THE BAPE REPORT IS NOW PUBLIC
Québec City, October
22, 2004 – At the request of the Minister
of the Environment, Thomas J. Mulcair, today the Bureau
d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement
(BAPE) released its inquiry and public hearing report
on the stakes related to seismic surveys in the Estuary
and Gulf of St. Lawrence. The mandate to hold an inquiry
and a public hearing began last March 15 and the report
was tabled with the Minister of the Environment on
schedule on August 31, 2004. The Commission entrusted
with the portfolio was chaired by Michel Germain,
assisted by commissioners Pierre André and
Jacques Locat.
The Commission has concluded that
before proceeding with seismic testing in the Estuary
and Gulf of St. Lawrence with high-power equipment
such as that used in oil and gas or scientific exploration,
a review of the literature must be carried out to
determine the effects of survey activity on marine
life, certain areas where such a practice could be
restricted have to be protected, and to create a legal
environmental framework for authorizing projects of
this kind has to be implemented. The Commission maintains
that high-pressure sound causes behavioural changes
in a number of species and may cause physiological
damage and kill surrounding marine life.
While the thousands of kilometres
of seismic survey lines acquired in the Estuary and
Gulf of St. Lawrence since the 1960s do not seem to
have had any visible effects on the marine environment,
there are several persistent social and scientific
concerns. If seismic surveys prove to influence migration
routes, habitats or feeding grounds, or if they interfere
with the ability of marine life to hear or communicate,
it could spell long-term consequences for the ecological
integrity of the St. Lawrence, for fisheries and for
ecotourism. Given limited knowledge and the high level
of concern, the Commission feels that a precautionary
approach is called for in seismic testing in the Estuary
and Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Furthermore, given the complexity
of the St. Lawrence system, the Commission deems it
crucial that the model used to estimate noise mitigation
be adapted and validated based on the features of
the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence before new high-power
seismic surveys are carried out. Validation of the
noise mitigation model would enable more accurate
definition of safety corridors, thereby helping to
better protect marine mammals, several species of
which are threatened or vulnerable, but also to protect
the fish and invertebrates on which the fishery depends.
Various measures can be used to mitigate or eliminate
the impact of seismic surveys on marine life and human
activity. They must be chosen in accordance with the
limits of knowledge about the ecology of the various
species in question as well as the physical conditions
specific to the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Before new high-power seismic surveys
are carried out, it is critical for the Commission
to define the areas to be protected in the Estuary
and Gulf of St. Lawrence, which could include the
migration and spawning corridors, habitats, and feeding
grounds needed for the development of a species or
of several species. Protected area status could lead
to a permanent ban or periodic moratoriums on seismic
surveys or to the introduction of special requirements
for testing.
The Commission believes that Québec
should introduce an environmental authorization procedure
for seismic surveys in the Estuary and Gulf of St.
Lawrence. The lack of a recognized environmental protocol
for seismic surveys hinders the planning and evaluation
of such projects. The Commission also hopes that a
harmonized environmental assessment procedure will
be developed by the governments of Québec,
Canada and the Atlantic Provinces for both the Estuary
and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Lastly, the Commission notes that public hearing participants
wished to be consulted not only on the environmental
stakes related to seismic surveys, but also on the
Government of Québec’s offshore hydrocarbon
development project. The representatives of the committee
of experts were able to answer several of the questions
from public hearing participants, but the lack of
a framework document on the ins and outs of oil and
gas exploration and possible development in the St.
Lawrence was perplexing to many. The Commission hopes
that the parliamentary commission on Québec’s
energy security announced for this autumn and the
future forum on integrated management of the St. Lawrence
planned as part of the Water Policy will address the
stakes related to the possible development of offshore
hydrocarbons in the St. Lawrence.
The Commission has submitted a total
of 16 opinions to the Minister of the Environment
and 10 recommendations concerning sound wave emissions
from seismic survey equipment, marine mammals and
their habitats, fisheries, ecotourism, the government’s
responsibilities and areas of jurisdiction, and development
choices.
AVAILABILITY OF THE REPORT
The inquiry and the public hearing
report on the stakes related to seismic surveys in
the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence is now available
at BAPE documentation centres, the reading rooms opened
as part of BAPE’s mandate, and on the BAPE web
site at www.bape.gouv.qc.ca. It is also available
through the BAPE office by e-mail at communication@bape.gouv.qc.ca,
or by phone at (418) 643-7447 or at toll-free 1-800-463-4732.
In all, 18 public sessions were held
in Rimouski, Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Gaspé,
Sept-Îles and Québec City, for a total
attendance of over 600 participants. In the first
part of the hearing, broadcast on the Internet, participants
were briefed on the portfolio and asked questions—some
of them e-mailed to the Commission—about the
stakes related to seismic surveys. The Commission
received 66 briefs, 44 of which were presented before
the Commission during the public sessions that took
place in the second part of the hearing.
– 30 –
Source: Marie-Ève Chamberland,
Communications Advisor
(418) 643-7447or 1-800-463-4732
marie-eve.chamberland@bape.gouv.qc.ca
The report is available in French
only.