Hydro-Québec - Eastmain-1




	Protecting species diversity

		Habitats

		Shorelines

		Creating bays

		Osprey

		Beaver

		Fish

	Protecting and developing the territory and heritage

		Development

		Access to the territory

		Archaeology

	Monitoring and Follow-up

		Jobsite environment

		Environmental monitoring

Objective

Preparing the mixture for treatment against biting insects

Ensuring that construction work is carried out in an environmentally sustainable manner (applying mitigation measures and complying with legal and regulatory requirements). Points monitored:

	Drinking water supply;
	Wastewater treatment;
	Waste management;
	Management of hazardous waste materials;
	Operation of borrow pits;
	Monitoring of construction work (powerhouse, dikes, dam, etc.).

Our actions

Our reasons for acting

Work area: Jobsite / Nemiscau workcamp / Eastmain workcamp / Roads

Quality of environmental activities

We regularly ensure that workers at Nemiscau and Eastmain workcamps have quality drinking water.

Every month, we ensure that wastewater from the workcamps has no impact on the environment (means used: bio-disk, septic tanks, peatlands).

Sampling clarified water in a peatland trench near Eastmain workcamp

Nemiscau workcamp will need to house up to 600 people and Eastmain workcamp will need to house nearly 2,500.

Waste from the workcamps is eliminated in a landfill site authorized by the Ministère de l'Environnement du Québec.

Waste is therefore eliminated in accordance with departmental requirements and the water table is protected.

We recover hazardous waste (mainly waste oil from machinery). We transport the waste out of the James Bay area, to sites authorized by the Ministère de l'Environnement du Québec.

Sampling leached water at the landfill site

Landfill site

In summer 2004, we will start planting work in borrow pits no longer in use.

Sandpit DPS-C29C

Borrow pits are excavations from which we extract rock and sand for construction work (roads, dikes and dam). We extracted more than 2,000,000 m³of material. Planting work will return the borrow pits to their natural state.

Environmental laws and regulations

We ensure that all activities undertaken as part of the Eastmain-1 hydroelectric development are carried out in compliance with environmental laws and regulations. Hydro-Québec therefore asked the Ministère de l'Environnement du Québec, the Baie James municipality, the Ministère des ressources naturelles, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec, and the James Bay Regional Zone Council to issue many certificates of authorization, certificates of compliance, extraction authorizations and land-clearing permits.

As part of the ISO 14 001 certification process, the unit in charge of the Eastmain projects made a commitment to comply with environmental laws and regulations.

Planting and seeding

	Laying grass sod and planting 2,300 arctic willows at the workcamp.
	Developing trails on small wooded islands.
	Laying 1,500 m² of sod.
	Producing 6,500 m³ of arable land.
	Planting 24 ha and spreading fertilizer over 3.5 ha at the workcamp.

Improving quality of life for workers.

Eastmain workcamp - aerial view of the community area

Controlling biting insects

	At Nemiscau workcamp, we spread larvicide over mosquito producing areas. Radius: from 2.5 to 3 km. Area: about 677 ha. For black flies, five treatments were applied at 546 breeding sites, over a radius of 10 to 14 km.
	At Eastmain workcamp, we used the same treatment against mosquitoes, over a radius of 1.5 to 2.5 km. The treatment against black flies was applied at 471 breeding sites over a radius of 10 to 14 km (five applications).

Checking the effectiveness of the treatment against biting insects

The workers must be protected against flies and mosquitoes. In fact, an average reduction of 87% of the nuisance was noted at Nemiscau workcamp and of 89% at Eastmain workcamp.

Preparing the mixture for treatment against biting insects

Engineering work

	Construction de la route d'accès aux ouvrages : nous avons veillé au respect des normes d'intervention en milieu forestier et vérifié la qualité du nettoyage de l'emprise de la route.
	Construction of the south dikes: We opened a track leading to the site of the LE‑24 dike to set up a temporary sill at the outlet of Lake C. The sill should keep fish from migrating from Lake C to Lake A while the latter is being drained. The water being pumped from Lake A has a suspended sediment concentration of less than 30 ppm, which makes it possible to return the water to the environment without filtering it.
	At the end of December 2003, 160 m of the by-pass tunnel had been completed, which is more than half the distance to be excavated (276 m). We controlled the quality of the water discharged into the Eastmain River. Several settling ponds were set up to reduce the quantity of suspended sediment in the water. Settling pond for water with a fine particle load
	Excavation of the water intake: We are monitoring the use of disposal and storage sites.
	Excavation of the powerhouse: We are mainly monitoring the transportation of excavated material toward designated sites. We are also monitoring the quality of surface runoff.