Report - Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale

Impacts on the inhabited area and human activities
The channel at the level of île aux Coudres is also considered as a narrow passage
that sometimes necessitates special navigation procedures. The proponent suggested
that the LNG tanker take the île aux Coudres turn alone, without two-way traffic, and
that it wait or slow down before taking the île aux Coudres turn, if another ship is
present, thereby having no effect on traffic flow in the opposite direction (ibid., p. 44).
Consequently, waiting areas were identified for LNG tankers in the event of
restrictions on navigation. In the case of normal anchorage, either anchorage
anticipated because of announced wind or visibility conditions, three areas were
designated between the Cabot Strait and Quebec City: to the west of île Rasade
Nord-Est outside the ice season, Pointe-au-Pic, and Sault-au-Cochon. As Figure 7
shows, the proponent also proposed a temporary anchorage upriver from the
Traverse du Nord, more specifically southwest of the île Madame reef, 1 665 metres
east of Pointe Saint-Jean, as a waiting area for the Traverse du Nord channel.
Transport Canada, nevertheless, made it known that anchoring at that spot would
only be permitted in exceptional circumstances, considering that an LNG tanker
should transit through the Traverse du Nord, either going to or coming from the
terminal, only when it is established that weather, tide, ice and traffic conditions allow
it. When conditions do not allow it, the tanker must wait at the terminal or one of the
anchorages at Sault-au-Cochon, Pointe-au-Pic or île Rasade Nord-Est (DQ66.2).
Thus, detailed planning, based on conditions and traffic, will be the determining
factors to allow the passage of LNG tankers through the Traverse du Nord area
without causing delays for other ships in transit.
♦ Finding — The Panel takes note of the fact that the proponent is committed to
adapting to existing traffic and that in the event of restrictions on passage in the
Traverse du Nord area or at the île aux Coudres turn, the LNG tankers would plan
their movements so as not to cause major delays for other ships.
Movement of LNG tankers under Hydro-Québec
transmission lines
On arrival and departure, LNG tankers must pass under Hydro-Québec’s high voltage
transmission lines located 1,4 km downstream from the terminal and which cross the
St. Lawrence River at that point. According to Hydro-Québec, for safety reasons the
clearance needed between the lines and the water level should be 52 m under normal
conditions. Nevertheless, the clearance could be insufficient for the passage of LNG
tankers on certain occasions, such as extreme ice accumulation during the winter, for
196 Rabaska Project – Implementation of an LNG Terminal and Related Infrastructure