HomeMy WebLinkAboutOES 05-09City o
PICKERING
REPORT TO
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Report Number: OES 05-09
Date: January 12, 2009
From: Everett Buntsma
Director, Operations & Emergency Services
Subject: Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer
- Individual Environmental Assessment
- Comments on Final EA Report, November 2008
- File: A - 1440
Recommendation:
1. That Report OES 05-09 of the Director, Operations & Emergency Services
regarding the Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer IEA, Final EA Report, of
November 2008 be received;
2. That Council endorse the Regions of York and Durham's selection of
"Constructing a new SEC Trunk Sewer in combination with Implementing of
water efficiency and Inflow/Infiltration reduction measures" as the preferred
alternative to the undertaking subject to the Minister of Environment imposing the
,following conditions of approval(i) a commitment to and EA compliance monitoring of the water efficiency
and inflow/infiltration reduction measures;
(ii) more information on the haul roads under the jurisdiction of the City of
Pickering and approval of those haul roads by the City of Pickering;
(iii) a commitment to construction of additional temporary traffic lanes at the
Liverpool Road/Finch Avenue intersection during Shaft 2 construction;
(iv) require the re-evaluation of the Odour Control Facility location with the
objective of securing a site outside of Pickering, and that this re-evaluation
include additional public meetings; and
3. That a copy of Report OES 05-09 be provided to the Region of York, the Region
of Durham and the Ministry of Environment as the City's detailed comments and
conditions of approval on the Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer Environmental
Assessment - Final Environmental Assessment Report.
Report OES 05-09 January 12, 2009
Subject: Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer
Individual Environmental Assessment
Comments on Final EA Report, November 2008 Page 2
Executive Summary: The Region of York and the Region of Durham commenced
the Individual Environmental Assessment for the Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer in
March 2006 after approval of the Terms of Reference by the Minister of the
Environment. The existing SEC Trunk Sewer has reached capacity and additional
capacity is required in order to allow growth in York Region to the year 2036.
The co-proponents filed the Final Environmental Assessment Report with the Minister
on November 28, 2008 and stakeholders, agencies and the public have until January
23, 2009 to provide comments on the report. The preferred alternative to, the
undertaking is to construct a new SEC Trunk Sewer in combination with implementing
water efficiency and inflow/infiltrations reduction measures. The preferred route for the
new SEC Trunk Sewer is along 14th Avenue, Townline Road, the hydro corridor,
Liverpool Road and Finch Avenue to Valley Farm Road.
This report identifies City staff's concerns with the report and recommends conditions of
approval for the Minister of Environment to consider, such as a stronger commitment
and EA compliance monitoring for the water efficiency and inflow/infiltration reduction
measures, more information on, and approval of haul roads, a commitment to construct
additional temporary traffic lanes at the Liverpool Road/Finch Avenue intersection
during Shaft 2 construction, and re-evaluate the Odour Control Facility location with the
objective of securing a site outside of Pickering, and that this re-evaluation include
additional public meetings.
Financial Implications: There are no direct financial implications as a result of
receiving this report.
Sustainability Implications: The Individual Environmental Assessment for this
project followed a process to ensure that environmental effects of the project received
due consideration and that mitigation and protection measures are to be put in place to
reduce, eliminate or compensate for the environmental effects.
The enhancement plan associated with this project is expected to have a lasting
sustainable legacy to the local community.
Background: The Regional Municipality of York, through their York-Durham
Sewer System (YDSS) Master Plan update (2002) determined that increased capacity
is required in the Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer in order to allow growth to continue
in York Region to the year 2036. The future flows from York Region were obtained
from York Region's Official Plan, in accordance with the provincial initiative for growth
outlined in the 2005 Places to Grow Act and Growth Plan for the Golden Horseshoe.
CORP0227-07/01 revised
Report OES 05-09
January 12, 2009
Subject: Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer
Individual Environmental Assessment
Comments on Final EA Report, November 2008 Page 3 '
The existing Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer (SEC) is part of the YDSS that conveys
wastewater flows from the Region of York to the Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control
Plant located in the City of Pickering. The SEC also takes in flows from Durham
Region, hence York and Durham jointly own and operate the existing SEC Trunk
Sewer. For that reason, and the fact that the study area for the EA extended into
Durham Region, York and Durham agreed to be co-proponents for the SEC Trunk
Sewer Individual Environmental Assessment. The proposed new SEC Trunk Sewer
only benefits York Region, hence the entire capital cost of constructing the new sewer
and associated facilities will be the sole responsibility of York Region. However, the
new SEC Trunk Sewer will be jointly owned and operated by both Regions through an
amendment to the existing agreements.
