Governments weigh in on Iqaluit’s complex water licence application

Several government agencies have raised environmental concerns over Iqaluit’s water licence application which includes decommissioning the old dump, above, which burned for 122 days this summer. (PHOTO BY PETER VARGA)

Nunavut’s complicated three-year-old water licence renewal process just got a little more complicated now that the governments of Canada and Nunavut have weighed in.

To decommission the current dump, build a new landfill site northwest of the city and a road leading out to that site — a site which that also include a new quarry — the City of Iqaluit will have to consider a whole bunch of potential impacts on water quality, animals, fish and the land.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada and the Government of Nunavut’s environment department have all submitted letters to the Nunavut Impact Review Board outlining what issues they feel need to be dealt with before the NIRB finishes screening the application and recommending whether, under Part 4 of Article 12 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, the project should get an environmental review.

Although the city made its first water licence application in November 2012, the NIRB did not get enough information to screen it until this past Sept. 18.

After that, the NIRB set a deadline of Oct. 9 for receipt of comments from stakeholders.

The city’s last valid water licence expired almost three years ago. It must get a new water licence before it can go ahead with closing down the old dump and opening the new landfill site about eight kilometres northwest of town.

It’s a complex process involving multiple levels of government and various departments and agencies.

Nunavut’s environment department, for example, says in an Oct. 9 letter to the NIRB that it “has concerns” about Iqaluit’s proposed waste management plan, “in particular, that the waste management facilities and strategies proposed in this application will not be protective of the environment.”

The letter points out that the city’s waste management plan, submitted by the city, dates to January 2014, well before the city’s extended summer dump fire and that lessons learned from that event, “could be used towards developing a comprehensive, practical and environmentally protective waste management strategy.”

The GN says Iqaluit’s application is short on detail, in particular regarding:

• the use of shredded wood or compost as cover material;

• information on controlling windblown garbage; and,

• information on controlling and treating runoff from the site.

“We are concerned that without substantial modifications and revisions, the project as proposed may have adverse environmental impacts.”

Environment Canada’s letter is the most lengthy and cites necessary compliance with federal legislation including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Fisheries Act and the Migratory Birds Convention Act.

In an Oct. 9 letter, staff with Environment Canada wonder whether groundwater sampling will occur at the decommissioned dump and where the monitoring wells will be located.

They also outline measures the city must undertake in order to mitigate potential impacts on the nests of, and waters frequented by, migratory birds.

According to Environment Canada, city staff will have to prove that they’ve taken into account how these projects might impact any of the animals listed in the Species at Risk Act, and their corresponding habitats.

Those animals include polar bears, peregrine falcons, ivory gulls and harlequin ducks.

“All mitigation measures identified by the proponent, and the additional measures suggested herein, should be strictly adhered to in conducting project activities,” says the Environment Canada letter.

“This will require awareness on the part of the proponents’ representatives (including contractors) conducting operations in the field.”

The Oct. 14 letter from DFO to the NIRB focuses on the potential impacts of the project on Lake Geraldine, from which Iqaluit gets its drinking water.

As part of the water licence renewal, Iqaluit wants to continue withdrawing 1.1 million cubic metres of water from Lake Geraldine every year.

Even though Iqaluit’s licence application package cites ongoing monitoring of the lake and maintenance of the dam attached to it, including samples of monthly monitoring reports, DFO still has questions about the health and sustainability of the water supply.

It says that with an approximate lake volume of 1.36 million cubic meters, the city should determine the “annual recharge rate” to ensure the total withdrawal of water from the lake does not exceed 10 per cent of available water volume.

The fisheries department also says that despite a plan in 2000 to assess other long-term options for supplying water to the growing capital city, no options were identified. It suggests the city renew those efforts to find alternate water sources.

Based on its screening of the project, and weighing comments received, the NIRB will then make a recommendation to the minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada on whether the plan can either go ahead with terms and conditions or should receive an environmental review under Article 12, Part 5 of the NLCA.

Ironically, AAND said in its screening comment that the Iqaluit water licence shouldn’t get a screening in the first place.

That’s because of a schedule in Article 12 that says projects within municipal boundaries are exempted from screening.

But AAND does say they’re willing to work with the NIRB and other parties to resolve the apparent dispute over how to interpret that provision of Article 12.

“Insofar as the differences in interpretation exist, the department would welcome further discussions with parties to develop a common understanding going forward,” AAND’s letter said.