SITE C CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT

Component Application Package – Halfway River Bridge Replacement

For Navigation Protection Act

April 26, 2019

Submitted to:

Transport Canada

Navigation Protection Program

Suite 1100 - 1166 W Pender Street

Vancouver, BC V6E 2R9

Submitted by:

BC Hydro and Power Authority

Site C Clean Energy Project

9th Floor – 1111 West Georgia Street.

Vancouver BC V6E 4M3

Site C Clean Energy Project – Halfway River Bridge Replacement

April 26, 2019 Revision 1.1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................ i

List of Appendices ............................................................................................................................... i

1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1

2 HIGHWAY 29 Realignment Bridge Replacements – Preliminary Construction SCHEDULE ............................................................................................................................. 1

2.1 HALFWAY RIVER BRIDGE REPLACEMENT ............................................................... 2

3 PUBLIC BOATER ACCESS ................................................................................................... 3

4 consultation ............................................................................................................................ 3

List of Tables

Table 1: Preliminary Construction Schedule - Highway 29 Bridge Replacements ................... 2

List of Appendices

Appendix A Overview of Highway 29 crossing over the Halfway River

Appendix B Halfway River Engineering Design Drawings, Plan and Profile Views

Appendix C Halfway River Bridge Crossing Alignment and Arrangement presented in Site C

Environmental Impact Statement

Appendix D Summary of Discussion and Requests for Follow-up, Site C Permitting Forum

Meeting #10, September 11, 2018.

Site C Clean Energy Project – Halfway River Bridge Replacement

April 26, 2019 1 Revision 1.1

1 INTRODUCTION

The Navigation Protection Act (NPA) came into force on April 1, 2014. The NPA includes a schedule of

navigable waters requiring regulatory approval for works that risk a substantial interference with

navigation. Works required for construction and operation of the Site C Clean Energy Project (the Project)

that occur on, over, under or through navigable waterways as defined by the NPA must be permitted.

The Halfway River is a tributary to the Peace River and is not a named navigable waterway. However, the

Site C Reservoir will inundate a portion of the Halfway River and the Site C Reservoir will be considered a

named navigable waterway as part of the Peace River. The Site C reservoir will inundate the past

location of the Halfway River highway crossing and flow under the proposed replacement bridge. As such

the NPA will apply to the Halfway River Bridge replacement once the Site C Reservoir is formed.

This application package provides an overview of the Highway 29 realignment focusing on construction of

the Halfway River Bridge replacement. This application package is one of a number of separate

application packages that have or will be submitted for Project works requiring NPA approvals. The

construction phase NPA application packages have been generally organized into component packages

by activity, location or timing, including Dam Site Components, Vegetation Clearing, Highway 29 Bridge

Replacements, Reservoir Boat Launches, Transmission Line, and Hudson’s Hope Shoreline Protection.

Future application packages will be submitted to the Navigation Protection Program (NPP) that describe

the other Highway 29 realignment locations and reservoir boat activities over existing or future navigable

waterways scheduling during the remainder of the eight year Project construction period. Please refer to

the NPA Application Package, Dam Site Components – Construction Phase, for a Project description,

which is summarized from Section 4 of the Site C Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The bridge design in this application package reflects the Environmental Assessment Certificate (EAC)

amendment issued by the Environmental Assessment Office on October 26, 2018. This amendment

reflected changes to the design of the bridge whereby the bridge causeway was eliminated and replaced

by a longer bridge. A detailed description of the EAC amendment process is provided in Section 4.0 of

this submission.

2 HIGHWAY 29 REALIGNMENT BRIDGE REPLACEMENTS – PRELIMINARY CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE

The following information on the preliminary construction schedule for each of the Highway 29 bridge

replacements is provided for context to support this application that is specific to Halfway River.

As described in Section 4 of the Site C Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Highway 29 connects

Hudson's Hope to Fort St. John and runs along the north side of the Peace River. It is a two lane rural

arterial undivided highway under the jurisdiction of the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure

(BCMoTI). Creation of the reservoir will require realignment of approximatley 30km of existing highway at

Lnyx Creek, Dry Creek, Farrell Creek, Halfway River and Cache Creek. Bridges sited at these locations

will have to be replaced. In anticipatation of the potential future navigation use, the vertical and horizontal

clearance requirements to support navigation, as mandated by the NPA, have been taken into account in

the bridge design.

