Vol. 6, No. 1 March 2008
A major challenge in 2008 SPRING HAS SPRUNG
Some jobs draw to an end while others begin
Downstream section of the transfer tunnel
The project in pictures
People with a powerful vision
A year of great challenges JL – In summer 2008, the jobsites of the future hydroelectric development will be teeming with activity; in fact, at the project’s peak, more than 3,600 workers will be busy on all three jobsites. Countless efforts will be made to finish excavating Eastmain-1-A powerhouse on schedule, so that the concrete work planned for early summer will not be delayed. In addition, nearly 300 of the new Sarcelle workcamp’s 800 beds will be available as of this fall.
Work on the Rupert diversion will be going full swing this year. The 3-km-long transfer tunnel will be completed in December, backfill work will be finalized on several of the 74 dikes and 4 dams, and Rupert spillway will start up in July. Operating the spillway will make it possible to dewater the section of the Rupert River where the 30-metre-high rockfill dam will be built; the latter is expected to be finished at the end of summer 2009.
With regard to land-clearing work, winter 2008 will have seen more than 28,000 cubic metres of merchantable timber (about 600 truckloads) recovered and transported to the Barrette-Chapais sawmill, under an agreement with the Cree sawmill in Waswanipi. In spring, the tallymen will resume work on land-clearing contracts on their traplines in the Rupert diversion bay area.
SPRING HAS SPRUNG
Some jobs draw to an end while others begin
VGP – With spring just around the corner, the contractors have had to step up the pace of the winter work and plan for the summer work to come. At Rupert jobsite, contractors FGL, CRT-Hamel and CCDC took advantage of the winter weather, when road excavation and construction are more cost-effective, to move ahead with work in the peatlands. Building a winter road is a pretty simple process. An excavator opens the road and removes the layer of overburden, if necessary. The road is then graded, leaving the cold and frost to do the rest of the job. When spring arrives, winter roads progressively disappear. Before long, they can no longer support the weight of heavy machinery. Peatlands are easier to excavate in the winter. However, the contractor must make sure that heavy machinery does not roll over the same spot too often, since the ground would harden, making excavation impossible. The result is a main road with short sections of secondary road; in the end, only the compacted central strip of the main road should need to be blasted. Summer work Construction work on the dikes should resume once the till—the material used for the dike core—is no longer likely to freeze. Most of the dikes at the Rupert jobsite will be built in 2008. Supervisor - SEBJ Public Relations Yves Barrette / Artistic Director Bionda Miotto / Editor-in-Chief Jimmy Lavoie 819 672-2200, ext. 3853, lavoie.jimmy@hydro.qc.ca Writers Brian Brousseau, Véronique Gagnon-Piquès, Nathalie Girard, Karine Lemay Contributors France Brûlé, Linda Chrétien , Marvyn Bergeron Translator Margaret Kane Savage / Reviser Patricia Hamilton / Graphic Design Paul Salois Design / Photographer Paul Brindamour, Martin Noël / Printer Imprimerie Lebonfon Eastmain Magazine is published by SEBJ Public Relations for the workers of the Eastmain-1-A/Sarcelle/Rupert project. Internet site: www.hydroquebec.com/rupert Extranet site: www.extranetsebj.ca Eastmain Magazine is printed on chlorine-and acid-free EcoLogo certified paper, made in Québec using biogas energy and containing 100% post-consumer fibre.
2 Eastmain Magazine March 2008
People with a powerful vision
The project in pictures Rupert spillway Work is moving ahead steadily on the Rupert spillway. Concrete pours have been completed and crews are now working on building the access bridge. Construction of the service building for gate and stoplog operation will begin soon, as will gate and stoplog installation itself.
Eastmain Magazine March 2008 3
The project in pictures Transfer tunnel
Work on the transfer tunnel is going well. Just under 2 kilometres of fullface drilling and blasting have been carried out to date. The upstream and downstream sections are expected to meet in early summer. The transfer tunnel will connect the forebay and tailbay, sending part of the Rupert River’s flow toward Eastmain 1 reservoir.
4 Eastmain Magazine March 2008
People with a powerful vision
The project in pictures Nemiscau-1 Work on the Nemiscau-1 instream flow release structure is almost finished. The flow can be diverted into it within a few weeks, and then activities can begin at the site of the future Nemiscau-1 dam.
