Pabineau First Nation

1
Pabineau First Nation

• Presentation to Expert Panel
• August 14-15, 2006
• Halifax, Nova Scotia

2
INAC Announcement FN Drinking Water Action Plan

• Implementation of the Protocol for Safe Drinking
  Water for First Nation Communities.
• Mandatory training for all treatment-plant
  operators and a regime to ensure that all water
  systems have the oversight of certified
  operators.
• Complete specific remedial plans for FN
  communities with serious water issues, starting
  with the 21 communities most at risk.
• A panel of experts appointed (May 31, 2006) to
  advise on the appropriate regulatory framework,
  including new legislation developed with all
  partners.
• A clear commitment to report on progress on a
  regular basis.

3
INACs Strategic Plan

• 10 Regional Public Hearings.
• Review presentations from each region.
• Interim Report to be submitted to Minister
  Prentice and National Chief Phil Fontaine (by
  September 2006).
• Final report to be submitted to Minister Prentice
  and National Chief (by Fall 2006).
• Minister to announce his preferred options with
  respect to First Nation Water in the Fall of 2006.

4
Expert Panel Mandate

• To identify options for a regulatory framework
  for ensuring safe drinking water in First Nation
  communities.
• Roles, Authority, Accountability FN govts,
  INAC, HC, EC, provincial governments
• Standards Source water protection, drinking
  water quality, monitoring and inspection, O M,
  operator training and certification, design,
  construction building, emergency response
• Approval Process Drinking water and wastewater
  facility permits licences, environmental
  assessment process, operator certification
  process.
• Enforcement Enforcement agencies authority,
  information sharing between responsible parties,
  fines penalties for non-compliance, oversight
  followup
• Public Involvement public reporting.

5

• Government Roles and Responsibilities
• Environment Canada
• Source water protection
• Health Canada
• Monitoring of drinking water quality
• INAC
• Drinking water wastewater infrastructure
• First Nation Governments
• Ensuring that community drinking water systems
• remain in compliance with the standards
  outlined
• in the Protocol for Safe Drinking Water in
  First Nation
• Communities.

6

• First Nations Primary Concern related to the
  implementation of the various options considered
  in the regulatory framework ______________________
  _________
• The human, financial, and infrastructure
  requirements of First Nations to enable them to
  implement and comply with a FN water regulatory
  framework

7
Pabineau First Nation

• Water System Upgrade

8
Existing Water Sources

• Potable water is presently supplied to the PFN
  community by two primary sources
• One community groundwater well located along the
  western bank of the Nepisiguit River, and
• Private residential wells.

9
Community Groundwater Well

• Inadequacies
• Inadequate quantity to service community (less
  than 10 gpm)
• Inadequate quality (elevated flouride and
  barium levels that exceed the Canadian Drinking
  Water Standard)

10
Private Residential Wells

• Although a number of private residential wells
  within the PFN community contain satisfactory
  water in terms of both quality and quantity,
  a great number of existing wells contain water
  with elevated levels of a variety of elements
  that exceed the Canadian Drinking Water Standard
• (e.g., flouride, barium, iron, manganese, etc.)

11
1989 Water Research

• March 1989 Four test holes drilled
• - Water samples contained flouride levels that
  exceeded the CDWS.
• - Wells yields ranged between 5 to 10 igpm
• June 1989 A test pit was excavated along bank
  of Pabineau River and a trench then constructed
  to collect water from three surface springs
  identified in the area.
• - Water samples contained manganese and iron
  concentrations that exceeded the CDWS
• - Surface springs yields ranged between 5 to 7
  igpm.

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1989 Water Research contd

• October 1989 Five more test pits were excavated
  and two test wells drilled.
• One of the two wells proved inadequate in terms
  of quality and quantity.
• One of the two wells
• - The water quality fell within the CDWS.
• - Well yielded less than 10 igpm, which was
  marginally adequate to meet the consumption
  demands in 1990. This raised concerns regarding
  the long-term yield of the well and future water
  supply requirements of the community.

