Report - Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale

Conclusion
In order to optimize the potential for related development, the City of Lévis should
maintain industrial zoning of lands adjoining the project, if authorised, that would be
conducive to the development of cold-processing industries in that area. The city
should also request the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec to
exclude these properties, along with those needed for the possible completion of the
project, from the permanent agricultural zone.
The Panel takes note that the project would contribute to an increase in Quebec’s
carbon dioxide emissions. Nevertheless, it is of the view that there is no contradiction
between this eventuality and the goals of Quebec’s 2006-2012 action plan for climate
change, given that the increase could be compensated for by reductions of these
emissions in other areas of activity. In this regard, the Panel takes into account the
substitution of fuels with higher carbon content by the extra supply of natural gas from
this project. In the Panel’s opinion, the emission charges set out in the 2006-2012
action plan could strengthen the possibility of such beneficial substitutions.
The Panel recognizes that during the construction phase, the project could exceed
noise criteria set by the ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et
des Parcs. However, the proponent has offered financial compensation for temporary
moves by residents who might be affected.
In terms of impact on air quality, the Panel notes that the use of diesel fuel containing
0.5% sulphur by LNG carriers’ auxiliary generators would be an added source of
sulphur dioxide emissions in the residential neighbourhoods of Ville-Guay. The effect
would be that the maximum concentration predicted for the area above the jetty,
based on the proponent’s air quality modelling, would only be 1 µg/m³ under the
hourly standard set in the Projet de règlement sur l’assainissement de l’atmosphère.
The Panel recommends that samples taken at the proponent’s monitoring station be
analyzed in concert with the ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement
et des Parcs. When standard limits are exceeded, the situation should be corrected to
the department’s satisfaction.
The Panel recommends that the proponent prepare a surface water management
plan, to the satisfaction of governmental authorities concerned, that would ensure
maintenance of an acceptable flow rate in the ruisseau SaintClaude and protect the
refuge pond’s ecological integrity.
The Panel is of the view that the proponent should avoid any encroachment on peat
bogs in the area set aside for land facilities, even at the cost of cutting back on the
effectiveness of measures designed to mitigate the project’s visual impacts. The
Panel is also of the view that any residual losses in these areas should be
compensated on the basis of guidelines set forth by the ministère du Développement
durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs. Beyond this, the proponent should study
the possibility of changing the gas pipeline’s route to skirt the Saint-Étienne-de-
Lauzon peat bog.
226 Rabaska Project – Implementation of an LNG Terminal and Related Infrastructure