On October 1, 2004, the Minister of the Environment advised York Region that all
remaining unfinished sections of the YDSS, including the SEC Trunk Sewer had to be
approved through Individual Environmental Assessments. Terms of Reference were
prepared for the IEA and they were approved by the Minister on February 28, 2006 with
eight additional conditions. The co-proponents Final Environmental Assessment
Report and eighteen Supporting Documents summarizes the process followed to
comply with the Terms of Reference, the Minister's Conditions, and selects a preferred
alternative to the undertaking.
Condition No. 5 from the Minister of Environment on October 1, 2004 which needed to
be fulfilled during preparation of the EA stated:
"All technical studies prepared as part of the
environmental assessment will be peer reviewed by
appropriate experts, including, but not limited to,
fishery biologists and hydrogeologists, and the review
shall be documented in the environmental
assessment"
The peer review team (PRT) was headed by Mr. Craig Mather, past Chief Administrator
Officer of Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and was composed of six
individuals based on their qualifications and expertise in the technical fields required.
The PRT was required to review and comment on eleven technical reports as a
condition of the Terms of Reference and during the EA process, the co-proponents
decided that eight additional technical studies would also be peer reviewed. In general,
the PRT's comments did not suggest that there were any major technical issues, errors,
or omissions with the various reports. The PRT did provide comments related to
processes and methodologies followed by the project team concerning data collection,
screening of the alternative routes, evaluation and ranking of the alternative routes, etc.
CORP0227-07/01 revised
Report OES 05-09 January 12, 2009
Subject: Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer
Individual Environmental Assessment
Comments on Final EA Report, November 2008 Page, 4,
The IEA followed an extensive public consultation process, with a goal of seeking input
before final decisions were made at key milestones. The consultation plan contained
many activities and elements including the Southeast Collector Advisory Committee
(SeCAC) where the City of Pickering had both municipal staff representation and
resident representation. The SeCAC has been meeting on an as-required basis since
the development of the Terms of Reference in 2005.
Four consultation rounds were held during the SEC Trunk Sewer EA with each one
focusing on key milestones. East consultation round included a Public Information
Forum. The consultation rounds were as follows:
Consultation Round No. 1 (August 27, 2005 to May 14, 2006)
Consultation Round No. 2 (May 16, 2006 to July 14, 2006)
Consultation Round No. 3 (July 15, 2006 to July 31, 2007)
Consultation Round No. 4 (August 1, 2007 to July 22, 2008)
As staff have been involved in the SEC Trunk Sewer EA process since the preparation
of the terms of reference, many of the issues that have come up along the way that
would result in unacceptable conditions in Pickering have been identified, consulted on,
and revised or eliminated as the EA progressed. For example, the proposed new SEC
Trunk Sewer will be 99% tunneled as opposed to sections being constructed using
open-cut methods which would cause major construction impacts including road and
lane closures, noise, haulage of additional soils, dust, and road restoration etc. There
will be limited use at Shaft 2 (Liverpool Road and Finch Avenue) and additional
temporary traffic lanes added to reduce the impact during shaft construction. Shaft 3 at
the Hydro Corridor west of Liverpool Road was eliminated to eliminate the need to haul
soil down Liverpool Road to Finch Avenue. Shaft 4 was relocated from the west side of
Fairport Road to the east side of Fairport Road to reduce impacts on Primrose Court
residents. Some haul roads being proposed were eliminated such as Finch Avenue
west of Liverpool Road and Whites Road south of the Hydro Corridor to Hwy 401.
The co-proponents issued a pre-submission of the Draft EA Report on July 28, 2008 for
agencies and stakeholders, with a comment period ending August 29, 2008. The Final
EA Report was issued formally to the Minister of Environment on November 28, 2008
and comments are to be received by January 23, 2009.