13
2004 Surface Water Investigation

• River Water
• The possibility of using river water was then
  reviewed
• Nepisiguit River determined to be within the
  established guidelines for most parameters.
• Pabineau River expected to be similar to that
  of the springs in the area, which were within the
  CDWS, with the exception of elevated manganese
  levels.

14
River Water Supply Concerns

• Several potential sources of contamination were
  identified upstream in both river systems,
  including various mining operations, logging
  operations, and the Red Pine Landfill.
• Infiltration gallery would be required
• Supply would require treatment prior to
  distribution
• The Nepisiguit or Pabineau River watersheds would
  have to be designated as protected by the New
  Brunswick Department of Environment and Local
  Government.

15
Community Water Quality Review

• Water quality data collected by Health Canada
  throughout the PFN community between 1977 and
  2004 were reviewed.
• Although a number of private residential wells
  within the PFN community contain satisfactory
  water in terms of quality, a great number of
  existing wells contain water with elevated levels
  of a variety of elements that exceed the Canadian
  Drinking Water Standard
• (e.g., flouride, barium, iron, manganese, etc.)

16
Community Water Quality Review, contd

• Eastern Pabineau
• Fluoride concentrations exceeding the Guidelines
  for Canadian Drinking Water Quality was
  identified in the eastern portion of the
  community, including the community well.
  (characteristic of the granite bedrock found in
  this area). The treatment of fluoride requires
  reverse osmosis, which is both expensive and
  maintenance intensive.
• North-Western Pabineau
• Many of the wells located in the northwestern
  portion of the community did not show elevated
  fluoride levels.

17
2004 Geophysical Survey

• September and October 2004
• A Geophysical survey was completed in the area
  located between the developed western and
  north-western portions of the community. Four
  areas in this central portion of the community
  were considered to have a higher potential for
  containing groundwater based on this information.
  

18
October 2004 Test Well Drilling Results

• Based upon the research, three test wells were
  drilled in target locations on October 27th,
  2004.
• In all three test wells drilled, granite bedrock
  was encountered and no significant amount of
  water was identified. The three test holes were
  abandoned at the conclusion of drilling.

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Water Supply Options/Recommendations

• The following options to supply the PFN community
  with potable water were presented by MGI for our
  consideration
• Complete a groundwater exploration program on the
  eastern side of the Nepisiguit River
• Install a water infiltration gallery along the
  Pabineau River or
• Enter into an agreement with the City of Bathurst
  to connect to their municipal water supply.

20
2005 Water System Upgrade Research

• In 2005, the Chief and Council contracted an
  engineering company, Boissonnault McGraw and
  Associates Ltd., to prepare a report of their
  professional opinion of the probable construction
  costs for the three water source options
  identified by MGI.
• Connect to Bathurst water supply system,
• Construct an infiltration gallery near the
  Pabineau River, and
• Upgrade the water supply system using existing
  and new wells.

21
Class D- Probable Construction Costs

• Option 1
• Connection to City of Bathurst 3,475,599
• Option 2
• Pabineau River Infiltration Gallery 2,752,203
• Option 3
• Existing New Wells/Filtration 2,589,363
• To Extend System from Pople St
• to Sewell Street, White Birch St.
• and Brunswick Mines Road 494,937

22
2005 and 2006 Negotiations with the City of
Bathurst

• Summer and Fall 2005
• Numerous meetings with the City Mayor, Stephen
  Brunett, City Engineer, Maris Freemanis, and the
  Director of Construction and Design, Marc Losier,
  to explore the willingness of the City Council to
  enter into a water service agreement with the
  Pabineau First Nation.
• Examined the volume of water required by the
  community for
• a) household use
• b) flushing requirements
• c) firefighting capability
• d) economic development capacity
• e) etc.,

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• Prior to entering into a formal service agreement
  with the Pabineau First Nation, the City of
  Bathurst has to consider the following
• a) the present capacity of its plant (3 Million
  gallons per day) and its target capacity (4
  Million gallons per day) to service its present
  and future requirements
• b) the added requirements of its newly
  developed Caron Drive, Bayshore Drive, and
  Youghall Drive extensions
• c) What to do with the Local Service District
  between the City limits and the Pabineau First
  Nation (Big River)
• d) Service agreement details
• e) Performance criteria of both parties

