Comprehensive Study Report

The scope of the project includes the construction of the power station, control structures and sending-end station, the demolition of the existing control structures and spillway, the decommissioning of the existing generating station and the modification of the wintertime operating mode on the Saint-Maurice River.

The environmental assessment includes a review of the environmental effects of the project, including the effects of malfunctions or accidents that may occur in connection with the project, and cumulative effects that are likely to result from the project, in combination with other projects or activities that have been or will be carried out.

Environmental effects, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the CEAA are changes that the project may cause to the biophysical environment, including any effect of such change on human health and socio-economic conditions, on physical and cultural heritage (historical, archaeological, paleontological, and architectural), and on the current use of lands and resources for traditional purposes by Aboriginal persons.

The study also covers the following elements:

• purpose of the project;
• alternative means of carrying out the project;
• significance of the environmental effects;
• effects that the environment may have on the project;
• public comments;
• mitigation measures;
• need for and requirements of a follow-up program;
• evaluation of the extent to which the renewable resources that are likely to be impacted appreciably by the project can meet the needs of the present generation while ensuring that the needs of future generations are met as well.

The environmental assessment of the project is also based on the Quebec Department of the Environment and Wildlife directive, issued in 1994, specifying the nature, scope and extent of the environmental impact study, along with the specific requirements set forth by federal authorities, such as DFO's Policy for the Management of Fish Habitat setting out the no net loss principle for fish habitat and the Federal Policy on Wetland Conservation.

Depending on the magnitude of the anticipated impacts, the boundaries of the study area can be divided into three distinct zones, the local study area (Figures 1 and 2), the extended study area (Figure 2) and the zone of influence (Figure 3).

The local study zone, which is about 1.5 km long, covers the sector most likely to be affected by the project. It is delimited upstream by the Highway 153 bridge and downstream by the CN bridge. The zone of influence, comprised between Manigance Rapids in the north and Hêtres Rapids in the south, is the sector directly affected by the water-level fluctuations associated with the operation of the Grand-Mère power station. The zone of influence stretches from La Tuque, upstream, to the Forges Rapids, downstream.