The Honourable Bernard Davis is Minister of Environment and Climate Change and has announced the following events in relation to Part 10 Environmental Assessment of Environmental Protection Act.
UNDERTAKINGS RELEASED
Crown Zone 2 Five-Year Operating Program (2022-2026). (Reg. 2161)
Proponent: Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture
The following conditions were applied to the release of this project:
- To minimize the environmental impacts of the project, the proponent is required by law to keep all commitments made in the submission for the environmental assessment.
- The proponent must adhere to the commitments made in the annual operational plans and the environmental assessment registration form with respect to reforestation.
- The Department’s Climate Change Branch requires that the proposal submit a Greenhouse Gas Management Plan to be approved within one year from the date of the letter. A six-month update must be submitted on the progress of the plan. The plan must include any carbon modeling used or planned to be used to guide forest management planning.
- Projections of the levels of greenhouse gas emissions expected to be captured or released over the five-year period
- This article describes how carbon modeling will inform forest management with regard to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
- The Water Resources Management Division requires that a buffer of 30-meters be maintained around hydrometric stations at the Department.
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- Garnish River, close to Garnish (02GZ001);
- Salmonier River, near Lamaline ((02GZ003);
- Rattle Brook near Boat Harbour (02GZ004).
- Southern Bay River, near Southern Bay (02ZJ001).
- The following are required by the Crown Land Administration Division of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture:
- Parts of the proposed Forestry Operation Plan are located within cottage planning cottage development limits, community infilling limitations, a former Provincial Park, (Rattle Falls), and Crown reserves. The Land Use Atlas and/or Land Management Division must be consulted by the proponent to determine if there is any land use conflict.
- Crown titles and Crown land applications have been filed within the proposed harvest zones. To allow for future cottage development, resource roads should not be more than 105 to 120 metres away from a pond or a lake. The proponent must keep a 100-meter buffer surrounding established cottage development areas. Before the Forestry five-year planning plan is implemented, the Land Management Division should be consulted to verify that buffers are sufficient.
- The road to cutblock CC02040 is proposed to run through Rattle Falls. It uses highway access to the former Rattle Falls Provincial Park. The proponent is required to identify an alternative route for operating block CC02040 (Rattle Falls) and, if title is issued re-route access around this former park.
- Block CC02014 (Southwest River Valley), is a commercial harvest block that includes a section on ATV trail that is Crown-issued and leads to cottages at Black Marsh Waters, Grassy Pond, and Billy Harris Pond. Block CC02014 is not to be used for harvesting. For more information, please contact the Crown Land Administration Division by calling 1-833-891-3249.
- The Parks Division of Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation suggests that a domestic cutting block should not overlap the Lockston Path Provincial Park boundary. The boundary of the domestic cutting block should be changed so that it does not cross the Provincial Park boundary. Two commercial cutting blocks are proposed to be located adjacent to the Provincial Park. We request that a 100-metre buffer be placed around these commercial cutting blocks (the northern boundary of the Park is approximately 76 meters from the Park boundary).
- The following is required by the Tourism Product Development Division, Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation
- The proponent is to coordinate forest management efforts with outfitters during the big game season from September 15 – December 31 and during the spring bear harvest, which occurs from May 1 – July 15;
- The proposal must submit a Tourism Stakeholder Consultation Plan. This plan will include a report on consultations with stakeholders. The purpose of the Consultation Plan will be to identify the potential impacts forestry operations have on each tourism stakeholder. It will also explain how harvesting, road construction, and silviculture activities can be modified to minimize adverse impacts to tourism stakeholder value. This includes but is not limited to: wildlife populations, hunting success rates, pristine wilderness settings, and increased access for local residents. Before any forestry operations can be conducted, the Consultation Plan must first be approved by Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation. Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation will review the Consultation Plan if it is derived from EngageNL. This will ensure that all stakeholders are represented.
- The Trans Canada Highway Proponent will take all necessary measures to preserve the viewscapes and visitor experience. The landscape design techniques used to minimize visibility to the motoring public should be used when creating cut blocks visible from these routes. The Manager of Tourism Product Development should be consulted by the proponent regarding efforts to minimize visibility of clear cut from these routes.
- The proponent is required to advise the Environmental Assessment Division when the conditions of release have been met, by emailing a written description, documents, and images (where applicable) to demonstrate that the conditions have been fulfilled to [email protected].
- The proponent must update the Environmental Assessment Division about the status of the project within one year of the date of this release. Additional updates may be required if necessary.
Munroes Pond bypass SnowmobileTrail (Reg. 2175)
Proponent: Notre Dame Snowmobile Association
The following conditions were applied to the release of this project:
- To minimize the environmental impacts of the project, the proponent is required by law to keep all commitments made in the submission for the environmental assessment.
- The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture has advised that the proponent has filed a Crown Lands application for a license to occupy for the Munroes Pond snowmobile trail. This application must be approved before the trail can be constructed/used.
- No vegetation clearing is allowed within 800m of an osprey or bald eagle nest during the nesting period (March 15-Jul 31), and 200m during the rest of the year. The 200-metre buffer applies to all other nests of raptors, e.g. The 200-metre buffer also applies to all other raptor nests (e.g., Northern Goshawks, Sharpshinned Hawks, Merlin, American Kestrels, Great-horned Owls, Boreal Owls, Northern Sawwhet Owls). The Wildlife Division must be notified of any raptor nest locations at (709) 637-2025.
- The proponent must inform the Environmental Assessment Division of the fulfillment of the conditions for release by emailing a written description, documents and images (where applicable), to show that they have.
- The proponent is required by the Environmental Assessment Division to update them on the project’s status, including copies of all permits, licences certificates, approvals, and other authorizations, within one year of the date indicated in the release letter. Additional updates can be provided if required.
Learn more
Environmental Assessment Division
Department of Environment and Climate Change
West Block, Confederation Building
P.O. Box 8700, St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6
Public comments may be forwarded to: [email protected]
Environmental assessment information: https://www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/env-assessment/
Follow us on twitter: @GovNLAnd @ECCM_GovNL
If you have comments to make on a project under environmental assessment, please inform the Department if you do not wish to share them with the project proponent.
Media contact
Lynn Robinson
Environment and Climate Change
709-729-5449; 691-9466
[email protected]
2022 01 05
4.20 pm