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Notice of an Environmental Assessment by
Independent Panel Review
EnCana
Corporation ? Proposed Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Suffield National Wildlife
Area Natural Gas Infill Development Project
CFB Suffield (AB)
EnCana Corporation is proposing to drill up to 1275 new
shallow gas wells within the boundary of the Canadian Forces Base Suffield
National Wildlife Area (NWA) over a three-year period, essentially doubling the
existing 1154 gas wells installed over the past 30 years. The proposal would
see the development of a maximum of 16 wells per 640-acre section. Associated
with these wells will be pipelines to connect the wells to existing and new
infrastructure for delivery to market.
The Project for the purpose of an environmental assessment
by DND includes the physical works and the activities associated with the
preparation, construction, operation and decommissioning/abandonment of: the
shallow gas wells, the pipelines, and supporting facilities and infrastructure.
The proponent has indicated that there will be no
requirement for additional compressor stations or roads associated with this
project. In addition, as the Project involves the extraction of sweet gas,
there will be no issues associated with hydrogen sulphide.
Once available, a detailed scope of project and a scope of
assessment will be posted on this Web site.
Under section 5 of the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Act, an environmental assessment is required for this Project
because DND may issue a permit under section 4 of the Wildlife Area
Regulations of the Canada Wildlife Act
The Project is subject to regulatory approvals of the
Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (AEUB). Although the Project does not
require an environmental assessment under Alberta legislation, the AEUB and
Alberta Sustainable Resources Development will participate in the federal
environmental assessment under Appendix 3 of the Canada-Alberta Agreement for
Environmental Assessment Cooperation.
CFB Suffield National Wildlife Area Background
Information:
CFB Suffield is located in south-eastern Alberta,
approximately 50 km northwest of Medicine Hat and 250 km Southeast of Calgary.
It is one of the largest military training areas in the western world at 2690
km 2. In June 2003, the eastern boundary of the base was designated as a
National Wildlife Area under the Wildlife Area Regulations of the Canada
Wildlife Act. The NWA encompasses 458 km 2 of unploughed prairie grassland
blanketing rare landscapes of national significance including sand hills,
ancient glacial coulees, and the riverbank and breaks along the South
Saskatchewan River valley. It occurs within the Dry Mixed Grass Ecoregion or
climatic zone that dominates the southeast corner of the province. For public
safety reasons, t here is no public access to the NWA.
The NWA is administered and managed, in cooperation with
Environment Canada, by DND. As one of the few extant large blocks of unaltered
Dry Mixed-grass Prairie, the NWA hosts over 1,100 catalogued species including
244 vertebrate, 462 plant, and 436 invertebrate species. Of this rich
species assemblage, 14 are listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered
Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as species at risk, and 78 species of animals and
plants are listed in the Status of Alberta Wildlife 2000 as ?at risk? or
otherwise ?sensitive? because of their declining abundance. Considering the ongoing
threat to native prairie ecosystems and associated unique land forms,
designating this nationally significant area as a NWA was accomplished to
ensure critical habitat protection for species at risk
and reverse habitat loss and fragmentation trends by increasing protected
habitat outside National Parks.
For further information on this environmental assessment by
panel review, please contact:
Marie-France
Therrien
Panel
Manager
Canadian
Environmental Assessment Agency
160
Elgin Street, 22nd floor
Place
Bell Canada
Ottawa,
Ontario, K1A 0H3
Phone:
613-957-0324
Fax:
613-957-0941
Email:
marie-france.therrien@ceaa-acee.gc.ca
Mr. Eric
Trépanier
Senior Environmental Advisor
Land Force Command
Department of National Defence
101 Colonel by Drive, 18NT
Ottawa (ON) K1A 0K2
Telephone: (613) 945-0398
Fax: (613) 945-0483
Email trepanier.ep@forces.gc.ca
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