Vol. 3, No. 2 Contents
Headline Back Issues
Spring 1999
|
Petitcodiac Causeway experimental opening beginsFredericton, New Brunswick ---- Provincial and federal agencies planned in May to open one or more of the controversial Petitcodiac River Causeway's five water regulation gates on an experimental basis. Government officials will study the effects of the experimental opening to determine the feasibility of restoring free flow to the tidal river. Options for doing so range from opening its gates to removing the causeway altogether. Flowing through southeastern New Brunswick to the Bay of Fundy, the Peticodiac is one of many rivers in the Gulf blocked by dams and causeways. The 3,400-foot (1,036 meter) causeway that spans the river, linking the communities of Moncton and Riverview, has been a point of debate since its construction 30 years ago. Its water regulation gates have been kept mostly closed since then, and this has created a head pond upstream of the causeway that some call Lake Petitcodiac. Proponents of free-flow claim that the structure is killing the river's natural ecosystem by blocking anadromous fish access and preventing the tidal exchange of fresh water and salt water. But the Lake Petitcodiac Preservation Association (LAPPA), which includes Riverview residents and others opposed to opening the causeway, argues that restoring free-flow would also have negative environmental ramifications. Opening the causeway gates to allow free-flow, they contend, would cause the head pond to drain and receive large deposits of silt, destroying an ecosystem and valuable recreational resource. They assert that a free-flowing Petitcodiac would also pose public health risks by eroding a landfill and exposing water supply and sewage lines, and may also affect lobster breeding grounds at the river's mouth. New Brunswick Department of Environment spokesman Peter McLaughlin acknowledged that free-flow might result in heavy silt deposits, depending on the option chosen to achieve free-flow, but he emphasized that precautions are being taken to prevent such problems during the experimental opening. These include keeping the head pond at a low elevation, and limiting the duration of the experiment. Experiment a year lateThis spring's experimental opening was originally to have taken place a year ago under the supervision of the provincial transportation and environment departments and two federal departments, Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. In 1997, the agencies announced that one of the causeway's gates would be opened daily for seven months beginning in Spring 1998 to allow fish to pass through. The agencies planned to study the resulting effects to determine further action. The project stalled, however, when LAPPA sought a federal court injunction to postpone the experimental opening pending completion of an environmental impact assessment of its potential effects. According to LAPPA spokesman Victor McLaughlin, the group had repeatedly, but without success, asked the federal agencies to undertake such an assessment, which he said is required by law, and sought the court injunction "as a last resort." In April 1998, he noted, the court determined that the issue should be settled by negotiation. According to Peter McLaughlin, the legal proceeding delayed the project until after last spring's flooding. This prevented the province from taking advantage of spring flood waters to scour out the upstream sediment deposits that had to be removed before the experimental opening could take place. The federal and provincial governments issued a draft screening report in February of this year on the anticipated effects of the experimental opening, and decided to undertake the project following a public comment period on the draft. The final version of the report was released in April 1999. Peter McLaughlin said government agencies will report on the results of the experimental opening. Any proposed steps to restore free-flow would be subject to the Provincial Environmental Impact Assessment process, he added. In April, as preliminary flushing of the causeway was under way, Peter McLaughlin anticipated that the experimental opening would follow within a month. He said the province was draining the head pond to cut a channel through a mud plug upstream of the causeway, so that water can move back and forth during tidal exchange. The province was also lowering the head pond from its usual 18- to 20-foot (5.5- to 6-meter) level to the level of the original river channel ---- eight feet (2.5 meters) ---- to prevent sediment from depositing on the head pond's mud flats during the experiment, Peter McLaughlin explained. The rate of sediment accumulation downstream of the causeway will determine the duration of the experiment. He said he doubts the project will last the seven months originally planned, anticipating that within several weeks, enough sediment could accumulate downstream of the head pond to cause it to rise above the desired eight-foot (2.5 meter) level. Both sides waiting, watchingLAPPA is waiting to see what happens as a result of the experimental opening before taking any further steps, said Victor McLaughlin. "They're talking and they're watching," he said of the group. "There's no intention of any interference or legal action or anything." LAPPA is concerned about the experiment, however. "There are some things we're not too enthused about. What we will have, when they open up the gates there, is effluent from the sewage treatment plant. So we're not very happy about that, but we'll see what they learn," said the Riverview resident. "We know [the experiment] won't go seven months," said Michel LeBlanc, spokesman for Ecoversite, a University of Moncton Environmental organization that has led the campaign for a free-flowing Petitcodiac, "But the government has assured us they will get the data they need to be able to go to the next level ---- a full environmental assessment [of opening all five gates]. We'll be watching them very closely to make sure the political climate either way doesn't become a factor and that they follow the science." According to Le Blanc, "Ecoversite would prefer that the government study taking a good chunk of that causeway out." If the experiment results in a recommendation to open all five of the causeway's gates to allow free-flow, "they might as well pull a good chunk out," he asserted. "That's an agenda we're going to have to push over the next year." The final Screening Report on the Peticodiac River Causeway experimental opening, along with other documents and an animated visual depiction of various stages of the project can be viewed at http://www.atl.ec.gc.ca/petitcodiac/index.html. Copies of the report can also be obtained by calling (506) 851-7768 or (506) 851-7729. |
||||||||||
PDF Version
