Abstract
The Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) Tidal Energy Project, located near Black Rock in the Minas Passage of the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, is a research and development demonstration site dedicated to testing tidal power technologies, in particular Tidal In-stream Energy Conversion (TISEC) devices. The project consists of four undersea berths for four TISEC subsea turbine generators, subsea cables, and associated land-based infrastructure. The project was assessed under a harmonized provincial and federal Environmental Assessment (EA) process. As a commitment made during the environmental assessment and as a condition of the provincial environmental assessment approval, the proponent, FORCE, was required to develop and implement an Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) program for the project. Additional monitoring by a berth holder, Open Hydro / Nova Scotia Power Inc., was required as a condition of authorizations under s.32 and s.35(2) of the Fisheries Act issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). The purpose of the EEM program was to verify the effectiveness of any mitigation measures implemented by the proponent, the accuracy of the EA predictions, and compliance with conditions of provincial and federal permits and authorizations. To fulfill the reporting requirements for the EEM program from the commencement of the project in late September 2009 to January 2011, FORCE prepared a monitoring report that provides the results of the EEM program including details of the various monitoring surveys (FORCE 2011). The report covers the period during which the Open Hydro / Nova Scotia Power Inc. TISEC device was present at the site (i.e., November 12, 2009, to December 13, 2010). The device, however, was only verified in normal operation for a few weeks (i.e., November 12, 2009 to December 4, 2009). DFO’s Ecosystem Management Branch, Maritimes Region, is now reviewing FORCE’s EEM Report and has asked DFO Science to contribute to this review.