Serving Lake Erie’s North Shore Friday August 14, 2015
INSIDE Port Stanley Harbourfest 2015 The Harbourfest event itself was run by a committee of the Port Stanley Business Association (BIA). STORY PAGE 3
Report from Transport Canada Provides Future vision for Port Stanley Harbour
Port Stanley Report At their July meeting Heritage Port members met at the Dowler-Karn MuSTORY PAGE 4 seum in St. Thomas.
Missing Rail Link To Be Restored This significant rail infrastructure project will help celebrate Canada’s 150th Anniversary in 2017. STORY PAGE 5
Port Burwell Report The Ojibwa is quietly, out of the limelight, attracting a steady stream of visitors this season. STORY PAGE 6
Port Stanley harbour summer 2015.
Transport Canada, Public Works and Government Services
Figure 1: The harbour plan showing areas being assessed including vacant land shown in green, known locally as the Berm.
Transport Canada transferred ownership of the Port Stanley Harbour to the Municipality of Central Elgin (MCE) in September 2010 as part of Transport Canada’s National Marine Policy. This included the water lot and four land parcels: West Pier, East Headlands, East Pier South and East Pier North/Parkette (Figure 1).
Bayham Community Centres The election of a new Council should be an exciting time for any Municipality – it represents fresh perspectives, new opportunities and a renewed sense of energy for a community at large. STORY PAGE 6
Port Bruce Report On July 31st, at the Port Bruce pavilion, a funding announcement was made that will hopefully lessen the potential for flooding in future years. STORY PAGE 7
Investment for HMCS Prevost Port Stanley This important investment will be made to remodel, repair and upgrade infrastructure . STORY PAGE 9
LOOK AHEAD Community Events
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Classifieds & Service Directory Page 11 Business Roladex
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LEB Circulation The Lake Erie Beacon is delivered free of charge to over 6000 homes, apartments and businesses along the north shore of Lake Erie. In addition copies are available at selected locations in Rodney, West Lorne, Dutton, St.Thomas and Port Stanley.
As part of the transfer agreement, Transport Canada committed to completing certain environmental work according to Ontario regulation (O.Reg 153/04) requirements. This includes completion of an environmental risk assessment (RA), implementation of remediation and/or risk management measures required to enable the specified land use (i.e., parkland for East Headlands; commercial/industrial for West Pier and the East Pier lots), and preparation of documents necessary for MCE to file Records of Site Condition (RSCs) for the properties. To address the MOECC comments, and to meet the new O. Reg. 153/04 re-
What is an environmental RA? An environmental RA is a scientific process used to describe and estimate the likelihood of adverse health effects (i.e., potential risks) to human and ecological receptors resulting from exposure to environmental contaminants at a site. Three components mus t be present for potential risks to exist: quirements (as amended and in effect on July 1, 2011), from 2011-2015, supplementary assessments and investigations were completed, risks to human and ecological receptors were re-evaluated, and proposed risk management measures were developed. In January 2014 a follow-up PIS was delivered to present findings of the risk evaluations, remediation requirements and the recommended risk management plan (RMP), and to receive and address comments/questions from the public.
1. Chemicals must be present at concentrations sufficient to cause a possible adverse effect; 2. A receptor (e.g., people, wildlife) must be present; and 3. There must be a complete exposure pathway by which the receptor can come into contact with the chemical. Where potential risks are identified, remediation and/or risk management is required to address the risk. Continued On Page 8
Funding For Asian Carp Protection Marc Gaden Communications Director Protecting the Great Lakes from Asian carp and other aquatic nuisance species is a top priority for regional stakeholders, and the U.S. President’s budget should reflect this sense of urgency. This was conveyed this week to President Obama in a joint letter from the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission urging funding for a robust and aggressive program to protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp in the FY 2017 federal budget, now being prepared. The letter emphasized monitoring and control actions being coordinated by the multi-agency Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee and a study being led by the Army Corps of Engineers to develop a plan to deploy control technologies at a key lock on the Illinois River to prevent Asian carp
An Asian Carp captured by a U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife Service officer.
from advancing closer to the Great Lakes. “It is vital that we sustain and fully fund current Asian carp monitoring and control efforts; develop and implement technologies to impede their expansion; and improve control measures on all potential pathways into the Great Lakes basin,” the letter said. The two commissions and other regional leaders are urging swift action to test and deploy control measures to stop the upstream movement of Asian carp at the Brandon Road lock and dam, located on the Illinois River in Joliet, Ill., southwest of Chicago. Concerned about the four-year timeframe for completing the Brandon Road Continued On Page 11