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HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-16-009 - Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Habitat Banking Agreement REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: February 8, 2016 SUBMITTED BY: Hans Gross, Director, Engineering Services 519-741-2200 ext.7410 PREPARED BY: Nick Gollan, Manager Stormwater Utility 519-741-200 ext.7422 Melissa Ryan, Design and Construction Project Manager 519-741-2200 ext.7827 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: January 21, 2015 REPORT NO.: INS 16-009 SUBJECT:Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Habitat Banking Arrangement ____________________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION: That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute a habitat banking arrangement document with Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada as represented by the applicable signing officers of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, that any Deputy CAO be authorized to execute any renewals of said arrangement document on behalf of the City, and that applicable staff within the City's Stormwater Utility be authorized to execute any routine reports and other documents that may be required from time to time in connection with the administration of the habitat banking arrangement. BACKGROUND: The Stormwater Utility wishes to enter into an arrangement with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) for the purposes of creating a fish habitat bank for the 1.8 km stream naturalization works that occurred at Filsinger Park on the Henry Sturm Greenway and Sandrock Greenway completed in 2015. This habitat bank outlines the positive enhancements and/or creation of fish habitat obtained from this type of work and reflects endorsement from the DFO. The banking arrangement would require the signature of the Mayor and Clerk however it is a non-legally binding document that is intended to be used as a guide for how “credits” are to be accumulated for this type of work. It will require that monitoring of this stream be completed however there will be minimal costs involved as the City currently monitors a number of creeks within the City through the annual Stormwater Management (SWM) Audit. A summary *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 15 - 1 of the conditions of the stream will be provided to DFO on an annual basis. Additional fish habitat enhancements could also be added to the bank in the future as well. Should there ever be a project undertaken by the City that might cause serious harm to fish through projects such as a road widening that crosses multiple watercourse, a sanitary sewer crossing beneath a creek, construction of bridge abutments within a watercourse, etc. a Fisheries Act Authorization may be required. Under the Fisheries Act, projects that require an Authorization also require a suitable “offset” plan. The existence of a viable habitat bank streamlines the authorization process. With the “offset” completed and approved by DFO prior to carrying out the works, the City would be exempt from the requirement of a costly “Letter of Credit”, minimize time for approvals and lower its regulatory risk. In a banking scenario, the City would be able to “debit” the approved “credits” that have been banked for Filsinger and any other banking projects the City may undertake in the future that meets conditions of this arrangement. In contrast, the City of Waterloo recently had to obtain a Letter of Credit worth approximately $400,000 as a requirement by the DFO prior to undertaking stream works in Forwell Creek to provide a contingency fund to DFO in case the offsetting plan was not built or did not meet the conditions of the Authorization. If the City of Kitchener were in a similar situation, having a habitat bank might give the City the option to use the banking done on the Henry Sturm Greenway and Sandrock Greenway as fish habitat “credits” that would represent an approved offsetting plan and thus help speed up the approval time, reduce costs, respect previously completed works, be exempt from the requirement of a Letter of Credit and all but eliminate regulatory risk of the offsetting plan failing. REPORT: The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada has had proponent led fish habitat banks in place in various parts of the country for a number of years. These banks are generally set up in anticipation of future habitat impacts elsewhere in the system. This makes creek restoration work more effective as longer channel work can be done and be proven to enhance fish habitat ahead of any future negative impacts. The level of risk to DFO and to the proponent is reduced and therefore costs and approval time is in turn reduced. The arrangement is valid for five (5) years with the ability to renew on an ongoing basis and would establish certain monitoring requirements. These monitoring requirements can easily be incorporated into the annual SWM Audit monitoring that the City has been undertaking since 2002 which consists of water quality and biological monitoring of various creeks across the City. Once a banking arrangement has been created, additional fish habitat enhancement projects can be added. It is anticipated that the list of potential additions will be known as the City is concurrently working on the integrated SWM Master Plan which will identify the priority of capital and maintenance work to our stormwater management assets, including any creek rehabilitation, for the next 15 years. The list of proposed works can be vetted through DFO staff to help determine which projects might be 15 - 2 eligible to be banked and thus this banking potential can be included in those projects at the time when we are retaining consultants and preparing detailed design plans. There is no risk involved in signing this arrangement as it is not legally binding. No future offsets or debits (i.e., works causing serious harm to fish) are anticipated in the near future. It is recommended that the City capitalize on this opportunity and by taking part in the arrangement, it helps to solidify DFO’s acknowledgement and endorsement of the positive and environmentally beneficial work that the City of Kitchener has undertaken. It is noted that DFO does not allow a bank to be created once the work is completed and therefore we wish to conclude this arrangement promptly in order to meet their timing requirements. Discussions with DFO had begun prior to the completion of the project and took almost a year to complete as they were in the process of creating a national habitat template when we began the process. The City’s Legal division has been consulted and recommends that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute a habitat banking arrangement and that any Deputy CAO be authorized to execute any renewals of the said arrangement document on behalf of the City, and that applicable staff within the City's Stormwater Utility be authorized to execute any routine reports and other documents that may be required from time to time in connection with the administration of the habitat banking arrangement. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: The recommendation of this report supports the achievement of the city’s strategic vision through the delivery of core service. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Minimal as the only requirement for the City will be to provide annual monitoring reports which can be done using the existing framework for the annual SWM Audit. In the long term this arrangement may present a significant cost savings opportunity to the City. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM – This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in advance of the council / committee meeting. CONSULT – The stream naturalization project was previously vetted through the public via two Public Information Centres as well as through letters to residents prior to construction. A dedicated webpage was created and frequent updates were made as the project progressed. A tour of the project was held in the summer of 2015, which a few residents attended, to highlight the environmental benefits of the stream naturalization and ever since construction began, the City has received comments in support of this work. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Justin Readman, Interim Executive Director of Infrastructure Services 15 - 3