ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION COMMITTEE MEETING

Thursday, January 1$ , 1985
4:50 p.m.
AGENDA

ITEM
NO.
I

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I

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Terms of

NOTES

Reference for En vironmentaI

Protection Committee

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TIIE CORPORATION OF TIIE CITY OF PORT

COQOITLAM
MEMORANDUM

B.

TO:

Kirk,

January 18, 1985

City Administrator
T.M. Chang, P. Eng.,

FROM:

Assistant City Engineer

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SUBJECT:

I'.

Terms of Reference for Environmental
and Staff Resource Person

Protection Committee

RECOMMENDATIONSI

2.

3.

I

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4.

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II'll

Prior to proceeding with prosecution in matters oi Environments
Protection, Counc shel be briefed by the Environmental Protection
Committee on the historical background and detai is of the infraction.
An addi tlonal
$ 2,500 be budgetted in 1985 as a separate item for
I

I

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Protect on Cont i ngency Fund .

Env I ronmen ta I

I

Assistant City Engineer be authorrzed to s'pend
Funds
budgsttsd for Environments 'rotect or. in instances Contingency
where mitigat ive
measures have to be implemented quickly in deal ing with pol lotion
incidents of potential serious environmental consequences.
The

I

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At the Counci meeting immediately fol low i»g an inc!dent
the
expend i ture of Environmental Protection CorItingency Funds, involving
Counci she
be advised of ths de+a i Is of the incident.
I

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BACKGROUND AND COMMENTS:

At

its Committee meeting of January 14th, 1965 Councr

recommendations presented i:y the Environmental Protection Committee several
in its
memorandum on this subject of the same date. The following recommendations were
not adopted by Counci

I

I

adopted

I

1.

The decision to prosecute in matters involving the Environmental
Protection Committee rests with Council and not stafl.

2.

Ths Assistant City

Engineer be authorized to expend City funds
previous y budgstted in instances where mitigative measures have tonot
be
implemented quickly in deal lng with pol lution incidents with potential
serious environmental consequences.
I

d i scuse

The Env ironmsnta Protection Committee met on January 17th,
these two recommendations further.
I

1985 to

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Regard ing item I, the
agreed that the
was somewhat
inappropriate in that they impl iedCommittee
the delegation of a normal wording
'b'
staff
r
s
ounci .
is,
of
course,
was
not
the
intention
of the Committee.
he intent behind this recommendation
was to ensure that Coun 'I
b
c
e
orouohly informed of the background
ramifications
of such
prosecutions and that should Counci I, acting in and
'
the
best
un c pa
ec
de noi to proceed with such prosecutions 't
y,
d
cch arges are already laid by staff.
b
Counci should be aware that prosecutions
in
Environmental matters are very different
from many of the other Cit
at
io
ions, in haf they are not only technical ly more
g
comp icated but
they are also
I-defined by the law as to where
the
local
government's
rnmen
s au
auth ority
view of the fact that the nature of such
prosecutions are often
expens i ve and high profile, the Committee
felt that counc has the ri ht t b
g y
to staff proceeding with such prosecutions
prior
.
The Committee
has therefore re-worded the recommendation to
reflect this intent.
Regarding item 2, the Committee appreciates the
difficulties of some
members of Counci in accepting the recommendation
Again, perhaps
t e intent was incorrectly presented. To clarify; f asirstlpresented.
fact was askinng is th e authority necessary for the Staff what the Co
his newly assigned responsibi ities. Should Council Resource Person to mee,
decide that it Is not the
responsibi ity of the Staff Resource Person to respond
n
and take
an
a e th e necessary
actions in eemergency
e
env ronmenta pol I ut ion 'roblems then such
author
oriit y too spen d
funds need not be given.
iv
IIowever, the
would agree that should an emergency Committee felt that most members of Counci
environmental pol lution problem occur, the
Staff Resource Person would be expected
and to take the necessary
Initial actions as required to alleviate totherespond
situation. For this reason,
the
authority for the Staff Resource Person to spend
funds after such incidents is
again recomn'ended by the Committee. Secondly, to
to rest the concern that this
authority may be subject to abuse in that 'I'he put
recommendation fails to
identify where the funds will come from and how muchprevious
the Staff Resource Person will
be authorized to spend, the Committee makes
the following recommendations:
i

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I.

An additional $ 2, 500 be
budgetted in 1985 as a
Envirormental Protection Contingency Fund.

separate

i

tem for

2.

