The Buzz at KEPO 2.4

What's the Buzz at KEPO?

This is the official newsletter of the Kahnawà:ke Environment Protection Office (KEPO). The Buzz at KEPO is a quarterly newsletter that will provide updates on current KEPO initiatives and events, as well as environmental information relevant to Kahnawa'kehró:non. Keep on reading to see what we’ve been doing to protect and better our environment. Welcome!

UpstreamSuzanneRiver,March2024

LeastBittern

Project Update

Suzanne River Industrial Spill

by Julie Delisle, Environmental Project Coordinator - Education & Outreach

KEPO, Public Safety, KSCS Environmental Health Services (EHS) and other MCK Units, have been responding to the cleanup of diesel fuel in the Suzanne River and around Zachary Road since we were alerted to the contamination on February 9th KEPO immediately began containment and cleanup efforts including installing underflow dams and containment booms and hiring pump trucks to skim fuel from surface water Within days, KEPO learned of an unreported diesel spill from a tanker truck along the Suzanne River’s headwaters on Chateauguay’s Industriel Blvd. KEPO has been monitoring contamination of affected and potentially affected waters and soils since February 13th More recently, KEPO has hired AECOM, a consulting firm, to conduct additional testing and analysis to better understand the potential extent of the fuel contamination.

Environmental Health Services (EHS) have been regularly monitoring indoor air and water quality of homes in the immediate area. As of April 15th, no fuel has been detected in drinking water or recorded through indoor and outdoor air quality monitors. EHS will be conducting long term monitoring of drinking water and air quality in the impacted area

While we do not know the scale of the impact on the surrounding environment yet, KEPO will be responsible for long-term environmental and wildlife monitoring Diesel that adheres to shoreline sediments, where conditions are not favorable for natural breakdown, may persist for months to a few years in the environment. KEPO will communicate restoration plans once additional characterization is complete.

The Crisis Response Team, comprised of KEPO, Public Safety, Public Relations, Legal and KSCS, has been mandated to assess and respond to the fuel spill and will continue to mitigate and communicate with the community on measures being taken Updates on the situation can be found at kahnawakeresponse com, through live broadcasts on the Kahnawake911 Facebook page, or by emailing questions@mck.ca.

UpstreamSuzanneRiver,March2024

Consultation File Update

Northvolt Battery Plant

by Tim Law, General Manager of Environment Protection

On January 23rd 2024, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke filed a lawsuit with the Quebec Superior Court against the provincial and federal government

The MCK is seeking a declaration that both Quebec and Canada have breached the legal obligation to consult Kahnawà:ke, both with respect to their decisions to fund the project and, in the case of Quebec, by authorizing the destruction of wetlands without completing consultation The MCK is also challenging the legislation that governs work in wetlands, arguing that these laws fail to consider, let alone respect, Indigenous rights

Located along the shoreline of the Richelieu River in the municipalities of McMasterville and Saint Basile-leGrand, the 170 hectare project site is home to a wide diversity of plants, animals and other life This includes at risk species like the Least Bittern and the endangered Spiny Softshell turtle which have all seen population declines due to habitat destruction in the region

Wetlands also cover a large portion of the project area Wetlands act like sponges, filtering and managing the

flow of water during extreme weather events like storms and droughts. These wetlands help keep the waters of the Richelieu River healthy, supporting endangered fish species like the Copper Redhorse. This project will continue the trend of habitat destruction in the area, filling and clearing forests and wetlands, and destroying the very habitats that these species rely on.

To address some of these impacts, Quebec has required Northvolt to pay into a wetland compensation fund

This is required for most projects across southern Quebec where wetlands will be negatively impacted

This money is intended to be used to restore or create new wetlands to compensate for the losses of a project

This has unfortunately not been occurring The fund remains severely underutilized, and the Quebec government has been ineffective in evaluating the outcomes of compensation projects This means that companies like Northvolt can pay into the fund and claim that impacts to the environment have been compensated without achieving on the ground results

The provincial and federal governments have been pushing this project as part of the green transition It is indeed true that we must take steps to mitigate climate change However, the move towards a future that does not rely on fossil fuels cannot jeopardize the water, lands, and the life that it supports