Eastmain Magazine March 2008 5
The project in pictures Canals
There are about 11 canals to be excavated at the Rupert jobsite in order to channel flow northward. Canal C6
Canal C1
Canal C6
Canal‘ C4
6 Eastmain Magazine March 2008
People with a powerful vision
Rock excavation at the Eastmain-1-A Powerhouse site In early March, the first Neilson-EBC workers were mobilized to continue rock excavation at the future Eastmain-1-A powerhouse—and there is a lot of rock to excavate! As of March 8, some 718,000 m3 of rock had been removed, representing 43% of the total volume.
Eastmain Magazine March 2008 7
Spending time together
On February 9th, the Neeposh family, in cooperation with the Weh-Sees Indohoun Corporation, invited project workers to an ice fishing activity on Cabot Lake. This pleasant outing enabled participants to get to know each other and discover new aspects of Native culture.
Tracking caribou KL - This winter, there were so many caribou migrating south that it was almost impossible not to see a herd at every turn. Every year, two of the largest caribou herds in the world travel thousands of kilometres across the Nord-du-Québec Region, looking for food and avoiding wolves and biting insects. The processes that cause northern caribou populations to increase or decline are still an enigma to the biologists who study them. In the 18th century, there were many caribou herds in the region. However, from 1890 to 1910, caribou went through such a radical demographic decline that species survival was threatened, leaving scientists scrambling to explain it. In
8 Eastmain Magazine March 2008
the 1970s, herd size suddenly increased dramatically, once again without any definitive explanation. Since 1991, Faune Québec has been tracking the caribou herds using a method developed in cooperation with several associates. Currently, more than 70 caribou in northern Québec are fitted with satellite collars. This technology has shown that caribou herds definitely travel more than most land animals; they can cover up to 6,000 kilometres a year.
Maps showing caribou movements are available on the Web site of the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune (http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/faune/ cartes-caribou/cartes.jsp).
According to the 2001 inventory, there were about 385,000 caribou in the George River Herd, while the Leaf River Herd numbered nearly 628,000.
People with a powerful vision
A major challenge in 2008:
the temporary dike at Eastmain-1-A powerhouse finely crushed aggregate.
Photo 1
KL - The Eastmain 1-A jobsite is about to face a major technical challenge. To supply its three generating units, the new powerhouse will be using the same reservoir as the Eastmain-1 facility, located roughly 500 metres to the west. Consequently, a temporary dike will have to be built in Eastmain 1 reservoir to enable workers to excavate the headrace and build the water intake in the dry. The structure will be 750 metres long and will begin at the spurs already set in place at dike LE-14. The core of the temporary dike will consist of crushed aggregate and a series of sheet piles, to ensure that the structure is watertight. Two riprap shoulders, upstream and downstream, will protect the core. Since the dike is temporary, its designers had to factor in specific constraints, the main one being the cost of placement and removal. The structure therefore had to be as narrow as possible, but sufficiently wide to guarantee that it remained stable and was able to withstand the reservoir’s water pressure while the downstream enclosure was kept dewatered during construction of the intake. Finally, the work platform had to be wide enough to ensure safe and fluid vehicle circulation during fill placement. The next step posed quite a challenge: since it will be impossible to erect the dike in the dry, it will be necessary to deposit the materials in the water and control slumping, particularly of the dike core, which is composed of
SEBJ therefore mandated Groupe-Conseil LaSalle inc. to study the behaviour of each type of material as it is dumped, whether in calm water or in the presence of currents, at depths of up to 20 metres. The firm conducted laboratory tests that involved using scale models to simulate the placement of the temporary dike. Each portion of the dike was put together by successively depositing the materials from the structure’s work platform. The dumping point for each load formed the dike face. The tests led to the conclusion that a constant offset and an ideal distance between the advancing face of the core and the two lateral embankments had to be maintained as the material was being dumped. In fact, this procedure has been used in the past, when a similar dike of the same height was successfully built in Western Canada.
