Report - Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale

Territorial context of the project
♦ Finding — The Panel found that the process leading the proponent to retain the
Ville-Guay sector for the LNG terminal follows a selection and assessment method
in compliance with the technical requirements and profitability considerations of this
type of project.
Geographical framework
In the impact statement, the proponent retained two separate study areas. The first
includes the land considered for building the LNG terminal and the natural gas
pipeline, namely an area of 600 km 2 along the St. Lawrence River, from Beaumont to
Saint-Nicolas. The second study zone (70 km 2 ) encompasses the area likely to be
affected by the terminal. It covers part of the Desjardins borough in Lévis and part of
the municipality of Beaumont. The zone also includes the southern edge of the île
d’Orléans at Sainte-Pétronille, Saint-Laurent, and Saint-Jean (PR3.1, Fig. 2.1).
Biophysical context
The two study areas are located in the freshwater estuary of the St. Lawrence River
(DesGranges and Ducruc, 2000) 1 . The estuary comprises three sections including the
section which is concerned by the project and which extends from Neuville to Saint-
François, at the eastern end of île d’Orléans, where the brackish water begins. The
normal navigation channel known as the chenal des Grands Voiliers, goes along the
south side of île d’Orléans, across from Ville-Guay. It is dredged periodically to a
depth of 12.5 m for one section and it reaches a maximum depth of 32 m towards the
east (PR3.3.1, p. 2.27).
From a phytogeographic standpoint, the St. Lawrence River estuary extends from
Grondines to Montmagny. The estuary has large tides that average 4.4 m and can
reach more than 7 m. Shoreline vegetation develops in very particular conditions
arising from the mix of fresh water and brackish water and to the tidal pattern. Several
plant species peculiar to the estuary are found there, including some with a special or
a precarious status. The river estuary is thus considered to be a unique ecosystem in
North America (EB experts conseils, 2004) 2 , which is also reflected in its benthic, fish,
and avian fauna, illustrating both diversity of species and special status species. The
project would be located in the bioclimatic zone of the basswood sugar-maple forest,
and mixed forest dominates the regional forest landscape in the area where the
1. DesGranges, J.-L., J.-P. Ducruc, 2000. Biodiversity Portrait of the St. Lawrence. Canadian Wildlife Service,
Environment Canada, Québec Region and Direction du patrimoine écologique, ministère de l'Environnement du
Québec, [On-line: www.qc.ec.gc.ca/faune/biodiv].
2. EB experts conseils in collaboration with le Groupe Optivert et Beauregard et ass. 2004. Concept et orientations
d’aménagement d’un réseau vert et bleu unifié sur le territoire de la Communauté métropolitaine de Québec. p. 59.
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