The preferred route for the new SEC Trunk Sewer was selected after a long list of
thirteen alternative sewer routes was screened to a short list of five routes, and then the
five routes underwent a comparative evaluation using three route portions. As a result,
Route #13 was identified as the recommended route. The preferred sewer route starts
just north of Box Grove in the Town of Markham, where it follows 14th Avenue to
Townline Road. It turns south and follows Townline Road to the hydro corridor, travels
east along the hydro corridor to Liverpool Road. The route proceeds south on Liverpool
Road to Finch Avenue, continuing east on Finch Avenue and ending at Valley Farm
CORP0227-07/01 revised
Report OES 05-09
January 12, 2009
Subject: Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer
Individual Environmental Assessment
Comments on Final EA Report, November 2008 Page 5
Road. The total length of the preferred route is approximately 15km. The route is
shown on Attachment #1 which is Figure ES-1 from the Final EA Report.
COMMENTS ON THE FINAL EA REPORT
1. Although the preferred alternative to the undertaking is to construct a new SEC
Trunk Sewer in combination with other water efficiency and inflow/infiltration
reduction measures, the Final EA Report focuses almost entirely on the trunk
sewer, with very little detail on the measures. The City of Pickering is concerned
that this alternative will be neglected or not implemented as control over the
sanitary sewers in York Region is a local municipality jurisdiction not a Regional
responsibility. The EA compliance monitoring program needs to include the
water efficiency and inflow/infiltration reduction measures in order to report on
the commitment to and effectiveness of this program.
2. The report identifies proposed haul roads and indicates that some haul roads do
not meet the structural road base required for use as a haul road. It mentions
that they will be upgraded in order to provide suitable strength and where
possible upgrades will be completed prior to construction of the new SEC Trunk
Sewer. The co-proponents committed to undertake a structural adequacy review
of the proposed haul roads to be available in spring 2008. The Final EA report
does not indicate the roads requiring to be upgraded and the extent of the
upgrades, and the proposed haul roads have not been approved by the City, as
staff have not received the assessment reports. The City recommends that the
Minister not approve the EA until the City advises that all aspects of the haul
roads have been accepted by the City of Pickering.
3. The co-proponents have committed to provide temporary traffic lanes on
Liverpool Road north of Finch Avenue during the construction and use of Shaft 2
located at the northwest corner of Liverpool Road and Finch Avenue. The
additional lanes require a temporary easement on private property in order to
construct. The provision of the 3 lanes during shaft construction and 4 lanes
after shaft construction are critical for the operation of Liverpool Road as it is a
major access road to the community including Pine Ridge Secondary School.
4. The odour control facility and meter chamber is proposed on lands south of the
hydro corridor west of Altona Road at a location approximately 300m south of the
Cherrywood West (Martins) subdivision. -Although this location was selected due
to its technical merits and for environmental and economic impacts, the social
impact of having this facility within the City of Pickering is unacceptable and it is
requested that it be located in York Region. The co-proponents only evaluated
sites within Pickering and the option selected is the one that is the closest to the
highest amount of affected residences. The City recommends that the Minister
of Environment require the co-proponents to re-evaluate the location of the
CORP0227-07/01 revised
Report OES 05-09 January 12, 2009
Subject: Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer
Individual Environmental Assessment
Comments on Final EA Report, November 2008 Page 6
Odour Control Facility outside of Pickering and that this re-evaluation include
public meetings. Should the Minister decide that the proposed location of the
Odour Control Facility and Meter Chamber is acceptable and it is approved, the
City requests a condition of approval to include enhanced mitigation measures
over and above landscaping and on-site berming. Other visual screenings either
on Cherrywood Avenue or in the hydro corridor would be required, as well as
architectural control and site plan approval.
Attachments:
1. Figure ES-1 Preferred Sewer Route
Prepared By:
Ric rd W. olborn, P. Eng.
ision Head
Municipal Property & Engineering
Approved/Endorsed
??
Everett Bqhts'ma/
Director, ( era ions & Emergency Services
Grant McGregor, MCIP, PP
Principal Planner - Policy
RH:ds
Copy: Chief Administrative Officer
r /
Ne Carroll IP PP
Director, Pla ing & Development
Recommended for the consideration
of Pickering City ur?cil'
?f
Thomas J. Quinn, RDMR, CMM III
Chief Administrative Officer
CORP0227-07/01 revised
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