NorthvoltbatteryplantlocationalongtheRichelieuRiver

KEPO Projects

Data Science

by Kahionhanó:ron Kenneth Canadian, Environmental Technologist

Data science is at the heart of almost every KEPO project. Data is crucial to ensure we are making the right decisions when it comes to protecting our environment Data comes in many forms. For our purposes it is most often a numerical measurement of phenomena that we wish to explore Different aspects can be explored simultaneously so that we can look for statistical relationships between them Counts, distances, and ratios are just a few of the common types of numerical data we work with. Almost everything in the world can be quantified in some way and it can take some creative thinking and a solid scientific understanding of the earth to know what we should be looking for For us to work with any data, we must first collect it. Data collection can be a quick process, or it can take months, sometimes even years, of consistent effort to ensure we have enough data to work with and draw conclusions from. For example, surface water quality is something that KEPO has been monitoring for many years now and as such we have enough data to analyze and help us gauge the health of the water

Once the data has been collected, KEPO employees will then “clean” the data This means making sure there are no gaps, inconsistencies, or improperly formatted entries in the data Cleaning is often done using Python or R, two of the most common computer programming “languages” used in data science applications These languages provide a set of ready to use functions and codes that drastically reduce the amount of time needed to clean the data compared to manually checking each entry in the dataset, of which there could be thousands or even millions!

After the data has been cleaned, we are then able to begin analyzing the data This involves sub-setting the data and applying various statistical tests to find any potentially meaningful relationships that may not be obvious at first glance There are many tests one can choose to perform so it is important to have a good knowledge of how each one works Choosing the wrong test can lead to a misleading interpretation of the data Once the tests have been run and we have a good understanding of what the data is saying we can move on to reporting Charts, graphs and written summaries of the findings are passed onto key stakeholders and decision makers Sometimes it is necessary to gather more data and repeat the process multiple times before a consensus can be reached KEPO prides itself on the accuracy of our scientific knowledge sharing and how it is being used to help protect the natural environment

Plantspeciesdatacollection

Surfacewaterqualitydatacollection

Upcoming event

Community Cleanup Initiatives

by Julie Delisle, Environmental Projects CoordinatorEducation & Outreach

This Mother Earth Month (April), KEPO is collaborating once again with the Waste Management Unit and the Eastern Door to encourage participation in community cleanup and waste reduction efforts The Eastern Door’s 28th Annual Spring Cleanup is taking place on Friday, April 19th at the Eastern Door Office We will have cleanup supplies, light refreshments, free compost, prize entries, and special collection for hazardous waste such as batteries, oil, etc

If you cannot make it the day of the Spring Cleanup, you can still participate anytime throughout the month and be entered to win the Earth Month Cleanup Prizes include a eco-friendly prize pack, Shop Kahnawà:ke gift cards, KOR skateboards and a kayak Entries can be submitted through email to wastemanagement@mck ca, through Facebook to @Recyclinginkahnawake or through the Kahnawà:ke Cleanup Tracker The Cleanup Tracker allows users to submit before and after photos, exact location and contact information for the contest entry Information such as type of waste materials, and site severity can also be noted and will be immediately sent to KEPO and Waste Management for further remediation planning The Cleanup Tracker will also allow uses to see which areas in the community could use extra help this cleanup season

Illegal dumping remains an issue in the community We encourage the use of the Cleanup Tracker beyond just Earth Month to help KEPO identify and remediate dump sites in Kahnawà:ke Demolition waste often ends up dumped along isolated roads and forested areas impacting valuable ecosystems We want to remind the community that demolition waste from small projects can be brought to the Transfer Depot but for businesses and larger projects, waste must be brought to an authorized demolition waste recycling facility such as Melimax in Chateauguay. Finally, if you see illegal dumping in progress call the Peacekeepers at 450-632-6505.

Project Update

Climate Monitoring Work for 2024

Marina Gosselin, Environmental Projects Coordinator - Climate Change

This will be a busy year for climate change work at KEPO A few projects will be starting in the coming months to monitor the impacts of climate change on ecosystems in Kahnawà:ke We will be monitoring shoreline erosion along the Saint Lawrence, updating our black ash tree inventory, installing weather stations that will help us analyze fire hazards and other weather conditions in Tioweró:ton, and managing invasive buckthorn trees We will also start work on climate adaptation planning for organizations to help prepare community partners to adapt to climate change As we carry out these activities, the goal will be to protect and prepare Kahnawa’kehró:non and our environment from the impacts of climate change to make a more resilient community

Buckthorn management

Managing the spread of buckthorn will be taking place in the Big Fence area to control and prevent the spread of this invasive species. We will be using several methods to remove the trees, such as girdling, cutting and using bags to cover stumps to prevent regrowth and spread. This activity will eventually be followed by planting native tree species in the removal areas which will reduce regrowth of buckthorn

