Cases for QAES's and QWAES's
…and QWSP’s and QAP’s
ARHCA Environment Session, Red Deer, AB
November 6, 2014
Jay S. White, M.Sc., P. Biol, QWAES, QAES
Aquality Environmental Consulting Ltd.
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Water Act (1999)
• Governs HOW the Province manages water
• To promote the conservation and management of water, including
the wise allocation and use of water
• Promote economic growth and prosperity
• Protection of existing rights
• Focuses on managing and protecting Alberta’s water resources –
quantity AND quality
• Governs the diversion, allocation, and use of water
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Water Act (1999)
• Defines “water” and a “waterbody”
• Regulates and enforces actions that affect water
and water use management, the aquatic
environment, fish habitat protection practices,
and storm water management
• Does not distinguish between wetlands in the
White Zone and Green Zone
• Prohibits anyone from draining, altering or infilling wetlands
on private or public land unless authorized to do so by the
Province through an Approval under the provisions of the Act
• Approvals typically have conditions attached
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Water Bodies and Oil Well Sites
• Under ERCB’s Directive 56 the well centre must be 100 m from a
water body
• To obtain a routine licence for a well where the well centre is
located on Freehold or Crown land and where the 100 m setback is
not met the applicant must:
 Have Crown disposition if the well is on Crown land
 Maintain natural drainage
 Have acceptable measures in place to protect the water body during drilling
and future production operations and mitigate the consequences of a spill
• Acceptable measures include: Site and berms constructed using impermeable
materials, synthetic liner, vacuum truck, absorption material, enclosed systems
with tankage and textile mats
• The ERCB expects measures to comply with all the relevant requirements of
provincial and federal legislation and regulations
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Provincial Watercourse and
Waterbody Descriptions
• Watercourses are defined by QAES dealing
with Water Act COP issues
QAES - Flowing water
• Waterbodies are defined by QWAES dealing
with Water Act and Public Lands Act wetlands
issues
QWAES - Wetlands and lakes
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What is a QAES?
Qualified Aquatic Environment Specialist
• A QAES may include a private individual, consultant or employee of
a company that owns, plans or constructs pipeline crossings –
typically someone with educational background in environmental
sciences
• The specifications and recommendations prepared by the QAES
may include mitigation and compensation measures related to the
harmful alteration, disruption and destruction of fish habitat
(HADD)
• Not really the person you need for a wetland assessment unless
your wetland has fish in it (e.g. sport fish)
• Employed when a crossing results in a disruption or alteration of
the bed or banks of a fish bearing water body and/or when fish
passage requirements must be incorporated into the watercourse
crossing design
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
COP – Pipeline Crossings
Under the Code of Practice a
Water Body Refers to:
• a water body with defined bed
and banks, whether or not
water is continuously present,
but does not include fish
bearing lakes
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COP – Watercourse Crossing
Watercourse Crossing:
A crossing or temporary crossing and any associated permanent or
temporary structures that are or will be constructed to provide access over
or through a water body, including but not limited to a Type 1 to 6 crossings
Also Includes:
• Structures and measures to isolate the location of the works
• Erosion protection structures
• Sedimentation management structures
But does not include:
• Pipeline crossings or telecommunication line crossing
• Realignment of the channel of a water body beyond a distance of 20 m upstream
and downstream from the watercourse crossing
• Diversions of water from the site of a watercourse crossing, that require an
authorization under the Water Act
• Structures located outside the right of way of a watercourse crossing and that
require an authorization under the Water Act
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Waterbody Classes for Crossings
The class of a water body also determines the preferred type of watercourse
crossing, timing and conditions under which the watercourse crossing is
constructed, replaced or removed.
The class of a water body is based on the “sensitivity” of fish habitats and their
known distribution:
• Class A – highest sensitivity; sensitive enough to be damaged by any type of
activity within the water body; habitats are critical to the viability of a fish
species
• Class B – high sensitivity; potentially damaged by any type of activity within the
water body; habitat areas important to continued viability of a population of fish
species in the area
• Class C –moderate sensitivity; habitat areas potentially damaged by unconfined
or unrestricted activities within a water body; supporting local fish species
populations
• Class D - low sensitivity; fish species as defined under this Code of Practice not
present
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Restricted Activity Period
• As watercourse crossings have a large impact on fish therefore
restricted activity periods have been introduced
• These are times when works that disrupt the bed or banks of a
water body must be avoided to prevent disturbance of fish or fish
eggs
• If the construction is carried out within a restricted activity period,
the recommendations of a QAES are required unless otherwise
specified under the Code of Practice
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Restricted Activity Periods by Class
• Maps under this Code of Practice identify restricted activity
periods for mapped Class B and Class C water bodies
• A QAES determines the restricted activity period for a Class A
water body
• No restricted activity periods for Class D water bodies
• The Code of Practice sets out how restricted activity periods for
unmapped water bodies may be determined
The Bow River is a
Class A Water body
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Code of Practice Regional Map
Red Deer Region
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QAES Assessment
• What should you see in a QAES Assessment
Schedule 4 of COP for Pipelines (pg 26)
Schedule 2 of COP for Watercourse Crossings (pg
24)
Schedule 4 of COP for Outfall Structures (pg 30)
• Remember, QAES must be a biologist
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“Directive 056”
- ERCB
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental
www.aquality.ca http://www.ercb.ca/docs/documents/directives/directive056.pdf
September• 2011
Water Bodies and Well Sites
• Under ERCB’s Directive 56 the well centre must be 100 m from a
water body
• To obtain a routine licence for a well where the well centre is
located on Freehold or Crown land and where the 100 m setback is
not met the applicant must:
 Have Crown disposition if the well is on Crown land
 Maintain natural drainage
 Have acceptable measures in place to protect the water body during drilling
and future production operations and mitigate the consequences of a spill
• Acceptable measures include: Site and berms constructed using impermeable
materials, synthetic liner, vacuum truck, absorption material, enclosed systems
with tankage and textile mats
• The ERCB expects measures to comply with all the relevant requirements of
provincial and federal legislation and regulations
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Watercourses
Type
Large Permanent
Small Permanent
Intermittent/Spring
Ephemeral
Width
>5m
0.7 – 5 m
< 0.7 m
From: EAP Integrated Standards and Guidelines
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Channel Characteristics
Defined Channel
Defined Channel
Defined Channel
No Defined Channel
Setback Requirements
100 m
45 m
45 m
15 m
Wet Land or Wetland?
