[All] River Road Extension Part II order decision

[water.lulu at yahoo.ca]

Hi folks
I received the MOECC's decision regarding my Part II order request for Hidden Valley arrived to my mailbox on June 20th. 
Although we didn't get a bump up in the EA process we did manage to secure some new conditions to better protect water quality. The Source Water Act was approved after the River Road Extension was approved, but thanks to this decision we can now apply the Sourcewater Act protective measures to this project in regards to the issue of road salt.
The new conditions are as follows:
1. During detailed design, the Region shall examine further enhancements to the Project's road design that would reduce potential road salt impacts on groundwater, surface water, and natural heritage features in the Project area.
2. In accordance with changes to Policy RW-CW-35 of the recently approved Grand River Source Water Protection Plan, the Region shall create a Risk Management Plan for the Project's road salt application prior to it's opening. 
The MOECC admitted the Region identified the presence of 4 species at risk and suitable habitat for 4 more including the following:
Butternut Tree (endangered)Jefferson Salamander (endangered)Barn Swallow (threatened)Chimney Swift (threatened)Least BIttern (threatened)Little Brown Myotis aka Little Brown Bat (endangeredNorthern Myotis (endangered)Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (endangered)
Measures to address them may include targeted Inventories in suitable habitat,  and will consider additional mitigation measures to avoid impacts to species at risk. Authorizations under the Endangered Species Act will be required if impacts to these species cannot be avoided. 
They also admitted to 9 additional species observed or recognized to potentially occur in the Project area that are Species of Special Concern. They include:
Bald EagleCanada WarblerCommon NighthawkEastern Wood PeweeEastern MilksnakeMonarch ButterflySnapping Turtleand West Virginia White
The Minister states these species may have requirements under other legislation, such as the federal Species At Risk Act,  or the Federal Migratory Birds Convention Act and states the Region will consult with the relevant agencies during the detailed design to ensure any other legislative requirements for these species are followed. Mitigation measures for these species will also be considered during the detailed design. 
The Minister states: "I am imposing conditions on the Project to ensure the Region considers additional mitigation measures and policy guidance for road salt during the detailed design and operational phase, that the Region creates a Risk Management Plan for the Project's road salt application in accordance with the approved Grand River Source Protection Plan. There will also be 5 years of monitoring afterwards to help assure compliance. 
Although the  issue of rising costs was deemed out of scope, the Minister did state the following: The Region has indicated it will fund the Project through private development charges. 
The full decision is in the attachments for your reference.
Lulu :0)

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