The Assistant City Engineer be authorized
to spend Contingency Funds
budgetted for Environmental Protection
in
where mitioative
measures have to be implemented quickly ininstances
deal
ing
incidents of potential set'?ous environmental consequences.with pollution

3.

Council meeting immediately following an incident
involving the
expenditure of Environmental Protection
be advised of the details of the incident.Contingency Funds, Council shall

TMC/sgg

At the

T.M. Chong,

P.

Eng~

Assistant City Engineer

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1915 Pltt River Road, Port Coqultlarn, B.C.
941-541 'f

V3C1R2

ACTIVITY REPORT
DECEMBER

MsRRi t[

1. 0.

ACTIVITIES BY PROJECT

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1. 1.

Internal Energy Management
e Municipal Seminar — scheduled f ar February 20, 1988.
attached Agenda

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See

e Audit Report — Port Caquitlam Recreation Centre Audit

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1984

Report copies available from the Centre. This report
will be included in Municipal Seminar.
~ City Hall HVAC Study — awaiting data fram B.C. Hydra on
1984 consumption to compare 1982 &pre-retrofit measures)
with 1984 post-retrof it mess!.rrss) .

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Supply-!Side Projects
B.C. Regional Energy Management Task Farce in Canadian
Cammercial and Of f ice Buildings. — Yvonne involved in
committee putting together Quarterly Newsletter to be
distributed January 1985.

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Demand-Side Protects

s Consultat.ians
New

Construction

Retrofit
Other

Churchwarmings

9

16
4

TOTAL:
~

Site Tours/Inspections
Toured Al Koehli's home under construction in
White Rack.

Inspected condensation pr oblem in house. Severe
water problem in ground of cr awl space„caupled
with neither a kitchen nor a bathroom exhaust fan.

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Tie ceroeeNlee el mo
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Carol visited the Grade 5 class at Nestor
Elementary
School . They saw sA Piece
s f i 1m,
of
Sunshine
B. C.
Hydro displays and discussed alternate
energy.

I

e Thermography
Two evenings irathers early
mornings) spe n t th ermograp h ing
homes. Both VHS and Polaroid
and white prints
taken. Questionnaires now coming black
in
by
Thermography evenings to be scheduled forreturn mail.
January.

e Ma i 1 Drop

CHIP update dropped to 00 homes
in Mary Mill area of
Port Coqui tl am.

e Churchwarmings

Grace Gospel Church —

Arnold Shaw had previously visited
Centre and installed caulking
and weather" tripping in his
own home.
Discussed ap,!.ication of specific
products.
St. Catherine's Anglican Church — Bill McCausland,
sheet metal worker, is familiar w'th draftproofing a
materials, so he visited our Centre for a tour and to
pick up their Churchwarming Kit.
e Product Manual
Revision sent in for approval fonow be presented as an Appendix to HEP monies. 'Manual'ill
CHBA National
Catalogue on Products and Services. theAppendix
will contain
listings of distributors, manufacturers and retailers
in
B.C. organised according to region.
~

Ventilation Product Showdown

Initial planning completed with invitations go ng out tu
all Canadian
manufacturers
Air-to-Air Heat Exchangerss
with carbon copies to their oflocal
distributors.
Schedul ed f or March 7, 1985.

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~ Centre

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Our Centre has the advantage of
bein g aablee too rrely i)n
some agencie and
to make use
ssome o
our Ceentre displaysorganizations
and information after we oofclose.

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In order to dispurse these materials
bee best
es possible
o
en user„
end
user we plan to have these group~too sign
a receipt of
donation form which will
state that the end user of the
material will make them 'accessible
the public in
the same way that our Centre was abletoto.
kie also
to take the
time to fully
to these end usersplan
how we see them making use el',plain
of the materials.

Activiter- Planned

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s Breathing Easy Seminars
Abbotsford in February
Ifhite Rock in March
Richmond in March
a Ventilation Product
—
March
e Municipal Recreation Showdown
Seminar — Februar
e ruary

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1815 Pltt River Road, Port Coquitimra, B.C.
841-5411

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ENERGY "NNAGPIENT FOR

RECREATION FACILITIES
DATE:

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY

TIME:

8I30 am. - 4IOO p.m.

