[All] Fw: ION proposed route on River Road Extension.

Sun Mar 5 13:17:28 EST 2017

FYI

----- Forwarded Message -----
 From: "water.lulu at yahoo.ca" <water.lulu at yahoo.ca>
 To: "regionalinquiries at regionofwaterloo.ca" <regionalinquiries at regionofwaterloo.ca> 
 Sent: Sunday, March 5, 2017 1:16 PM
 Subject: Re: ION proposed route on River Road Extension.

Please share this with all council members please as well as Chris Gosselin. 

Dear. Hon. Mayor and Council. 
My name is Louisette Lanteigne and I'm a Mi'kmaq Metis environmental advocate who has been working to prevent harm to the Grand River and our groundwater supplies in Waterloo Region for over 16 years winning concessions at the OMB, the NEB and other public processes.
There is an issue happening in Kitchener that I want to notify you about called the River Road Extension. The plans for it went public in 1981 and it was a way to divert traffic from Fairway Road using a 4 lane road extension that would cut through the northern portion of a forested area called Hidden Valley known as ESPA 27 in the area of Provincially Significant Wetlands  
Hidden Valley, is a giant geological bowl shaped area, full of eskers, old growth forests and a wide variety of endangered species. The place survived mainly because the grading was bad for logging.  At the base is a wetland complex filled with Jefferson Salamanders area sensitive birds and rare plants. The salamanders survived because the coyotes and eagle populations are still there to eat their predators and there is a large meadow near by that keep the deer fed without ruining the new growth in the forest. The ecological system is in balance here which is a rare thing to find these days. 
I suspected early on the only reason they wanted to build this roadway here was to offset costs by way of the deforestation.  There are private lands within the area owned by a real estate man named Peter Benninger. For years he had the idea to develop the place but after the salamanders were found, it reduced the area of land he could develop. He's asking for 2 million dollars for the lands. I would like to see Ontario's gas tax revenues spent here. It's a stitch in time that can save nine. 

The area is primary recharge feeding the Mannheim wells, the Grand River and the Waterloo Moraine. Geologically this water likely connected with the Grand River until the glaciers receded. The Waterloo Moraine has a land mass of approx. 400 sq kilometers but only 20% of the lands gather 80% of the water. I volunteer my time to protect that 20%. 
The current source water laws only protect areas around existing wellheads but have no consideration for actual primary recharge areas like this. It's those places we need to protect the most to protect our water for the long term but it is also the area folks want to exploit for the gravel pits.

About 30-40 years back the Liberals planned to build Waterloo into a big city like Toronto because we are surrounded with cheap aggregates. They had little regard for the fact the same rocks provide our water supply. We are the largest region in Canada dependent on groundwater. They planned a pipeline to Lake Simcoe to support the growth to replace the function of our aquifers but laws changed that said the water has to be kept within the natural basin. A Lake Erie pipeline scheme was then created as the option for our future growth but the algae issues and zebra mussels render that a non viable plan but it's still in the books. The idea is to pump up the water from Erie than use the Grand as the sewer to bring the water back which would relable the river as infrastructure rather than natural heritage river. https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/cleaner-water-helps-male-fish-again-look-and-act-guys
The first time the Environmental assessment happened in Hidden Valley they didn't find any salamanders. We secured the field study data and found this was based on a study of rotten egg masses and personal opinion of an expert from Guelph.  Testing took place in April which is too late to find adult Jefferson Salamanders salamanders.  My friends and I demanded proper testing with drop pit traps with species confirmation using proper DNA analysis on toe and tail clips to be done at the right time of the year, when the first warm rains of spring arrives and temps are over 4 degrees Celsius. Salamanders regrow the clipped body parts but their DNA can determine the breed or hybrid variety when tested at the University of Guelph. The result was that they found what may be the largest population of Jefferson Salamanders in Canada at Hidden Valley.  Record checks at the University of Waterloo flagged the optimal times to test were actually in early March. Once we secured proper tests they found lots of them at that site using a method that didn't involve the destruction of specimens. 
After the salamander studies we pushed for critical habitat mapping and the delay and studies resulted in a bumped up cost for the River Road extension from $21 million in 2007 to $72 million in 2013. It's not getting cheaper. When the Region approved the extension I filed a Part II order and successfully secured new further studies to protect this vital water supply from the adverse impacts of roadsalt. The MOECC's Part II order decision is in the attachments for your reference. 
So last week the Region is asking folks to give comment regarding a proposed Light Rail Transit Route from Fairview Mall to Cambridge and now I see they want to put the this LRT on the proposed River Road Extension and they want to reduce River Road extension to simply a two lane roadway.  The question I'm asking, is if two lanes were sufficient by design, what public benefit was there for Regional staff to promote a plan for over 20 years that basically doubled capacity to a four lane road adding millions to the baseline costs?  Something seems off here. 
We can't afford to squander wetlands and forests like this. 
The plans for a Lake Erie pipeline to support water demands will no longer be a viable because the Trump administration is cutting the Environmental Protection Agency's budget for Great Lakes protection from $300 million to just $10 million dollars.  Experts state bluntly we will likely loose Lake Erie as a result. 
http://www.inews880.com/syn/60/234206/us-funding-for-great-lakes-cleanup-could-be-slashed-by-97-leaked-document-shows
The River Road Extension plan is a very bad idea because our Region is the largest region in Canada dependent on groundwater. The River Road Extension is a direct threat to known primary recharge areas and home to a high number of federally protected endangered species. The need is there to assess exactly how much water we risk to loose not only in terms of both lost water volumes but in lost water quality. 
With the additional bottle neck traffic that a two lane road scenario could now introduce, the need is there to also consider the particulate risks of the additional smog generated by idling traffic next to this sensitive ecological area. With continued budget cuts and weakening of policy at the US level we must also prepare for increased acid rain and smog blowing in from the States  as an additional threat to our localized air and water quality. Pollution doesn't stop at the lines drawn on maps. 

This road extension project from the beginning has no economical merits for tax payers. In my view, the destruction of this area comes with unreasonable risks if it contaminates the vital groundwater supplies that we have left. What use is it to have an LRT without a viable water supply to support the growth of our community? 
In the attachment I share with you my presentation of Waterloo Region's water risks. I presented this to the Aggregate Act review committee.  It highlights significant threats to our growth prospects, local economy and water supply. Currently it appears the Region is crafting growth without serious consideration for the need to protect Primary Recharge areas.
If you want growth that secures the long term viability of our own water supply as well, we must protect those areas and restrict development. Jefferson Salamanders are an indicator species of primary recharge and there are laws to protect them. If saving the salamanders protects the water for the long term, make it a hard line policy. 
I would also like to request that the Region consult with Six Nations and the Haudnesaunee Council to review the area to see what medicinal plants and archeological features their experts find on the properties involved seeing that it is within the Haldimand Tract Agreement. Six Nations is downstream of this area and both agencies deserve a say on the management of these shared water resources and ecological features within their Treaty territories. 
Wela'lin/ Thank you. 
Louisette Lanteigne700 Star Flower Ave.Waterloo Ont.
N2V 2L2

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