The federal Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) program for pulp mills and metal mines was developed to assess the adequacy of effluent regulations under the federal Fisheries Act. Specifically, EEM investigates possible effects of pulp and paper mill and mining effluents on fish, fish habitat, and use of fisheries resources, and examines the sublethal toxicity of process effluents. The programs are designed to achieve national uniformity in monitoring effects, while taking into consideration site-specific factors.
In April 2010, the pulp mill EEM program will enter its sixth cycle of monitoring. The previous five cycles of monitoring have been used to determine whether pulp mills were having an effect on fish populations and tissue quality and benthic invertebrates in the receiving environment. In instances where effects were observed, the magnitude, extent, and potential cause of the effect were identified. Investigations conducted by Hatfield for these programs to investigate potential effects including nutrient enrichment and historical impacts of dioxin and furan contamination included:
- Standard small-bodied and large-bodied fish population surveys;
- Depositional and erosional benthic invertebrate surveys;
- Marine intertidal surveys;
- Fucus basket surveys;
- Fish tissue surveys;
- Bivalve mesocosm surveys;
- Stable isotope surveys;
- Periphyton surveys; and
- Water and sediment quality surveys.
For many mills, Hatfield has worked with regulators to harmonize their federal program with provincial environmental effects monitoring requirements. The federal metal mining EEM program has a similar focus to the pulp program, except the contaminants of primary concern are metals. Hatfield is currently conducting joint federal and provincial environmental effects monitoring programs for two metal mines in British Columbia.