P LAC E I

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20, 1985

TERRY FOX LIB RARY

2470 MARY HILL ROAD, PORT COt|UITLAM, B.C
(corner Wilson Avenue)
COSTI

88.00 per person (includes lunch aad coffee)

RSVP:

BY FEBRUARY

7, 1985

AGENDA
8I30 — 9IOO
9IOO — 9I15
9: 15 — 10I15

Regis tration

Introduction
Recreation Facilities Audit,
Monitoring aad Measuring Energy Consumption
- Bruce Joiner, Port Coquitlam Energy Information/Action
Centre
Coffee

10 I 15

—

10 I 30

10 I 30

—

1 1 I 30

11I30 —

for Swimmiag Pools
- Lyle Maaagcmeat
McClelland, P.gng., B.C. Hydro

1IOO

Lunch

1IOO

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2IOO

2 IOO

—

3 IOO

3IOO

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3I30

3 I 30

—

4 IOO

Beat Recovery from Ammonia Refrigeration Units
- Richard Green, P.Eng., President — Neptune Dynamics
Ltd.
How To Save from Knowing What Watts
- Ken McLeod, Adesco Design Ltd.
Question and Answer Period
Touzr Port Coquitlam Recreation Centre
m Waste Heat Recovery System
~ Computer Control System

Eaergy

This Seminar will be of interest to City Engineers,
Building Superintendents,
Trades Foreman, Building Operators, Recreation

personnel. and Politicians.

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Government

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Flshenes

Paches

and Oceans elOceans
Rm. 311-549 Columbia
Street

New Westminster, B. C.
V3L 183

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November 26, 1984

Hr

A

Griest

Port Coqui t 1am Hunting and

Fishina Club

P.O. Box 122

Port Coquit 1am, B.C.

V3C 3V5

Dear Hr. Griest:
R EI

Nixon and Or Creek Diversions
Hr.

eel led me today and requested
of the Oe pOtway
e thaat
f
art
r ment of Fisheries and
you a copy
Oceans'osi tion onorward
diversions of the above streams
GVMDIs
ro
e
ms
too t e oquit 1am Reservoir.
fin
ind attached our letter
Please
of
October
T984 t o t h e B.C.
Branch.
1

.. 1Iater Hanagement

1

Should you
any
information or clarification of
our position as require
it relates t further
the protection of salmon
me at 524-7146.
please call
r&n Or POSEr COquSnAat

'I

EIVQllljEEQING DEPT.

JAN 15 1985

."1LE 8 ——

Yours

truly,

5u~ l
Nead, Habitat Management Unit

OEL/kmr

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F.J. Fraser
D.

Capllfg'. Ceccoc.II

Aural

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B. Cox
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Rm. 311 549 Columbia

New Westminst«r,
V3L 183

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Street
FW ~ FF

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October 15, 1984

J.E. Farrell

Water }Panagement Branch
765 Broughtorr
VictoriaF 8 C Street
VBV lX5

Dear Sxr
RE:

Application by GVWD to Divert
r Wste

ster from
f
Hixon and Or

Creeks

F

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Further to our letter of June
une 28 198 and your
of }uly 23, 1984
we can now provide , 1983
inquiry
you with
'h
= e f'isheries
inp cts that may
by the
ma
bee
a iona if aa~proved
r
that theabove applications
as applied for.caused
ln
ill o t on th a u h
Or Creek Diversion
Proposal

receipt of. the application
ica ion our
ou initial review
indicated
a e
t h at little new data
hsd
or
f'low requirements
now
know}ed
e gee was
wa
'n
available
in
the
on
e
beyond that presented i n Or Creek-Coquitlam Riverr ssystem
s
the 1978 co
Upon

4 II

oq ui

se ows into the Coquitlam
River.
flow formutla wss recomm
.oughh a tentative
ten
ommen d e d in 1978 forAlthou
Coquitlam River, little
Or
Creek
and
i
the
e
has been done tFF tr and
those recommended
y ln
aachieve
imum
ows
duriFFV the P ast 6 vears.
Also the
'on f orr installing
a
vice on Orrecommendation
a flow measure
Creek was not acted unon1 .
u sng de-

min'l

The

application

by the GVWD to divert
from
om thee last
ast remaining
flows
major source of na tadditional
ura 1 flow into the