24

• December 13, 2005
• The Chief, Council, and our engineers, met with
  the Mayor, the City Engineer, and Director
  Construction and Design. At this meeting, we
  received a formal letter from Stephen Brunett,
  the Mayor of Bathurst, informing the Chief and
  Council that the members of the Bathurst City
  Council had formally met, consulted, and agree to
  provide water to the Pabineau First Nation
  community, as per our discussions and preliminary
  planning and design.
• December 20, 2005
• The City Engineer, Maris Freemanis, provided our
  Council with a copy of
• a) the City of Bathursts Approval to Operate
  Drinking Water Distribution Facilities (Province
  of N.B.)
• b) the City of Bathursts Approval to Operate
  Drinking Water Treatment Facilities (Province of
  N.B.)
• c) the City of Bathursts Water and Sewer By-Law
• d) the City of Bathursts Water Agreement with
  the Town of Beresford
• e) a copy of the City of Bathursts latest
  water test results.

25
Engineering Planning Design, for the
Bathurst Connection

• Our engineers (BM) prepared a proposal to the
  Chief and Council for the provision of the
  following engineering services to complete the
  planning and design phase of this water project
• - Topographic survey
• - Preliminary and detailed final design and
  specifications,
• - Class B cost estimates, and tendering
  documents
• - Assistance and advise with tender call,
  including tender
• evaluation and recommendation for award,
• - Soil testing along roadway to locate rock
  depth, if any
• - Soil report by geotechnical laboratory

26
March 17th, 2006INAC listed the Pabineau First
Nation as one of the Highest Risk communities
for water in Canada. Our overall Risk level is
9.

• Priority Communities for Water
• REGION NAME BAND NAME Overall Risk Level
• ONTARIO Shoal Lake No. 40 10
• ATLANTIC Pabineau 9
• BRITISH COLUMBIA Semiahmoo 9
• BRITISH COLUMBIA Shuswap 9
• BRITISH COLUMBIA Toguaht 9
• ONTARIO Constance Lake 9
• ONTARIO Moose Deer Point 9
• ONTARIO Northwest Angle No.37 9
• ONTARIO Ochiichagwebabigoining First
  Nation 9
• ALBERTA Dene Tha 8
• ALBERTA Driftpile First Nation 8
• ALBERTA Frog Lake 8
• ATLANTIC Woodstock 8
• BRITISH COLUMBIA Canoe Creek 8
• BRITISH COLUMBIA Lake Babine 8
• BRITISH COLUMBIA Toosey 8

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• Having advance notice of our national ranking, on
  March 17th, a meeting was scheduled with Les
  Keyes (INAC), Trish King (DPW), Patrice Hawkes
  (Health Canada), our engineers (Boissonault
  McGraw), and Tim Culligan (NSMDC), and I to
  discuss the recommendations of our engineers, a
  concrete plan of action from INAC, and the
  anticipated funding requirements for
• a) the Planning and Design of the Bathurst
  connection,
• b) the cost of flushing the entire system,
  using either trucked water or river water (as our
  existing system does not produce enough water to
  flush itself).
• c) reimbursement to the Pabineau First Nation
  for providing potable bottled drinking water to
  all high risk residences and community
  buildings since the BWA was first declared (June
  2005 to March 31st) as well as for the upcoming
  2006-07 fiscal year,
• d) the provision of temporary in-home
  filtration devices to deal with the harsh
  bacteria and chemical irregularities in the water
  and to enable residents to bathe, do laundry,
  etc., until the new water system is constructed
  and operational.

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2006-07 Fiscal Year

• May 2006
• A meeting was scheduled at the Pabineau First
  Nation on May 12th with the Chief and Council, 2
  staff at INAC (Capital), one staff member from
  DPW, and three NSMDC staff members to discuss
• a) our short-term interim measures,
• b) our long-term permanent solutions, and
• c) INACs commitment to our water system
  upgrade for 2006-07.
• Our meeting proceeded, as scheduled, although to
  our surprise and disappointment, no one from INAC
  or DPW showed up in our community to attend.