Site C Clean Energy Project – Halfway River Bridge Replacement

April 26, 2019 2 Revision 1.1

The preliminary construction schedule for the Highway 29 realignment and bridge replacement is outlined

below.

Table 1: Preliminary Construction Schedule - Highway 29 Bridge Replacements

Bridge Commencement Completion

Halfway River Late Summer / Fall 2019 Fall 2021

Cache Creek Summer 2020 Fall of 2022

Farrell Creek Summer 2020 Fall of 2022

Lynx Creek Summer 2020 Fall of 2022

The construction schedule is indicative only and subject to change. The Purpose of the schedule is to illustrate the general sequence of construction activities, but the dates and schedule may change.

Communication protocols are outlined in this work package for informing users of construction activities

during the approximate two year construction period for each bridge.

2.1 HALFWAY RIVER BRIDGE REPLACEMENT

A location map and map showing bathymetry associated with the Site C Reservoir at the Halfway River

replacement bridge are included in Appendix A, inclusive of a 10m x 25m navigation clearance envelope

specification. Engineering design drawings, plan and profile views are provided in Appendix B.

During the environmental assessment process for the Project, Transport Canada recommended that the

navigation clearance envelope for the Halfway River Bridge be at least 10m tall by 25m wide1. The

Transport Canada analysis also included a recommendation regarding the plan to leave the existing

Halfway River bridge in place:

“Transport Canada requested that the Joint Review Panel recommend BC Hydro

provide a Memo including: a plan and cross section views with dimensions of the

bridges being left in place; those responsible for the bridges and how the

remaining structures will affect the predicted sediment flow; and drawdowns,

filling.”

As advised by Transport Canada, BC Hydro will submit a Notice of Work under separate cover to leave

the existing bridge in place. Transport Canada has also included a requirement to monitor sedimentation

in the Halfway River inundation zone in the NPA permit issued for the dam site (File #2008-500822-001).

The creation of a reservoir will create a series of safe harbours (inundated rivers and creeks) for boaters

and recreational enthusiasts to utilize.2 Navigation aids will be attached to either side of bridge piers that

1 Transport Canada presentation to the Joint Review Panel, Aquatic Environment Topic-Specific Session, Site C Clean Energy

Project. JRP Hearing Exhibit 114, January 13, 2014. 2 For the purpose of this review safe harbours are defined as areas in which safe anchorage can be secured during periods poor

weather

Site C Clean Energy Project – Halfway River Bridge Replacement

April 26, 2019 3 Revision 1.1

surround the navigation channel to support safe vessel passage through the Halfway River reservoir

embayment.

3 PUBLIC BOATER ACCESS

Construction of the bridge piers near the existing Halfway River channel (i.e., Piers 11 and 12) and

associated overhead works will require temporary closures to boater traffic in the Halfway River section

under the new bridge as well as the boat launch. These closures would be in place for construction tasks

that pose substantive hazards to the public in the immediate area and would last no longer than 7

consecutive days in the April 1 – November 30th period, and 21 days in the December 1 – March 31

st

period. Boater access will be restored for at least 48 hours prior to subsequent river closures.

Communication to boaters ahead of river closures would be done in accordance with conditions in any

issued NPA permit, including use of local newspaper advertisements. All closures and communications

would be done by implementing the Site C Public Safety Management Plan.

4 CONSULTATION

Consultation with Treaty 8 First Nations regarding the Halfway River Bridge to date has focused on BC

Hydro’s amendment to the EAC regarding the bridge design.

Specifically, BC Hydro’s draft request to the EAO to amend the design of the bridge described in the EAC

was provided to Indigenous groups on July 6th, 2018. BC Hydro requested that Indigenous groups provide

comments by July 18th, 2018 and offered to meet to review the draft amendment request. Indigenous

groups were advised that their input would inform the final amendment request to be submitted by end of

July 2018. No comments were received from Indigenous groups on the draft requested amendment.

