Public Notice

Break Wall Section Replacement - St. Clair National Wildlife Area– Public Comments Invited

May 31, 2024 – The authority must determine whether the proposed Break Wall Section Replacement, located in St. Clair National Wildlife Area is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

To help inform this determination, the authority is inviting comments from the public respecting that determination. All comments received will be considered public and may be posted online.

 

Written comments must be submitted by July 2, 2024 to:

John Viengkone

Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service

4905 Dufferin St., Toronto, ON M3H 5T4

416-884-5148

John.Viengkone@ec.gc.ca

 

The Proposed Project

 

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Canadian Wildlife Service (ECCC-CWS) is proposing to replace a 30-meter section of the metal sheet pilling break wall to maintain the dike infrastructure within the St. Clair National Wildlife Area, located in Pain Court, Ontario. Dikes are crucial to controlling the water levels within the National Wildlife Area. They also help mitigate the risk of flooding and improve wildlife habitat. Proper functioning of this infrastructure is necessary to ensure the effective management of the area for wildlife, their habitats, federal infrastructure, and public visitor access.

 

The break wall is damaged and needs to be replaced.  The existing 30-metre section of damaged break wall will be removed and replaced with a new 30-metre section of break wall. This will involve the use of heavy machinery to both remove the existing break wall and install the new break wall section.

 

The proposed work will be completed within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment and Climate Change Canada's species and risk timing windows. Prior to any work commencing, wildlife exclusion fencing will be installed, and the work area will be searched daily by qualified individuals to remove any wildlife. Exposed soil and excavated material will be re-graded, stabilized and/or re-seeded using appropriate native plants, soils, seed mix and seed application at the completion of construction. Sediment and erosion control will be used where necessary.