Do you have watercourses/waterbodies on your project?
Look for some of the usual euphemisms (Engineers, Surveyors,
Planners):
•
•
•
•
•
low lying area (or low wet area)
ephemeral draw
seasonally wet area (or temporarily wet area)
discharge area
vegetation change area
What is your professional due diligence? Qualified people, experience
and trust…nothing is typical, everything is unique
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
What is a QWAES?
Qualified Wetland Aquatic Environment Specialist1,2
• An individual with knowledge of the aquatic environment, wetland
soils, wetland species, hydrology and wetland margin habitat and
their management or assessment
• Performs Wetland Impact Assessments3
• The term Qualified Wetland Aquatic Environment Specialist was
taken from the Water (Ministerial) Regulation - Code of Practice for
Pipelines and Telecommunication Lines Crossing A Water Body and
modified to suit the Provincial Wetland Compensation Guidelines
1Will
become a QWSP “Qualified Wetland Science Practitioner” under the new Wetland Policy (implementation by June 2015)
Lands has introduced the term QWAP “Qualified Wetland Assessment Practitioners” who undertake wetland permanence assessments
3Will become a WAIR “Wetland Assessment and Impact Report” under the new Wetland Policy (implementation by June 2015)
2Public
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Photo credits: Claudette Lacombe
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
You need to do the following:
• Find a QWAES (preferably a professional biologist) that can do a
wetland assessment for you
• You might think you have only one or two wetlands to worry
about:
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
…when in fact you have this
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What is involved in performing
a wetland assessment?
• Getting your feet wet – must be out on site to
be able to properly classify the wetland
• Taking soil cores to look for peat or dead
vegetation accumulation
• Identification of vegetation species, paying
particular attention to wetland associated
plants
• GPS of all coring sites
Photo Credit: Julie robinson
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
PhotoEnvironmental
credit: Claudette
Lacombe
Copyright © 2014 Aquality
• www.aquality.ca
Components of a Good Wetland
Assessment?
• Wetland Assessments should contain the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Historical Air-photo Analysis
Historical climate record analysis
Classification and Delineation of the Wetland
Dominant Vegetation Species Present (submerged
aquatic vegetation, emergent, riparian, upland)
Wildlife/waterfowl/amphibian/fish species
Identification
Nesting, staging or habitat areas
Water Quality Analysis
Algae and Zooplankton Analyses (not always
necessary)
Observations about Surrounding Land-use and
Hydrology (if possible)
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Waterbodies
Type
Basin Characteristics
Setback Requirements
Lakes
Permanent Shallow Open Water Ponds
(S&K V)
Semi-Permanent Ponds (S&K IV)
Non-Permanent Seasonal Wetlands
(S&K III)
Non-Permanent Temporary Wetlands
(S&K II)
Fens (CWCS)
Open Water (> 2 m depth)
Open Water (> 2 m depth) deep marsh
margin
Emergent deep marsh throughout
Shallow marsh
100 m
100 m
Wet meadow
15 m setback requirement for wellsites
and pipelines
No specific setback – attempt to leave
undisturbed
No specific setback
Bogs (CWCS)
No defined channel – slow flowing
Peatland – acidic wetland – no flow
From: EAP Integrated Standards and Guidelines
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
100 m
45 m
Certified Professional in Erosion and
Sediment Control
Water Act Approval states Development and
Implementation of Sediment and Erosion Control
Plan (EcoPlan not detailed enough)
• Use only certified CPESCs (Vancouver Island
University)
Engineers (stamp and approve drawings)
Biologists (project monitors)
Copyright © 2014 Aquality Environmental • www.aquality.ca
Great Resources
Aquality’s Wetland Policy Website:
http://wetlandpolicy.ca/
http://albertawetlands.ca
Aquality’s Riparian Policy Website:
http://riparianpolicy.com/
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https://twitter.com/AqualityEnv
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