The final EAC amendment request was submitted to the EAO on July 24th, 2018. BC Hydro presented

this final request to Treaty 8 First Nations at Permitting Forum #10, held in Fort St. John on September

11th, 2018. Responses to questions received from Treaty 8 First Nations in regard to the Halfway River

Bridge EAC amendment arising at the forum were provided to Indigenous groups and the EAO on

January 17th, 2019. These questions and responses are included in Appendix D of this document. On

October 26th, the EAO issued amendment #2 to the Environmental Assessment Certificate, reflecting

design changes to the Halfway River Bridge length.3

BC Hydro will provide information on the construction of the Halfway River bridge to Indigenous groups at

Site C Permitting Forum #12, in advance of applications for required Land Act, Water Sustainability Act

and Forest Act permits. This forum is scheduled for May 2nd

, 2019 in Fort St. John. Transport Canada

has been invited to attend this meeting.

3 The revised design for the Halfway River bridge crossing was also submitted to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

(CEAA) on August 3rd, 2018. In response, CEAA informed BC Hydro the potential adverse effects of the proposed changes would be addressed by mitigation measures and follow-up requirements described in the federal Decision Statement

Site C Clean Energy Project – Halfway River Bridge Replacement

April 26, 2019 4 Revision 1.1

Indigenous groups will also be consulted on required river closures associated with this application. BC

Hydro will share this NPA application materials with Indigenous groups prior to Permitting Forum #12, and

will meet with any interested Indigenous groups to discuss questions and concerns related to this

application.

Site C Clean Energy Project – Halfway River Bridge Replacement

April 26, 2019 5 Revision 1.1

Appendix A Overview of Highway 29 crossing over the Halfway River

General arrangement of Highway 29 realignment segment at Halfway River, per revised bridge - Imagery

General arrangement of Highway 29 realignment segment at Halfway River, per revised bridge - Contours

1016-N11-00379-1 R 0Mar 8, 2019Cons truction of the Site C Clean Energy Project is s ubject to required regulatory and permitting approvals.

Date DWG NO

Map Notes:1. Datum: NAD832. Projection: UTM Zone 10N3. Base Data: Province of B.C.4. Imagery: Main Map: ESRI Online Basemapping. Inset Map: LiDAR Acquisition 2015.5. Proposed reservoir area (461.8m maximum normal elevation) from Digital Elevation Models (DEM) generated from LiDAR data acquired July/August, 2006.6. Reservoir elevation 461.8 m does not consider highway realignment.

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General arrangement of Highway 29 realignment segment at Halfway River,

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Area Within Channel Footprint Area (m2) Pile Cap for Pier 11 163Riprap for Pier 11 1,324

1016-N11-00379-2 R 0Mar 8, 2019Cons truction of the Site C Clean Energy Project is s ubject to required regulatory and permitting approvals.

Date DWG NO

Map Notes:1. Datum: NAD832. Projection: UTM Zone 10N3. Base Data: Province of B.C.4. Imagery: Main Map: ESRI Online Basemapping. Inset Map: LiDAR Acquisition 2015.5. Proposed reservoir area (461.8m maximum normal elevation) from Digital Elevation Models (DEM) generated from LiDAR data acquired July/August, 2006.6. Reservoir elevation 461.8 m does not consider highway realignment.

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General arrangement of Highway 29 realignment segment at Halfway River,

per revised bridgeContours

Halfway River Bridge

See Inset - Halfway River Bridge

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Area Within Channel Footprint Area (m2) Pile Cap for Pier 11 163Riprap for Pier 11 1,324

Site C Clean Energy Project – Halfway River Bridge Replacement

April 26, 2019 6 Revision 1.1

Appendix B Halfway River Engineering Design Drawings, Plan and Profile Views

Halfway River Bridge No. 1042, General Arrangement – Sheets 1 - 6

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Site C Clean Energy Project – Halfway River Bridge Replacement

April 26, 2019 7 Revision 1.1

Appendix C: Halfway River Bridge Crossing Alignment and Arrangement presented in Site C Environmental Impact Statement

Figure 26.3 Highway 29 Realignment section Map 3 of 4 – Halfway River

1016-C14-B6268- R 0Nov. 16, 2012

Map Notes:1. Datum: NAD832. Projection: UTM Zone 10N3. Orthophotos created from 1:40,000 photos taken Sept 10th 2007; 1:15,000photos taken Aug 26th 2011;4. Proposed maximum normal reservoirlevel (full supply level-461.8 m) fromDigital Elevation Models (DEM) generatedfrom LiDAR data acquired July/Aug 2006.