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May 2006, continued

• While attending a Chiefs Assembly in Oromocto,
  Tim Culligan, NSMDC, and I had a meeting with our
  retiring RDG, John Brown.
• - A very positive meeting - John committed to
  dealing with our water issue forthwith and
  informed us that Ian Gray and the DPW would be
  scheduling a meeting with our Council in the
  upcoming week.
• Our next meeting with INAC - a major setback
• We learned that prior to forwarding funding to
  Pabineau for the Planning and Design Phase of the
  Bathurst Connection, INAC would like to study the
  Pabineau First Nations water problem further, by
  installing private in-home water treatment
  systems to see if this could form a reliable
  solution to our entire BWA problem.

30
June/July 2006

• On June 30th,2006, while attending a Housing
  meeting in Halifax, I met with Michelle Hicks,
  INAC (Capital), and expressed my sincere
  disappointment with the Atlantic Region for their
  lack of meaningful commitment to the longstanding
  water issues of the Pabineau First Nation
  Community.
• A band-aid solution is not what is required for
  Pabineau.
• I made it clear to INAC that although I expect
  financial support to complete the planning and
  design phase of this project and to provide
  potable water to the community on an interim
  basis, I do not expect that our 4 million water
  system in Pabineau should come from our existing
  Atlantic Regional Capital budget (5.5 Million
  per year). The commitment to address the First
  Nation water concerns of the Canada came directly
  from Minister, Jim Prentices office.
  Headquarters (the Ministers Office) must be held
  responsible to provide additional financial
  resources to the Atlantic region to see this
  project through.
• Michelle Hicks assured me that she would take my
  concerns back to Region and see what she can do.
  

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• Since my June 30th, 2006 meeting with Michelle
  Hicks, INAC staff have indicated that the ARO is
  now prepared to make a formal commitment to the
  following
• a) providing funding for the Planning and
  Design for the Bathurst Connection
• b) providing funding to the Pabineau First
  Nation for providing potable bottled drinking
  water to all high risk residences and community
  buildings,
• c) providing, as an interim short-term measure
  in-home filtration devices, where needed, to deal
  with the harsh bacteria, chemical irregularities,
  and sediment in the water, which will enable
  residents to bathe, do laundry, etc., and
• d) assisting our First Nation in pursuing
  funding from Headquarters for the completion of
  our water system upgrade, i.e., the Bathurst
  connection.

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Developments in Winter 2007

• In February 2007, the Chief and Council signed a
  funding agreement with INAC that provided the
  Pabineau First Nation with access to 310,100 to
• address the short-term solution to the boil
  water advisory for 23 homes connected to the
  community water system by testing and analyzing
  community water and providing water softeners, UV
  filtration, and RO filtration systems, and
• address the long-term solution by completing
  the design of the pipeline connection to the City
  of Bathurst and community distribution system.

33
Short Term Solution

• 83,600 for
• Water testing and analysis of 23 homes
• A pilot system of water softener and reverse
  osmosis system in two homes
• Installation of water softener, reverse osmosis
  system, and storage tank in 21 homes
• Ongoing monitoring and maintenance

34
Long-Term Solution

• 226,500 for
• Completion of the design and Class B cost
  estimates for a pipeline connection to the City
  of Bathurst, including a topographical survey,
  soil testing and soil reports, and
• Design the on-reserve distribution system,
  including a water tower

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Bathurst Connection

• Once an agreement is signed with the City of
  Bathurst, the infrastructure has been installed,
  and a connection to the Bathurst water supply is
  secured, we will have collectively resolved a
  water supply problem that has cost the Pabineau
  First Nation approximately two decades of work
  and a substantial volume of capital and
  administrative funding. This proposed agreement
  will indefinitely guarantee that an adequate and
  potable water supply will be accessible to the
  members of the Pabineau First Nation community
  for residential, fire protection, and economic
  development purposes.