Canada

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Coquitlam
River
flows are already
to B.C. Hydro and diverted out
of
the system with no committed
provision
for minrmum fishery flow
releases out of their reservoir.
GvwD application covers
much of the remaininc natural flow The
in
river and puts
fishery requirements into confirct withtheGVWD
water
requirements. Specifically, approxrmately 64 domestic
of un1 rcensed
water remain ing in the system which is essential
vival and the maintenance of fish production will to the surreduced. Th only way the two uses can possibly be further
be accommodated would be by an agreed
upon better seasonal release
of avai 'labia water. Unfortunately
lack of storage on Or
Creek makes the delivery of assured a minimum
flows in Or creek
very diff icult or
and should the reduced f ishery
water (ie proposed impossible
annuaI Average flows of 24 cfs) be discharged to obtain maximum benefit,
of water must be
considered a- part of the agreement.storage
The diversion will remove some peak flows that can
fish habitat, however,
the diversion will affect base damage
flows
that
are necessary to
maintain and restore this river system.
It. is apparent that the Or Creek diversion
vill divert
maximum tunnel capacity (370 cfx)
when available (50 cfs
annual average) yet maintain residual
for fishery purposes. Discussions with the GVWD have flows
indicated
that the
point l f release (ie Coquitlam Dam or Or Creek Diversion)
of
fishery flow" is open
for discussion.
River puts great pressure on the remaining
'icensed flows
in that over 904 of the total Coquitlamun-

Our studies during the past 14 months
have indicated th a t
t he tentative minimum
fishery
flows
recommended
in 1978 for
the lower Coquitlam River may be adequate estimates
as
minimum fi shery flows for most purposes.
certain times of
the year additional flows will possibly be )itrequired
for fish
protection, quality recreational fishing, and flows for
tg p»tpl te .. This formu]a howrvcr, doI nr t ""-. cr nt. flushFlr w
needs to maimtain or improve fish habitat in Or
Creek
and
in
the Coquitlam River immediately downstream of
the dam.
The attempt to satisfy fishery flow needs
as well as
planned
domesti c
needs may be difficult or
impossible if one only water
considers
Or Creek flows even in combination with Coquitlam
storage. This will occur
because not all Or Creek Reservoir
waters
will
and released to a prescribed formula. much beof contained
the fishery releases
will occur when they are not needed and when
are less than those proposed in an realistic available flows
formula; the formura numbers are mean)nqless without
storaoe.
of all concerned parties may be impossible to Water needs
unless all
users are willing to contribute to and ensure meet
that a minimum
fl ow formula will occur so as to aid in the re((estabrishment
of former fishery runs in the river and also serve hydro
electric, domestic, flood control, and recreational needs.
I

.

? 1985

Simply trying to divide Or Creek waters between fishery
recreational needs and domestic
supplies may be difficult
without involving 8-C. Hydro in the
and in an
agreement on a flow release formula discussions
similar
to
that
was
recommended in the 1978 Water Management Study. We which
believe
this is necessary because until it can be shown to ourselves
and the public that fishery production
and other uses can be
maintained or improved in Or Creek downstream
of the point of
diversion as well as in the Coquitlam River downstream
of the
dam and downstream of its confluence with Or Creek,
we cannot
support the proposed diversion at this time.
We are prepared to alter our
position once it can be
shown by the Water District that natural
low flows in Or
Creek below a certain agreed upon level can
and be
available downstream of the proposed point ofbypass
diversion.
These minimum flows must be augmented by seasonal flush
and a diversion structure that
will allow free downstreamflows
bedload movement. This is essential
should
downstream
spawning
areas

assured recruitment source of spawning gravel.
Hixon Creek Diversion
Historical streamf low dates limited
the period of
1912 -1920 as recorded on a daily or weekly tobasis.
and 1974 DFO conducted investi~ations f or possible In 1972
hatchery
sites on the Indian River near the mouth of Hixon Creek.
recent records of salmon presence existed for Hixon Creek No
prior to our 1983- 84 surveys.
The Indian River downstream of Hixon Creek supports ex
tremely important runs of coho, pink
and chum salmon and
smaller populations of sockeye and spring
salmon and steel
head trout. Over 50,000 adult salmon commonly
spawn in this
river and spawning populations of over 100,000 fish
occur on
peak years. Pish utilisation in Hixon Creek is limited
the bottom 1 km. Our surveys have indicated that juvenileto
coho and trout rear in this section of Hixon Creek and small
numbers of adult coho, pink and chum salmon also spawn in
this area.
have an

