600 recreational paddlers to attend this event. Issues Raised by Commercial Rafting Operators During the Environmental Assessment Process 1) White water rafting companies offering commercial rafting trips to clients during the Festival Rivière Kipawa have expressed the concern that PWGSC s position on navigation of the Kipawa River at Laniel will have an immediate, significant and long-term impact on the quality of their product, on their ability to continue offering this product, and on their ability to generate income. 2) White water rafting companies have expressed the concern that the construction phase of this project will have an immediate and severe impact on their operations during the 2006 Festival Rivière Kipawa. Environmental Assessment Report References to Issues Raised by Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa Excerpts begin The references to the above issues in the PWGSC Environmental Assessment Report are as follows: The work area will be present for 2 summers and the new structures will not permit the kayakers to use the spillway during the kayak festival. For the organisers of the festival, Friends of the Kipawa River, this is an important impact for the festival. Nonetheless, passage through the spillway by boats has never been approved by PWGSC. In accordance with the Act governing dam security of Quebec and the Canadian Dam Association, the dam owner, PWGSC, is responsible for the safe management of the dam. As a result, a boom has been installed upstream of the dam and passage through the spillway of the Laniel Dam by boaters is restricted. According to the municipal committee of Laniel, the development corporation of Temiscamingue and the municipal regional county of Temiscamingue (2005, Appendix F), given that the running of the Kipawa River is the main attraction, the impact on
And: And: the festival would not be significant and would not result in the cancellation of the festival provided the mitigation measures are implemented. The following mitigation measures must be implemented in order to ensure safe access to the river for kayakers during and after the work: Construction of a portage trail to bypass the dam; Installation of a boat ramp at the end of the portage trail; Installation of a boom which meets the Navigable Waters Protection Act requirements; Ensure control of water levels. The following mitigation measures must be implemented in order to ensure safe access to the river for kayakers during and after the work: Construction of a portage trail to bypass the dam; Installation of a boat ramp at the end of the portage trail; Installation of a boom which meets the Navigable Waters Protection Act requirements; Ensure control of water levels. Excerpts end We offer the following comments on the sections of the EA report that purport to address our issues. Impact on Navigation: PWGSC has clearly decided, arbitrarily, without meaningful consultation, that the historic navigation rights of paddlers have no value and do not need to be addressed on this project. PWGSC defends this arbitrary decision by referring to the Act Governing Dam Security of Quebec and the Canadian Dam Association. We have contacted the agencies responsible and have been assured in writing that neither of these is intended to be used to deny navigation. Municipal Comments: We do not believe that consultation with municipal and regional agencies on the impact of this project on our activities and festival, have been conducted honestly. The municipal agencies referenced in this report are certainly qualified to speak to the regional and local tourism benefits associated with the river festival. They are not qualified to speak to the physical impacts of the project on the activity of recreational paddling or commercial rafting. Nor are they qualified to speak in any way to safety issues associated with paddling activities. We believe that an honest consultation with the local municipality would have produced a letter detailing the fact that municipal councillors and regional government staff have
been among the happy and safe guests who have navigated this section of the river by raft. Using the uniformed and unqualified comments of these agencies to defend an inadequate mitigation technique is completely inappropriate. Construction of a Portage Trail: The PWGSC report suggests that the construction of a trail and launch point downstream of the dam site will adequately address all Les Amis issues with respect to this project. We were first informed by PWGSC of this mitigation option in March of 2005. At that time we provided meaningful feedback on the proposal detailing the following: - the proposed trail is on the south side of the river where there is no parking for vehicles - the only available parking is on the north side of the river - participants would be required to walk approximately 500 m down a provincial highway and across a highway bridge with no pedestrian walkway, carrying heavy and cumbersome rafts, canoes, kayaks and other equipment - participants would then be required to walk 250 to 300 m down the new portage trail - we have serious concerns about having 500 people per day, over four days, walk across a highway bridge carrying large boats and equipment - speed limits on this portion of the highway drop from 80 kph to 60 kph but these limits are often ignored - this highway is frequently used by logging trucks and other large forest industry vehicles - we believe the arbitrary decision to mitigate our access impacts in this way, puts festival participants at significant and unnecessary risk of serious physical injury on the highway Commercial Rafting Issues: No attempt is made in this report to address any of the concerns expressed by commercial rafting operators. In Summary: Our desire at this point, as it has been since we were informed that PWGSC would be rebuilding the Laniel Dam, is for meaningful consultation on the significant impacts the project will have on our activity and our festival. We believe PWGSC s arbitrary decision to attempt to eliminate navigation of the river at Laniel, during the construction project and afterward, is based on uninformed prejudice. To illustrate this view, we again point out that the upper deck of the new dam has been
designed to allow snowmobiles and ATVs to cross the structure, as is their historic practice. We applaud PWGSC for their efforts to address the concerns of the motorized recreational vehicle community. We simply ask why the same efforts are not being made in the case of the recreational paddling community. Navigating the Kipawa River at Laniel does not involve trespass on PWGSC property or contact with the dam structure in any way. It simply involves navigating a canoe, kayak or raft on a river, in the same way that a boat travels under a bridge. Over the almost 40 years that we have been navigating the Kipawa River at this location, clearly we have demonstrated that there are NO safety issues associated with this activity. We have stated clearly, on several occasions that Les Amis cannot be involved or promote the involvement of others in any activity that can be demonstrated to be illegal or unsafe. PWGSC has failed to demonstrate that our activities are illegal or unsafe, and yet continues to use both these arguments as reasons for dismissing our concerns about the impact of this project on our activities, to the detriment of our members and our community festival. We believe that an open dialog can produce an outcome that will be acceptable to all parties. I urge PWGSC be true to the spirit and intent of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act by engaging in meaningful consultation with us about our concerns, and help us find a solution. I also urge you to involve the commercial rafting operators, specifically Esprit Rafting of Davidson, Quebec, in this discussion. We remain hopeful and fully prepared to speak to these issues at any time. Sincerely Yours Peter Karwacki President Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa
Copies to: Jean-Claude Bouchard, President Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency 22nd Floor, Place Bell 160 Elgin Street Ottawa ON K1A 0H3 The Hon. Scott Brison Minister of Public Works And Government Services Canada House of Commons Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6 The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment House of Commons Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6 David Smith Member of Parliament House of Commons Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6