Black ash inventories

The black ash inventory will continue work done to evaluate the health of black ash stands in Kahnawà:ke about 10 years ago Drones will be used to identify ash trees which may not have been recorded during the previous study This will help us evaluate the impacts of the emerald ash borer and see if any areas remain unaffected

Shoreline erosion monitoring

Monitoring the erosion of the shoreline along the Saint Lawrence will involve placing stakes at different distances on the shore to measure the amount and rate of shoreline being eroded. This work follows up on the Kahnawà:ke Shoreline Vulnerability Assessment conducted in 2018 and will help us understand how water levels and flow affect the shoreline and the potential impacts climate change events such as high precipitation and flooding may have on these areas This will enable us to prepare and take preventative action before major events can occur

EuropeanBuckthorn

Blackashstand TekakwithaIslandShoreline

Tioweró:ton Weather Station

KEPO will be installing a weather station in Tioweró:ton, which will provide us with local weather data and help us evaluate conditions which could lead to high-risk events, such as fires or flooding Having up-to-date local weather data will give us more accurate information and will enable us to record the data to evaluate any long-term trends and changes which could impact our local ecosystems

Climate Change Adaptation Plan

KEPO will begin work on updating the community climate change adaptation plan, which will be developed with interested community organizations and MCK units to identify adaptation needs so that each Unit and organization can identify their needs and prepare to take action on climate change.

Community Workshops

KEPO is excited to continue to provide learning opportunities for Kahnawa’kehró:non in the coming months, as we organize a permaculture design course with P3 Permaculture, for mid-June and a possible second workshop on solar panel installation for cabins Further details on both events will be shared through KEPO social media in the coming weeks so keep an eye out for updates

Meet the Team

Patrick Ragaz

Patrick has been working at KEPO since June of 2013 and currently holds the title of General Manager of Field Science. He oversees the KEPO teams focused on monitoring and enhancing aquatic and terrestrial habitats, as well as those concerned with contaminated sites and environmental inspections in the community One major project that he has been occupied with since starting at KEPO is the Tekakwitha Island and Bay Restoration Now that the major project work is complete, the whole team is excited to see how nature will respond to the new habitats that were created.

Patrick studied Water Resources Engineering and Wildlife Biology at the University of Guelph and worked for a Conservation Authority in Ontario before joining KEPO He grew up in Northern Ontario and enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking, skiing, bird watching, and removing invasive species.

He is continually impressed by the dedication of fellow KEPO staff and community members and looks forward to continuing to contribute to the growth of KEPO and environmental protection in the community

General Manager of Field Science

Tioweró:ton,2023

Permaculturelesson,2023

Tsikenontsísta

Spotted Salamander

Ambystoma maculatum wildlife profile

Considered a “mole salamander” since they spend most of their time underground

The Spotted salamander is an amphibian meaning they are four-limbed and are ectothermic vertebrates (animals that cannot regulate body temperature) They typically have a bluish black to dark brown colour with a pale pink to grey underside. Their defining feature is their prominent yellow spots going down their body and tail in two uneven rows.

Their eggs are laid underwater, and the larvae will hatch with external gills to survive in aquatic environments. The juvenile and adult salamanders will live on land and develop lungs.

Glands on their backs and tails release a sticky toxic liquid when the animal is threatened They have a symbiotic relationship with algae that live inside its cells and provide oxygen

The male adult salamanders will perform a courtship dance during mating season.

Spotted salamanders can be found in deciduous hardwood forests with vernal pools. Vernal pools are temporary ponds made by rainfall and are essential for salamander survival since fish in large bodies of water would eat their eggs Living near rivers and streams, they create shelters of leaves where they live for most of the year They leave their often underground hiding spots at night exclusively to feed on worms, insects, slugs and spiders. They mate in the springtime.

Adults are often 15-25 cm long which is about the length of a bar of soap. These salamanders can live up to 20 years but individuals as old as 30 years have been recorded. Although the species isn’t listed as endangered or at-risk, their numbers are declining like many amphibian species A primary issue is habitat loss, due to agriculture, urbanization, and logging They are also often at risk of being run over when migrating to breeding ponds in spring You can help these salamanders by keeping a portion of your property natural by not mowing and avoiding the use of pesticides and fertilizers in your yard The wet area at the back of your lot in the spring is very important for this species!

Kahnawà:ke Environment Protection Office

(450) 635-0600

environmentprotection@mck.ca