Avai labia data indicates that
the stream to be diverted
(Belknap Creek which drains Belknap
Lake) is
o
of Mixon Creek. Data for 1913 indicates
tributes 10 74% of the flow to Hixoon C ree kthat Belknap Creek conThee 19133 metering site
on Hixon Creek abovee ( annual average 38%).
thee bifur
the Hixon Creek fan
i urcation in
an is the same site used
in
the
studies. The empirical
1983-84
DFO
collected in
'983/84
e knap Creek actually data
shows
that
contributes 47 t o 8999 off the flow in
Hixon Creek (annual average
75%) .
Th e d i' f erence in the data
sets say be in part due to the
clear
cut
place in the area. However the
that took
differencelogging
to ignore. As well, realising that
is too significant
Hixon
o Creek
ni ficantl
ree 1 oses sigtly more water to
between the bifurcation and
its
mouth, a diversion of groundwater
100 cfs could reatl
owe n lover
Creek which may harmfully
habitat in late Hixon
alter fish
summer and early fall.
a
.
I
or
example
12, 1983, Hixon Creek
on October
(logging bridge) vere measured
cfs whereas the flow atfflows
at 14
mouth was only 1.6 c f s. Any
sion of flows under such its
divera flow rag'me
wou ld

flow.

eliminate surface

Data collected
1983-84 demonstrates
es that
a tth e area of
ixon reek alluvialinfan
contributes significant
ican groun d water the
in o he Indian River.
groundwater contribution
is essential to the maintenance this
nf thee Indian
n ian River fishery
resource and Hixon
Creek flows will contribute
u e too t h e annual
rec argee of the local
groundwate" reservoir.
'r.
For
or examp
October 12, 1983 the Indian
exam
flows increased fromlee 40on cfs
(50 m above Hixon Creek) to River's
100 cfs some 3900 m below Hixon
Creek) . Si 9 nificant i n creases
'
were recor'ded in each of f our mein flow due to groundwater inpu
s
erings
e
below
ow
the
e
Hixon Creek.
con fl uence of
A review of 1912 data
indicates that thee con
cont b ution of
Hixon
ixon Creek
Cree surface flows to
Indian River (as rimeasured
ii.s tidal mouth) is relativelythen.incr.
near
!ii. t!ii"
in
cin
influence
uence, the ccumulative effect of
groundvater
r'
Indian R iver would have reached its
ross 'to
maximum while
Creek 1 ows remained
i
e
th
e H'ixon
constant.
as the cumulative
groundwater effect on the IndianConversely,
River
decreases
dir
in an upstream
irection f rom its
the contributions ofsesHixon
ace water becomes mouth,
Creek surmore si gnif i cant to important sa1
sa mon spawn=

R'echar

contribut'he

Should the proposed Belknap Creek
diversion be pursued, ve
that
a the
be requested to provide information
would show that i f GVWD
th't
a diversion is to take
place f 'sh ery h a itat
in Lower
ower Hi.
Hixon
o Creek can be maintained.
Also since the Indian
River is of ten plagued by lov
natural flows for
early salmon
recommend

b's

spawners in the August to mid
time period, the GVWD must
demonstrate that the magnitude October
of
the
proposed or a reduced
level of diversion will not further lower
River flows
during this critical time period or during Zndian
prolonged cold winter
spells.

In conclusion we are very concerned that the Hixon diversion can have greater impacts
on the fisheries resource than the
Or-Coquitlam diversion and presents
opportunity for
mitigation - or compensation options. less
Our
discussions with the
Water District has indicated that their consultants
are
developing a computer model and have prepared a series
hydro
graphs to address certain of the above concerns that we ofhave
identified. Our concern
with
studies is that they are
based on good empirical data. Wethese
have suggested to tl e Water not
District that probably adequate data and an understanding of
possible impacts exist so
as they can consolidate the material
into a format to address our
concerns
mitigation or
compensation measures where necessary. andAs present
to the GVRD
over a year ago it is still our feeling thatindicated
additional
collections of hydrologic data is required at a number offield
points
on these systems to properly relate to and agree on
various
discharge formulae.
Once this is done, we will be prepared to re-assess our
position on these diversion
proposals. However, until this
information is made available-and
it can be shown that our concerns can be addressed, the water license
applications should
not be granted at this time.

Yc

rr

".

="ly,

c
Otto E. Langer
Head, Habitat Management Vnit
OEL/kmr

cc: F.C. Boyd
F.J . Praser
B. Cox
ZPSFC
D. Aural

S. Roxburgh

Jlih 17 885
i