The scale-model simulations are done; now comes the engineering portion. To be continued‌ Photo 1: Typical laboratory cross-section Figure 1: Plan view of the temporary dike Figure 2: Typical cross-section of the temporary dike
Figure 1
Figure 2
Eastmain Magazine March 2008 9
Relocating sections of 735-kV lines
NG – The transmission lines originating at the La Grande complex generating stations spread across Québec like a spider web. Sections of three of these lines must be relocated because they cross part of the territory that will be flooded by the future tailbay. At least 19 towers and more than 8 kilometres of circuits 7059, 7069 and 7070 will be affected. Before Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie can relocate the sections, a series of small jobs must be carried out. First, islets must be built to support new towers. Then,
backfill must be added to the bases of some of the existing towers to protect their guy wires from the effects of the rising water level. Two contractors are in charge of the work involved in relocating the transmission line sections. CRT-Hamel was responsible for building three backfill islets and adding protective backfill to an existing tower. The work, which was completed in mid-February, was carried out on circuit 7059.
A few kilometres farther south, the Cree Construction and Development Company (CCDC) will be dumping fill to build five islets as foundations for new towers for circuits 7069 and 7070. The contractor will also be backfilling to protect the bases or guy wires of five existing towers. CCDC expects to begin the work in mid-April and finish it by mid-July.
Sakami outlet NG – Work directly related to the Rupert diversion will begin next month, at a site more than 500 kilometres north of Rupert workcamp, near LG-3. A canal is being built at the outlet of Sakami Lake to help channel the flow toward Robert-Bourassa reservoir. A concrete weir will be inserted into the canal to maintain the water level agreed to under the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. The structure will
10 Eastmain Magazine March 2008
limit the environmental impacts on Sakami Lake. The work will be done in several phases. The contractor will begin by building an access road to the work area. Next, five hectares of land will be cleared before the excavation of nearly 180,000 m3 of overburden begins. Then, at least 6,000 m3 of concrete will be poured. Finally, the upstream and downstream plugs, representing 70,000 m3 of material,
will be excavated. About 100 people will be working on the Sakami canal for roughly 8 months. The Sakami canal will be ready to play its part as a control structure for this increased-flow section by November 2008—one year before the partial diversion of the Rupert River.
People with a powerful vision
Happy Birthday, Eastmain-1!
KL - Since December 2006, the three generating units at Eastmain-1 powerhouse have proved that they could operate at full power with nary a hiccup.
contractors’ experience, the advanced technology and the quality of the delivered product greatly contributed to this huge success.
One year ago, SEBJ gave birth to the latest member of the La Grande complex clan. After a full year of operations, the powerhouse is living up to engineers’ expectations. According to Claude Courchesne, Section Manager for mechanical and electrical systems at SEBJ, the
Although the powerhouse is now operational, Hydro-Québec Production will have to wait until late August 2008 before the final handover takes place. Since delivery of the generating units was a priority for Hydro-Québec, the contracts for finishing work at the powerhouse, such as cleaning,
Playing its cards right
painting and civil works, had to be carried out after the units were commissioned. By late summer 2008, the powerhouse’s generating units will be put through the final performance tests intended to prove that they meet the contractual requirements. Another engineering success for Québec…and another feather in SEBJ’s cap!
Nord-du-Québec Abitibi-Témiscamingue region
$ 64,635,471
KL – Armed with the lessons learned during the hydroelectric projects of the 1970s and 80s, the host region is now well-equipped to handle contracts related to megaprojects. The Nord-du-Québec and AbitibiTémiscamingue regions created ComaxNORD and ComaxAT with a view to maximizing economic spinoffs from the large-scale projects Hydro-Québec is carrying out in the James Bay territory. From the project’s outset, SEBJ worked
region
$55,517,234
with the Conférence régionale des élus de la Baie James [regional conference of elected officers of the James Bay Territory] to establish a portfolio of incentives to maximize regional expenditures which, of course, benefits the contractors, suppliers and workers of the Nord-du-Québec region. The incentives include provisions that encourage regional subcontracting and hiring of management personnel. A certain number of contracts is also
Saguenay– Lac-St-Jean region
$78,599,807 reserved for businesses in the Nord-duQuébec region. As of January 2008, the Nord-du-Québec region had obtained more than $64 million in contracts and purchases. The host region certainly played its cards right! At the beginning of the year, the Director of Eastmain Projects, Normand Béchard, visited the Nord-du-Québec and AbitibiTémiscamingue regions to inform them of the results for 2007 and the prospects for 2008.
Eastmain Magazine March 2008 11
JL - The workers of the future Eastmain-1-A/ Sarcelle/Rupert hydroelectric development have shown their generosity by donating a total of $9,300 to Centraide.
