How a tiny frog and a big fish could block Port of Montreal expansion

The Port of Montreal wants to expand to the South Shore, building a large-scale shipping dock at Contrecoeur, but a fish and a frog, both at-risk species, may get in the way of that plan.

An environmental impact report, produced by SNC-Lavalinand obtained by Radio-Canada, shows that the expansion planwould have a significant impacton aquatic wildlife.

The study found that the Western chorus frog and the rare Copper redhorsefishcould be affected by loss of habitat in the development zone.

If theconstruction of a new dock and shipping yard at Contrecoeur, northeast of Montreal, were to proceed,banks would be eroded and several hectares of wetlands would be lost.

The plan is to create a new 675-metre platform with eight cranes and a container storage yard by 2023, but itis subject to federal government approval on two fronts: Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Little frogs, big problem

Western chorus frogs were last in the news in Quebecafter the federal government halted a development project in La Prairie in 2016 with an emergency order to protect the frogs' habitat.

The tiny frogs, no bigger than a loonie, also live on the banks and in the wetlands now threatened by the shipping development.

The SNC-Lavalin report stated that while nothing is certain, the rare species could suffer "future development pressures in the areas close to the terminal."

Environment Canada lists the population of the Western chorus frog as "threatened," specifically in the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes areas.

Copper redhorseunique to Quebec

On top of the famous frog, the study also points to the Copper redhorse, a North American species of freshwater fish unique to Quebec.

Adults of the species weighmore than five kilogramsand can grow tomore than 50centimetres in length.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada considers the copper redhorse to be endangered only a couple of hundred fish are thought to remain between Valleyfieldand Sorel.

The report states that dredging work on the riverbed would have a "strong" impact on these fish, due to the decrease in water quality and loss of habitat.

The study found that in order for ships to dockat the expanded port, construction crews would have to deepen the riverbed by 11 metres extracting more than a million square metres of sediment and muddying the water considerably in the process.

Mitigation measures

Claude Deschambault, director of environment for the Montreal Port administration, told CBCthat he believes the impact of this project on local wildlife wouldbe negligible.

The fish, he said, haven't been seen in the specific area planned for excavation for years.

"We've been looking for the Copperredhorsefor a long time, and wehaven'tseen it," he said.

If any are found in the area slated for development, they could be relocated farther downstream, Deschambault suggested.

The Western chorus frog population, meanwhile, appears to be located on the other side of the highway passing through the Contrecoeur site, soDeschambaultdoubts the frogs really stand to lose much habitat.

He said he's confident that Ottawa will approve the project after seeing the environmental impact report in full.

Container traffic to double

The push forexpansion comes as the Port of Montreal approachesmaximum capacity,with no additional space to expand on its current site.

Container traffic, however,is expected to almost double by 2030, which means the port will not be big enoughto support the growth of trade.

Countering the environmental drawbacks, the report highlights some of the benefits, including the creation of around a thousand jobs and additional revenues in the tens of millions.

In addition to the potentialenvironmentalobstacles to the proposed dock's construction, experts for the Port of Montreal say it's also possible that the site sits onarcheologicalremains, both underground and underwater.

Experts plan to conduct asurvey, possiblyexcavatingin order to find out more.