Project Summary

March 16, 2022 – The Canadian Coast Guard, in consultation with Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site (Gwaii Haanas)  must decide whether the proposed Rose Inlet Helicopter Landing Pad Replacement will have a significant impact are likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

 

To help inform this decision Canadian Coast Guard and Gwaii Haanas are inviting comments from the public on the project and its potential effects on the environment. All comments received will be considered public [and may be posted online]. For more information, individuals should consult the Privacy Notice on the Registry website.

Written comments must be submitted by April 14, 2022 to:

Steven Cole
25 Huron St, Victoria, BC. V8V 4V9
steven.cole@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

The Canadian Coast Guard and Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site (Gwaii Haanas) propose to build a new the helicopter landing pad at the Rose Inlet Marine Communications Mountaintop Site. The Canadian Coast Guard and Gwaii Haanas have been notified of issues with icing of the existing timber helipad leading to potentially unsafe landing/take-off conditions. In addition to this, the proposed helipad will be located further away from the communications tower to improve landing conditions at site. Building the new helicopter landing pad will improve safety for Canadian Coast Guard and Gwaii Haanas personnel accessing the Rose Inlet mountaintop site. Work for the Rose Inlet Helipad replacement project has been separated into two separate phases.

 

Phase I - Rose Inlet Location Site Preparation and Concrete Footings:

The new 8.0m x 7.0m helicopter pad on concrete columns footings would be built next to the existing helipad. The equipment for this phase would be helicopter long line slung up to site and would consist of handheld power tools and vegetation clearing tools, small diesel powered generator, mini excavator, concrete mixer, cast in place concrete, wood for formwork, health and safety gear and spill response materials. The mini excavator would be delivered via Canadian Coast Guard Sea Truck to Harriet Bay where the excavator would be offloaded onto a manmade rocky outcrop where the helicopter can pick it up and sling it directly to Rose Inlet Marine Communications Mountaintop Site. The area for the footings will be excavated. The rest of the equipment will be slung to site and the activities described in Phase I will occur once the barge arrives in Huston Inlet with the remaining supplies.  The existing helipad will not be decommissioned and will remain on site as a working platform and site access platform that will be maintained. Activities related to this phase will include helicopter long line slinging, vegetation brushing, excavating soil and gravels (to be contained on site) within the concrete footing locations, rock drilling, formwork, concrete mixing and pouring of helipad footings in the formwork. This equipment would then be slung off site and back to the staging at Huston Inlet. This portion will be carried out by Coast Guard employees. It is anticipated the slinging activities will occur over 4 days with approximately 40 sling loads coming off the barge.

 

Phase II – Rose inlet Location Helipad Platform Installation:

This phase includes slinging up the new pad components, gravel fill, handheld power tools and assembling the new pad. The new pad will be a composite steel deck with one foot gravel fill on top, essentially creating a raised gravel pad. It will be assembled on site. This portion would be completed by contractors. Depending on the amount of equipment to be taken off site, and if any equipment was slung back to the staging area from the Phase I portion, helicopter slinging could be used to bring equipment back to the barge. This portion of the project is still under development.

Rose Inlet Mountaintop Communications Site is located on southern Moresby Island in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. 

Harriet Harbour shore landing excavator drop off Skincuttle Inlet is located on the southeastern  end of Moresby Island off of Skincuttle Inlet.

Huston Inlet is located on the southeastern  end of Moresby Island off of Skincuttle Inlet, Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site.