Achille Bégin
Over $9,000 collected for Centraide
The fundraising campaign began in November 2007 at all three workcamps. The sale of tickets for 5050 draws at the cafeteria brought in more than $1,920: $520 at Eastmain, $920 at Rupert and $480 at Nemiscau. Several Société d’énergie de la Baie James and Hydro-Québec employees also subscribed to the payroll deduction plan. Most of the total donation of $7,377 was collected this way. The contributions to the Centraide fundraising campaign throughout the La Grande territory amounted to $137,025, which exceeds the initial objective of $131,350. We should point out that Hydro-Québec will be matching the workers’ donation to Centraide. Congratulations!
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VGP – Achille Bégin has been working for Gestion ADC since August 2007. His job is related to worker health, safety, hygiene and protection. But that hasn’t always been the case; Achille Bégin was in the Canadian Armed Forces for more than 30 years. “It was very interesting work, packed with adventure, risk and adrenaline, something like being involved in extreme sports—except that it was no game,” he confided.
Valcartier had died, I was expecting that fateful phone call,“ he admitted. JeanFrançois lost six of his buddies during the last mission. “They’re a tight-knit bunch, like we are here. What’s fun here is that I sometimes run into old buddies,“ continued Mr. Bégin. “Some are drivers, others are surveyors. One thing is sure—not everyone who works at the jobsite has always worked in the construction industry. Some have led much more turbulent lives than you can tell at first glance.”
He enjoyed his work so much that he encouraged his son, Jean-François, to follow in his footsteps. “It isn’t an easy situation. My son just got back from a seven-month mission in Afghanistan. Every time I heard that a Canadian from
People with a powerful vision
Crees and dam builders – Spending time together
2008 and 2009 will be pivotal years for the Eastmain-1-A and Sarcelle powerhouses and Rupert diversion project. When they signed the Paix des Braves in 2002, Hydro-Québec, SEBJ and the Cree Nation agreed to carry out all the phases of this mega-project in a spirit of partnership, thereby taking another step in promoting positive relations between the Crees and the “dam builders.” In this year of major work, we wholeheartedly encourage you to join us in carrying out our shared projects and, even more, to achieve your personal best. As Section Managers of Cree Relations, we have begun a process that we hope will produce tangible results this year. Social workers will soon be assigned to the jobsites to provide a wide range of front-line services on site. The “Natimachew Siwin” project will also be starting up in 2008 and will include several activities to encourage intercultural relations, such as talking circles, health walks and a variety of workshops, to name but a few. The goal is to get to know each other better while enjoying traditional food in traditional Cree dwellings known as “sabtuans”, or by sharing a spiritual experience in a sweat tent. All these activities are part of a process of personal wellness and healing. These initiatives are made possible thanks to contributions by SEBJ and Niskamoon Corporation. Chi Niskomitnan George Bordeleau and Johnny Saganash Section Managers – Cree Relations
SBC-EMF A 50-50 draw for the WWS VGP – On March 6th, the SBC-EMF (SimardBeaudry Construction – Excavations Marchand et Fils) joint venture donated $3,300 to the Waskaganish Wellness Society, a Cree organization whose mandate is to improve wellness in its own and other Cree communities. Angela Moar, pastry cook at Rupert workcamp and resident of Waskaganish, received the donation on behalf of the organization’s director, Nina Diamond. Both women said that they were pleased and touched to see a business in the territory showing concern for the local population.
Gilles Gauthier, SBC Project Manager, said that similar initiatives had already been taken at other jobsites. However, it was the first time that a company working on the Eastmain-1 and Eastmain-1A/Sarcelle/Rupert projects had been involved in this way. The money was collected through a 5050 draw at a supper organized by the joint venture during the Holiday Season. All SBC-EMF workers can therefore be proud of their involvement.
George Bordeleau, Section Manager – Cree Relations, Robert Morrissette, Site Manager’s representative, Angela Moar, pastry cook at Rupert workcamp and resident of Waskaganish, who received the donation on behalf of the Waskaganish Wellness Society, and Gilles Gauthier, SBC Project Manager.
Eastmain Magazine March 2008 13
Eastmain’s star
End-of-year film gets good reviews
KL - Michel, Manon, Richard, Christine … she seems to know everyone at Eastmain workcamp by their first name. (JL) - A survey conducted on the extranet site (www.extranetsebj.ca) indicates that the company video covering the work carried out in 2007 was appreciated by the workers. In December 2007 and January 2008, the visitors to the site were given the opportunity to comment on the film entitled “A bit further…Aushtaashiish,” produced at the end of 2007. The 45-minute film provides an overview of all the work done at the Eastmain1-A/Sarcelle/Rupert jobsite since the beginning of the draft-design phase.
