Ecological Risk Assessment, Human Health Risk Assessment, Environmental Management Plans, Remedial Action Plans, Water Quality Monitoring, Mitigation/Compensation Plans, Adaptive Management Strategy, Aquatic Biota & Habitat Assessment, Terrestrial Biota & Habitat Assessment, Wetland assessment, Effects monitoring Species At Risk (SAR) Inventory and Assessment
Hemmeraworks with the VPA to advance their business interests while preserving and protecting the surrounding area - both terrestrial and aquatic environments, and building positive relationships with the local community, municipalities, First Nations communities, and the public.
History - Hemmera has been involved in many VPA projects since 1994, with the Delta Third Berth Project (DP3) being the current signature project for Hemmera with the VPA. Since inception, this important project has been accompanied by many challenges including community and First Nation opposition to port expansion and the project location within a highly sensitive marine environment.
During environmental assessment work to seek federal and provincial approval for the DP3 project led by Hemmera, there was widespread agreement from the VPA, regulatory reviewers and the public that a flexible approach to managing the impacts ofnew and existing Deltaport operationswas required. This resulted in Hemmera compiling an'Adaptive Management Strategy', which wasdesigned to provide monitoring ofenvironmental conditions at Roberts Bank, with associatedmanagement measures that could be altered to provide the best possible mitigation and management to avoid impacts. Continued monitoring and flexibility in managing impacts allows the Adaptive Management Strategy process to respond to changes in conditions by feeding monitoring information into a decision making process, and allowing decision makers to provide managementwithin present and pre-approved parameters.
By backingthis work with sound science and consulting with stakeholders over the past three years, Hemmera and the VPA were been able to move the project forward when federal regulatory agencies had deemed the project “not approvable” when initially proposed. The comprehensive environmental assessment (EA) process involved reviews by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Environment Canada, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, and provincial agencies.
The Win - In November 2006, the Minister of the Environment, Rona Ambrose, accepted and approved the recommendations put forward in the Comprehensive Study Report on the Deltaport Third Berth Expansion project. This followed the issuance of an Environmental Assessment Certificate by the BC Environmental Assessment Office in September.The Adaptive Management Strategy was a key componentof the VPA's mitigation commitments, and one of thereasons for the project obtaining federal and provincial environmental approvals.
Adaptive Management Strategy and Monitoring - Sincegainingapprovals for DP3 the VPA has awarded Hemmerathe contract for implementing theAdaptive Management Strategy,andan associated Construction Environmental Monitoring program, both of which are currently beingimplemented. Hemmera’s experts are applying their knowledge and experience inidentifying, preventing and mitigating environmental impacts with science-based processes and tools to measure and monitor local ecosystems. TheAdaptive Management Strategyapplies monitoring and trend analysis of aquatic and terrestrial biota and habitats, including benthic community structure, eelgrass distribution, and coastal seabirds and shorebirds to assess and mitigate ecosystem impact assessments from construction and operations.
