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Compliance and
Environmental Monitoring

We reported on the daily observance of construction activities to ensure that the contractors were complying with environmental obligations set forth long before construction began. When environmental concerns were observed, whether they were ground disturbance or fuel spills, they were notes and photographed in our daily reports. These concerns would be relayed to Manitoba Hydro who in turn would notify the contractor involved immediately for corrective action. The quick response to our concerns by Manitoba Hydro was greatly appreciated and in turn made us feel that were being taken seriously, were indeed part of the project, and could effect change for the better going forward.

Overall, we saw a lot of positive changes with MMTP from the way projects have been constructed in the past.

Successes

We believe Manitoba Hydro was diligent in responding to concerns that we brought to their attention. This was shown in the immediate remediation of the spills, installing rig mats or postponing construction at certain sites until ground conditions improved.

We are happy with the way Manitoba Hydro identified and worked around Environmental Sensitive Services such as the Golden-Winged Warbler and Northern Leopard Frog habitats. Such buffer zones were flagged and respected by Manitoba Hydro and contractors alike, besides one incident discussed in the challenges.
We observed Manitoba Hydro offset a tower to avoid an area with rare species of orchids and medicinal plants, which we found commendable and respectful.

Challenges

A glaring shortfall noted continuously throughout the project was the presence of the sub-standard heavy machinery on the right-of-way. This resulted in infractions from minor spills to the more serious non-conformance reports issues and even the removal of one of the sub-contractors from the project. Some of this machinery had no business being there due to its overall poor condition or lack of a spill kit and were responsible for a majority of spills. Manitoba Hydro was diligent in responding to spills once they were made aware of the spills, but on several occasions, we discovered fuel spills on the right-of-way that had not yet been acknowledged by the contractors on site. This resulted in a few non-conformance reports issued to those contractors.
We have concerns over contractors still operating growth an old-school mentality that is not as considerate of the environment as it should be. One of the sub-contractors was removed from the Project because of poorly maintained equipment and lack of spill tray, as well as for other reasons.
At the start of construction, rutting and ground disturbance was a constant threat due to record breaking amounts of precipitation and monitors notified contractors and Manitoba Hydro when remediation was needed. Manitoba Hydro paused work to prevent further ground disturbance during wet conditions.
Another compliance challenge that we faced was the observation of heavy equipment tracks inside a riparian buffer zone by the Assiniboine Red River that was flagged as “No Machine Zone”. Such tracks were brought to Manitoba Hydro’s attention who alerted the contractor and reminded them to be mindful of flagging around waterways. At the start of construction, rutting and ground disturbance was a constant threat due to record breaking amounts of precipitation and monitors notified contractors and Manitoba Hydro when remediation was needed. Manitoba Hydro paused work to prevent further ground disturbance during wet conditions.

Recommendations

We recommend any piece of heavy equipment allowed on the ROW be inspected and assigned a sticker noting it passed inspection so the monitors can see which piece of machinery has been approved and which ones still need inspecting. This would reduce the risk of fuel spills from old and defective equipment.
We recommend contractors should have a spill response unit dedicated to attending to the remediation of spills. This would reduce the response time for clean up and remediation of spills.
We recommend that Manitoba Hydro should be more diligent during the contractor hiring process. It is critical for contractors to understand the importance of environmental protection and the need to follow environmental regulations.
We recommend Manitoba Hydro introduces the monitoring committee to the roles of Manitoba Hydro employees, consultants, and contractors at the start of construction of the project so that everyone has a better understanding of what other employees do.
We would have liked to have our own vehicles to be able to visit and monitoring sites of our choosing. However, we understand that Manitoba hydro did take steps to have trucks for us but did not hear back from communities. Future monitors could also benefit from access to ATVs to conduct their work.
We had some challenges with reporting at the start of our work so we believe that the reporting format should be streamlined for future monitors.
New and upgraded tablets should be provided to future monitors to avoid issues with old technology.
Although some of us had been shown the location of trail cameras on the Project, we believe that in the future all monitors could benefit from knowing their location and from seeing the photos as to have a better understanding of wildlife in the area. Monitoring specific Environmentally Sensitive Sites (ESS) on the Project from the start of construction could also be useful.
Communities had been invited to participate in early Project activities such as geotechnical drilling and heritage work and some did participate, but we think that more involvement in these activities could bring future monitors a better understanding of the Project area. Some of us had participated in heritage work, which was good.
Overall, we believe that the Indigenous compliance and environmental monitoring on this Project worked very well and that it is essential for every project moving forward.

Welcome

Overall, we believe that the Indigenous compliance and environmental monitoring on this Project worked very well and that it is essential for every project moving forward.