14 Eastmain Magazine March 2008
Visitors were asked to express their degree of appreciation using a star system. Out of 40 participants, 19 gave the film a perfect 5-star rating (48%), 14 gave it 4 stars (35%), five visitors rated the short film as “good” with 3 stars (13%) and, finally, 2 gave it a passing mark or rated it as “poor” (5%).
If you don’t know Francine at the cafeteria, you obviously never set foot in Eastmain workcamp. Always busy behind the cafeteria counter, Francine Ouellet astounds everyone with her constant little personal touches, her perpetual smile and her legendary efficiency in feeding myriad hungry workers.
Anyone who has not seen the film yet can view the full version on the extranet site, by clicking on “Voir l’avancement des travaux en vidéo.”
Although this lady from Saguenay has been working at the jobsite for five years, she is still passionate about her work and attached to workcamp life. What a great example!
People with a powerful vision
We can all work to avoid industrial accidents. In doing our jobs, any accident we prevent is a great success. Developing safe work procedures makes it possible.
Work Procedures
The health file
March is National Nutrition Month1
High-risk work, as defined in the Safety Code for the Construction Industry, cannot begin without a safe, written work procedure—a regulation that is clearly set out in the SEBJ prevention program.
Dietitians’ top 10 List for a Healthier You—what you need to know
The Act respecting Occupational Health and Safety states the following:
Eat well and get physical! 2: Benefit from balance—challenge and support family members to achieve and maintain healthy weights. 3: Quality counts—whether at home, school, work or play, keep healthy food choices top of mind! 4: Give your food portions a makeover—tune in to moderation in serving sizes. 5: Colour your world with vegetables and fruit! 6: Be a savvy shopper—get the nutrition facts on foods from the label. 7: Make meal time a family affair! 8: Healthy eating is more than a flash in the pan—it’s a lifetime commitment. 9: Make www.dietitians.ca/eatwell your ‘go to’ place for trusted nutrition information and fun healthy eating ideas! 10: Have a food or nutrition question? Ask a Registered Dietitian!
The employer must “Ensure that the organization of the work and the working procedures and techniques do not adversely affect the safety or health of the worker.” The worker must “Participate in the identification and elimination of risks of work accidents or occupational diseases at his workplace.” In practice—that is, on the jobsite—everything is more concrete. The contractor develops a safe procedure that describes each step of the work to be carried out and identifies the personnel and equipment required, depending on the work environment. This method allows for better assignment and coordination of individual jobs and ultimately serves to avoid accidents.
1: Want to feel your best?
We wish you the best of health! Clinic personnel 1
Source: Dietitians of Canada
Eastmain Magazine March 2008 15
Telemetric monitoring of lake sturgeon
In compliance with one of the provisions of the Nadoshtin Agreement, Hydro-QuĂŠbec and SEBJ undertook to carry out a joint Lake Sturgeon Study and Management Program. The goal of the program is to document the movements and habitat of the lake sturgeon population affected by the construction, impoundment and operation of the Eastmain-1 dam, reservoir and powerhouse. From 2002 to 2004, the baseline conditions for use by lake sturgeon of the Eastmain River and Opinaca reservoir were established through helicopterborne telemetric monitoring of 142 tagged specimens. During and after the construction work, from 2005 to 2007, a follow-up study was conducted in which 76 lake sturgeons were tagged and tracked downstream of Eastmain-1 powerhouse. Finally, 88 lake sturgeons from the Opinaca River were released into Eastmain 1 reservoir; 59 of them were tagged for telemetric monitoring. A team of professionals worked very hard to catch the sturgeons and tag them with internal and external emitters. In the coverage area, upstream and downstream of Eastmain-1 dam, there are now 135 sturgeons providing precious data that will help ensure that the species prospers in the waters of the Eastmain River. Although lake sturgeon behaviour was modified by the building of the Eastmain-1 powerhouse and dam, the species seems to be adapting well to its new habitat and is now reproducing in the spawning grounds developed at KP 207 of the Eastmain River. We wish this remarkable fish a long and productive life! The environment team