Ship sinking plan not off shoals yet

[Spiel]

Ship sinking plan not off shoals yet

 

 

November 18, 2008

Michael Jiggins / Brockville Recorder

 

 

A provincial Ministry of Natural Resources official says it’s premature to suggest there’s clear sailing for plans to sink a 2,800-tonne warship in the St. Lawrence River.

 

Jim Fraser, MNR area supervisor in Kemptville, said Monday that concern over the artificial reef project’s impact on the river’s fish habitat is just one of several regulatory hurdles still in the way.

 

“We’re trying to work proactively with the proponent, but there’s a number of hoops still to go through,” said Fraser.

 

His comments follow remarks at a city council meeting last week by a Brockville and District Tourism Advisory Committee member indicating approvals were close at hand.

 

“Everything looks good, we’re looking at … perhaps the sinking going forward perhaps after Labour Day. It’s amazing news,” committee member Laura Good told councillors.

 

She was referring to plans by the Eastern Ontario Artificial Reef Association (EOARA) to purchase the decommissioned HMCS Terra Nova, a 372-foot anti-submarine destroyer escort built in 1956.

 

The EOARA is seeking approval to sink the warship in 130 feet of water in the St. Lawrence about four kilometres east of Brown’s Bay.

 

The $2-million project has the support of municipal, provincial and federal politicians who are eager to reap its economic benefits.

 

Proponents have said it could attract up to 6,000 divers annually, generating $8 million a year for the region’s tourism economy – good news for a region battered by economic bad times.

 

While Fraser said there are still several approvals required, the major unresolved question is clearly what impact scuttling the massive warship will have on the sturgeon population.

 

He said the location selected by EOARA is considered a sturgeon nursery by fish biologists, an area where the young fish “spend their formative years.”

 

Stressing he’s not a biologist, Fraser stopped short of describing the sturgeon population in the Brockville area of the St. Lawrence as endangered.

 

However, he added, “There has been a noticeable decline in the sturgeon fishery since the ’60s. It’s always a concern when that takes place.”

 

Sturgeon, which can grow to three metres in length, are identified as a threatened species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

 

Fraser said the MNR asked EOARA representatives in an earlier meeting to explore alternative locations.

 

“But they’ve narrowed it down to one site,” he said.

 

Despite the lingering debate over fish habitat, Fraser stressed there’s nothing to suggest the ship sinking is sunk.

 

“Nothing is ruled out as of yet,” he said.

 

Dan Humble, EOARA member and a dive shop owner near Mallorytown, was reluctant to say much about the status of the project.

 

“We’re moving ahead,” said Humble, noting the group faces a key meeting with government officials in Toronto on Dec. 9.

 

“We want to see what happens then,” he said.

 

When he was re-elected last month, Leeds-Grenville MP Gord Brown said securing approval for the ship-sinking project was a priority for him.

 

He said the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is awaiting MNR’s approvals to be in place before proceeding with its review of the proposal.

 

Negotiations with the Department of National Defence to purchase the ship are also on hold, said Brown.

 

“That meeting in Toronto is very key and I’m very encouraged that we’re going to get an important outcome because this is such an important project,” said Brown.

 

He said he believes divers and sturgeon can co-exist and, further, that alternative fish habitat could be created away from the warship site if necessary.

 

“We do care about the environment, but there has got to be a way to make this work,” said Brown.

 

Meanwhile, if the sturgeon issue is resolved, two less-difficult issues remain to be settled with the ministry, said Fraser.

 

Those are determining who owns the section of riverbed – almost certainly the Crown, said Fraser – and whether there are existing tenures or leases in place for submarine telephone or hydro cables.

 

When those title searches are complete, he said a tenure agreement would have to be drafted with EOARA.

 

And Fraser noted those are just the hurdles the project faces with MNR.

 

Other ministries will require proof the ship has been stripped of any potential contaminants, while an environmental assessment, possibly including public consultation, is also required.