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Construction of the Site C Clean Energy Project is subject to required regulatory approvals including environmental certification

Site C Clean Energy Project – Halfway River Bridge Replacement

April 26, 2019 8 Revision 1.1

Appendix D: Summary of Discussion and Requests for Follow-up, Site C Permitting Forum Meeting #10, September 11, 2018.

Appendix D ‐ Halfway River Bridge EAC Amendment ‐ Summary of Permitting Forum #10 Meeting Discussion and Responses to Follow‐up Requests sent to First Nations on January 17, 2019

Comment ID Meeting Date First Nation Project Component File Number or Name First Nation Concern / Question BCH Response

PF10_20180911-52 9/11/2018 DRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DRFN asked for the difference in height between the water level and the bridge deck.

BC Hydro responded that they would follow up with this information. [See response to PF10_20180911-F08.]

PF10_20180911-F08 9/11/2018 Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

BC Hydro to provide the difference in height between the water level and the bridge deck

The height between the maximum normal reservoir elevation of 461.8m and the underside of the proposed Highway 29 Halfway River Bridge varies between approximately 15m and 25m. There is a range because the proposed bridge is on a curve. This range of heights is subject to change (+/- 10% approximately) as the bridge undergoes final design over the coming months.

PF10_20180911-53 9/11/2018 DRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DRFN asked whether it would be a concrete bridge. BC Hydro responded that the piers will be concrete, and the current design for the superstructure includes steel girders and a concrete road surface. Bridge engineers are looking at the bridge superstructure as part of the updated design, which will be ongoing for the next 6-9 months.

PF10_20180911-54 9/11/2018 DRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DRFN noted that a lot of maintenance is needed on the Taylor Bridge, which is a similar bridge

BC Hydro responded that the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure would develop the maintenance requirements for the new Halfway River Bridge

PF10_20180911-55 9/11/2018 DRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DRFN asked whether the river bank at each end of the bridge would need to be built up. If so, how much

BC Hydro responded that the banks may need to be built up, in the order of 5m, to provide a smooth transition to the new highway at each end of the new bridge. If required by the design engineers, contractors would need to excavate at the abutments. At the east end, it might be up to 5m of fill, or some excavation. The bridge deck would be about 25m above the reservoir level. BC Hydro committed to follow up to confirm these numbers. [See response to

PF10_20180911-F09 9/11/2018 Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

BC Hydro to provide information on the amount of fill needed above current grade for bridge construction.

The highway and bridge design of the proposed Halfway River Bridge crossing requires in-the-order of 5m of fill be placed on top of the current ground elevation at the proposed west and east bridge abutments. This depth of fill is subject to change (+/- 10% approximately) as the bridge and highway undergo final design over the coming months.

PF10_20180911-56 9/11/2018 SFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

SFN asked why erosion wasn’t taken into account in the 2012 design

BC Hydro replied that when 2012 preliminary designs were made, the project team did not have the benefit of the geotechnical information from investigations that just recently took place. A reasonable and conservative design was presented in the EIS based on what was known at the time. BC Hydro clarified that the change in design isn’t being driven by erosion, but the geotechnical investigations revealed a bedding plane that we did not know about at the time of preparing the 2012 design.

PF10_20180911-57 9/11/2018 DRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DRFN asked how deep the bedding plane is at Halfway River

BC Hydro responded that it was between 5m and 30m below the surface. Engineers have identified firm bedrock beneath this plane.

PF10_20180911-58 9/11/2018 DRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

Re: slide 47, DRFN mentioned one of the questions from the EAO Working Group meeting; can you speak about the wave action on the peninsula. Is the fill on the peninsula going to be sufficient to resist the wave and current?

BC Hydro flipped to slide 46, showing the bridge’s western abutment. BC Hydro noted that the detail of the erosion protection on thie highway approaches to the bridge isn’t yet developed. BC Hydro’s consultant is working on that detail presently.

PF10_20180911-59 9/11/2018 DRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DRFN asked whether it was premature to start working on the bridge without this information. The geotechnical makeup of this area should mean that this information would be important.

