The Adisoke Connection to Cliff West District Energy System  - 555 Albert Street, Ottawa, Ontario – Public Comments Invited

August 6, 2024 – The authorities must determine whether the proposed The Adisoke Connection to Cliff West District Energy System, located in Ottawa is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

To help inform this determination, the authorities are 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 September 6, 2024 to:

Environment, Health and Safety

Public Services and Procurement Canada

11 Laurier St, Portage III, Place du Portage
Gatineau, QC  K1A 0S5

Email: TPSGC.RCNLVEEListedeControle-NCRECMPChecklist.PWGSC@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca

 

The Proposed Project

The Energy Services Acquisition Program (ESAP) is a federal greening government program initiated to modernize the National Capital Region District Energy System (NCR DES), which provides heating services to over 80 buildings and cooling services to nearly 70 buildings in the National Capital Region. The ESAP program is a demonstration of the Government of Canada leading by example in the context of climate change, by making its own operations greener and adopting technologies that significantly cut carbon pollution, improve energy efficiency, increase safety and reliability, and ensure a safer future for our children and generations to follow.

The Adisoke ESAP Ottawa Expansion project sets out to connect ESAP heating and cooling services to the new Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada (OPL-LAC) Joint Facility, currently under construction at 555 Albert Street, Ottawa, Ontario. The initial Adisöke heating and cooling needs for construction will begin when the building envelope is near completion in the Fall of 2024 and will continue until the building is ready for occupancy in the Spring of 2026.

The Adisoke early requirement for heating and cooling services is in advance of the ESAP substantial completion of the NCR DES in October 2025. Therefore, a temporary and permanent provision for heating and cooling services is necessary and is being managed by ESAP. The Adisöke connection to the NCR DES will be completed in two stages. The first stage (Stage 1) is the Interim (temporary) Energy Center and buried service piping to the Adisoke building with design and construction works to be completed Summer 2025. The Interim (temporary) Energy Center and buried service piping will be constructed on Commissioner Street in Ottawa through an agreement with the City of Ottawa.The second stage (Stage 2) will be the permanent lateral connection to the NCR DES, which will be covered under this project. The connection to the ESAP DES requires the installation of low-temperature hot water and chilled water direct buried piping. In total, there are four pipes, one supply and one return for each service and a communication conduit. These pipes are 250mm and 150mm in diameter and cover a distance of approximately 260 meters. The final connection to the NCR DES will take place on the lands near and on the NCC multi-use pathway between Wellington Street and Albert Street partially running through a green space near parallel to Commissioner Street.

The Adisoke Direct Buried Lateral Connection Piping to the NCR DES project is subject to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), the National Capital Commission (NCC) and a limited City of Ottawa review and approval. A majority of the proposed project will take place on NCC lands and is subject to a federal land use, design, and real estate transaction approval under the National Capital Act. The PSPC Environmental COE has made a determination that Stage 2 works shall be considered a Basic Project under the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) 2019. In addition to the NCC, other Federal Authorities may be identified during the project development process, and if so, will be coordinated with them.

Figure 1: Proposed Stage 2 direct buried lateral connection piping.

The Stage 2 connection of the ESAP DES energy distribution system piping will be implemented in two phases. The first phase, Phase 1, of the work will take place south end of the NCC multi-use pathway (MUP) running parallel to Commissioner Street starting in late Winter 2025 with a target finishing date of Spring 2025 to minimize the construction impact on the Pooley's Bridge crossing and the southern end of the NCC MUP. The second phase of work, Phase 2, will take place on the lands south of the look-out and on the north section of the multi-use pathway approaching the Kichi Zibi Mikan Parkway. The Phase 2 work will start late Spring 2025 and with a target completion late Summer 2025.

The Phase 1 and 2 construction activities for the areas includes:

• Establishing a detour for the multi-use pathway, site mobilization, fencing, site stripping and clearing, selective tree removals, temporary relocation of the Trans Canada Trail Pavilion, excavation, installation of direct buried piping, and reinstatement of the multi-use pathway and landscaping.
• Selective tree removals are anticipated outside of the bird nesting season (i.e., before April 2025). Native species will be used for the compensation replantings of new trees and vegetation to replace those removed.

The majority of the project is located on NCC lands east of Commissioner Street, between Pooley's Bridge to the south and Kichi Zibi Mikan Parkway to the north. At the south end near the Adisoke Library a small portion of City of Ottawa lands will be used.   

The majority of the construction exterior work is expected use a combination mechanized equipment, such as excavators, skid-steer loader and dump trucks, along with hand-held power tools, such as small electric, gas or pneumatic operated tools (i.e., quick cut concrete saw, chipping tools, welding machines, and grinders etc.). Construction work will abide by all municipal by-laws, including noise.

For the duration of each phase of the project a proposed detour route for the multi-use pathway around the construction activities is required and shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3. 

Figure 2: Phase 1 proposed work area and detour of the multi-use pathway.

Figure 3: Phase 2 proposed work area and detour of the multi-use pathway.