Vol. 1, No. 1
Headline
|
Trial opening of Petitcodiac River Causeway to begin in April '98 MONCTON, New Brunswick -- Built 30 years ago to connect the communities of Moncton and Riverview, the Petitcodiac River Causeway has, in fact, created a long-standing chasm between community members. Some want to restore the river to a free-flowing tributary to revitalize the river's estuarine ecosystem. Others say opening the gates will destroy the headpond above the causeway, which they describe as a valid ecosystem in itself, as well as a recreational resource. They also fear opening the gates will lead to health risks. Provincial and federal agencies hope the provincial cabinet's recent decision to partially open the causeway gates on a seven-month trial basis next spring will provide information to serve as a basis for deciding what action should be taken in the long term. Continuing the project beyond the seven months would require a full-scale Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA], incorporating a public comment process, notes the New Brunswick Department of Environment [DOE]. The province had originally planned to start the trial this spring, and the decision to postpone it a year in order to undertake erosion control measures first prompted skepticism and disappointment among environmental groups. But opponents of the trial are also dissatisfied, and say a full EIA should be done before any other action takes place. DOE Minister Vaughn Blaney and Transportation Minister Sheldon Lee announced the trial January 30. Environment Canada [EC] and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans [DFO] also support the project. The provincial and federal governments will split the trial's approximately $1 million cost, officials say. Causeway changed local landscape The Petitcodiac flows through southeastern New Brunswick to Shepody Bay and is an arm of the Bay of Fundy, which is part of the Gulf of Maine. The 3,400-foot (approximately 1036-meter) causeway was built in 1968 to prevent flooding of agricultural lands, provide road access across the river, and create a recreational lake. Five water control gates regulate tidal flow from the Bay of Fundy. Local environmental organizations say that, because the causeway's gates are closed most of the time, the exchange of freshwater and saltwater and their different nutrients is prevented, which has disrupted the regional ecosystem. Causeway opponents cite environmental impacts Environmental groups, along with DFO, blame the dam for reducing or eradicating several once-plentiful fish species, and favor opening the gates full time. The causeway was designed with vertical slots to allow fish passage, but according to DFO, the fishways have proven ineffective, even with subsequent renovations. During the trial, scheduled to begin in April 1998, one of the causeway gates will be opened a total of four hours daily to allow fish to migrate, in the hope that the river's natural ecosystem will begin to restore itself. George Finney, Director of EC's Conservation Branch for the Atlantic region, explained that since the causeway was completed and maintained with its gates mostly closed, silt in the water column has increased, and sedimentation in the mud flats has changed, which has reduced the availability of saltwater mudshrimp -- the principal food of the semi-palmated sandpipers that migrate through the area. "We're not convinced it can be attributed to dams, but we've got an eye on that as a potential factor," he said. Opponents of the trial say uncertainty about whether reduced fish populations and other environmental effects can be attributed to the causeway is the very reason the trial should wait until an EIA is completed. But according to John Ritter, Manager of the DFO's Diadromous Fish Division, salmon, American smelt, alewife, striped bass, shad, and trout were all plentiful in the Petitcodiac before the causeway was built. Now those stocks are either severely depleted or completely gone, he said. DFO favors restoring free flow so fish can migrate back and forth from the sea, Ritter said. Opening would also cause environmental impacts The trial opening will virtually drain the headpond above the causeway, noted Michael Sprague, Manager of the DOE's Water Resources Monitoring Section. Residents who live on its shores maintain that the lake's recreational values make it an economic asset to the community. They also point out that the lake ecology includes wildlife that would be displaced if the gates are opened, allowing Bay of Fundy Tides to fill the headpond with silt. Residents on the headpond's shores are concerned that the additional tide flow generated during the trial opening will cause serious problems, including health risks. Victor McLaughlin of the Lake Petitcodiac Preservation Association said potential erosion could damage Moncton's old landfill; expose water supply lines installed across the causeway and sewer lines along the riverbanks; and damage private property. But DOE's Sprague said the trial will stop if problems occur. Erosion prevention measures will begin as soon as snow and ice along the river have melted this spring, he noted. Alma Fisherman's Association Chair-man Jim Wood said the causeway's mostly closed gates have reduced silt in the upper Bay of Fundy, improving breeding ground for lobsters and scallops. His group wants the causeway left alone until comprehensive study justifies any change. Lake Petitcodiac Preservation Associa-tion President Edgar Mitton said his group agrees. And the town of Riverview is considering legal action to demand an EIA, said Mayor Dave Richardson. River advocates urge immediate action Julia Chadwick, an organizer of Friends of the Petitcodiac, a coalition of Moncton-area environmental groups who want the causeway gates opened full time, described the 1998 project as an "extremely conservative approach." She said such a strategy may be necessary, but added, "I'm quite concerned that it's going to be very difficult to see any biological changes because a seven-month period is not very long." Some opponents of the trial agreed that it may not yield enough information, and said that is why an EIA should be done first. But Sprague emphasized that information gathered during the trial would provide a starting point for such a study. Nevertheless, supporters of a free-flowing river voiced skepticism that the trial will occur at all, predicting that its coincidence with the federal election season will prompt officials to shelve the controversial action once again. Sprague said extended debate made it impossible to complete erosion prevention measures and still begin the trial this spring. Chadwick, however, characterized the postponement as a "political decision made at a provincial level" with Gulf-of-Maine-wide ramifications for shorebird and anadromous fish (those that migrate from the sea to spawn in fresh water) habitat. Friends of the Petitcodiac maintains that the trial must take place this year to allow salmon now in the river to reach the ocean. According to Chadwick, the last salmon caught in the causeway's fishway were captured in 1992 and taken to a hatchery. The resulting young salmon -- the last of a genetic strain found only in the Petitcodiac -- must find their way back to ocean this year "or that's the end of them," she said. Michel LeBlanc, former Petitcodiac River campaign coordinator for University of Moncton's Ecoversite«, said that group may pursue legal action to force the trial to take place this year. |
||||||||||
Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine