Plan St-Laurent - Pour un développement durable

• The St. Lawrence
  River in good hands
  • Governmental
    actions
  • St. Lawrence Plan
  • 
    • Already 20 years!
    • Highlights
    • Achievements
    • Testimonies
    • Photo album
    • Activity schedule

Achievements

Navigation

At the request of environmentalists, the SLP added navigation to its areas of intervention during the 3rd phase. For the first time, representatives of groups and members of the maritime industry meet to discuss dredging, port activities, invasive species etc. It has already resulted in several interesting initiatives.

• Voluntary reduction by the maritime industry of the speed of ships between Sorel and Varennes (phase 3). – The aim is to reduce the erosion of banks from buffeting waves in a particularly sensitive area. Follow-up showed the positive results of this measure, partly led by the work of the St. Lawrence Action Plan Navigation Committee, in which the maritime industry participates.

• Designing a Sustainable Navigation Strategy for the St. Lawrence based on managing commercial and recreational navigation practices, in harmony with environmental requirements, the protection of the St. Lawrence ecosystem and other users (phase 3) – The fruit of several years of consultation between decision makers, environmental groups, St. Lawrence users and the maritime industry. One of the consequences of this Strategy is the Environmental Program of the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes Maritime Industry, a broad action plan for the industry to improve its environmental performance.

• Awareness tour on the environmental advantages of shipping compared with other forms of commercial goods transport (phase 4). – A tour of different cities in Quebec carried out by Les Amis de la vallée du Saint-Laurent, an SLP partner.

• Publication of the document Climatic Change and Marine Transportation on the St. Lawrence River. Exploratory Study of Adaptation Options (phase 4) – Study on adaptation possibilities available to maritime transportation in order to cope with four scenarios of declining water levels on the river as a result of climatic change.

• Preparation and implementation of an integrated dredging and dredging sediments management plan (phases 3 and 4). – The aim is to improve and streamline the environmental assessment process for dredging activities on the St. Lawrence.

• Revision of criteria for assessing the quality of dredging sediments, by the Dredging Research Consultative Committee (phase 4).

• Publication of provisional directives on the discharge into the water of cargo residues from commercial vessels (phase 4). – Issued by Transport Canada, SLP partner, these directives cover non-regulated substances, without dangerous chemical properties, which create deposits on the marine beds. These are in line with the directives for the Great Lakes.

• Bringing into force of regulations requiring vessels and pleasure craft to discharge their used water into wharf facilities (phase 4). – A fleet of 200 000 pleasure craft will produce, in summer, a volume of untreated water equivalent to a population of 32,000 people.

• Implementation of the Eco-marinas project (phase 4). – Environmental certification program which offers marinas ratings of one to five “green anchors”, set up by the Quebec Maritime Association, with the support of the St. Lawrence Plan.