BC Hydro replied that the development of the highway design, bridge design and erosion protection details are all being done concurrently, and all with the benefit of input from the geotechnical engineers

PF10_20180911-60 9/11/2018 HLFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

HLFN noted that after the study is done, the bridge size may change in the updated design.

BC Hydro replied that the geotechnical investigations are complete and we know that riprap for erosion protection and/or excavations will be sufficient. We just don’t have the detail on the riprap sizing yet, but that will be confirmed through detailed design: the riprap required by the design may be in the the 250kg to 500kg (per rock) range, but we’re not presently certain how the riprap will be graded or how high up the bank it will go. This detail is currently under development, and we’re working with MOTI on this

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Appendix D ‐ Halfway River Bridge EAC Amendment ‐ Summary of Permitting Forum #10 Meeting Discussion and Responses to Follow‐up Requests sent to First Nations on January 17, 2019

Comment ID Meeting Date First Nation Project Component File Number or Name First Nation Concern / Question BCH Response

PF10_20180911-61 9/11/2018 DRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DRFN asked if BC Hydro could explain what’s been discovered from the geotechnical information.

BC Hydro replied that it has not yet received a written report regarding the geotechnical investigations from its geotechnical engineering consultant

PF10_20180911-62 9/11/2018 SFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

SFN asked if there would be a boat launch here. BC Hydro replied that a boat launch was not proposed for the Halfway River area, and that efforts would be made to keep the current Halfway River boat launch accessible until inundation.

PF10_20180911-63 9/11/2018 HLFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

HLFN asked whether the road would need to be kept away from the bank

BC Hydro responded that the realigned highway would be located a safe distance from the edge of the bank and built to modern provincial highway construction standards

PF10_20180911-64 9/11/2018 DRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DRFN asked what the options would be if geotechnical investigations show that the current design isn’t possible.

BC Hydro replied that, depending on the nature or result of the geotechnical investigations, one consideration may be to lengthen the bridge.

PF10_20180911-65 9/11/2018 DRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DRFN expressed concern because this area isn’t stable, and asked whether any attention had been paid to the impact of seismic activity on the bridge itself.

BC Hydro replied that the bridge will be designed to withstand seismic conditions.

PF10_20180911-66 9/11/2018 DTFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DTFN asked about the Bennett Dam and the spillway redesign that had taken place. During this redesign, BCH had indicated a 5km safety zone or buffer was needed between the dam and seismic activity. DTFN mentioned that new data was showing that the safe zone should be 10km. DTFN noted they asked a similar question when the Site C spillway was redesigned – are there safeguards in the planning cycle of the dam with respect to a safe zone around the dam

BC Hydro’s engineer responded that he was part of the roads and highways team and did not have the background on the Bennett Dam related to this. BC Hydro noted that they have a lot of geotechnical data which has directly informed the design of the bridge. With respect to a “safe zone” from fracking, BC Hydro noted that they expect MOTI would provide guidance regarding any fracking restrictions close to this bridge.

PF10_20180911-68 9/11/2018 SFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

SFN asked if there had been any new archaeological assessment work done related to the road and bridge

BC Hydro responded that all assessment work had been done within the highway alignment and bridge footprint

PF10_20180911-69 9/11/2018 HRFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

HRFN asked for the timelines of the EAO decision. BC Hydro’s summary of EAO’s comment: EAO replied that they were currently drafting the amendment assessment report, and hoping to get that out to the working group by the end of September. They were looking to get the report to the decision maker in October. BCH noted that they believe they have the information needed to proceed with the design

PF10_20180911-70 9/11/2018 DFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DFN asked about rare plants in this area and whether there would be any impacts.

BC Hydro turned on the rare plants layer in Google Earth, showing two occurrences of rare plants in the road/bridge footprint. BC Hydro indicated that provincially-listed rare plants that will be impacted by road construction are incorporated into the rare plant translocation program.

PF10_20180911-71 9/11/2018 DFN Highway 29 - Halfway River

EAC Amendment - Halfway River Highway 29 Replacement Bridge

DFN asked about fish habitat enhancement in the area and whether there was any work happening in the tributaries.

BC Hydro responded that the tributaries mitigation opportunities evaluation project had reached out to the nations for feedback. BCH had heard from BRFN representatives on the overflights used to select candidate sites which will happen this month (September). This information will help refine some of the ground surveys for identifying candidate sites for tributaries

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