Standards and Best Practices

for Instream Works

Public Utility Works

Version 1.0

Other Guides in this Series

You have selected this document because your project
Guidebook Introduction
involves Public Utility Works in or about a stream.
Bank Stabilization Works addressed in this section include:
Beaver Dam Removal • riparian vegetation maintenance, in existing and active
Bridges right-of-ways;
Channel Maintenance • public utility works routine minor maintenance;
Culverts • overhead electrical or telecommunication line
Habitat Enhancement & Restoration construction; and/or,
Miscellaneous Works
• underwater cable crossings.
Pipeline Crossings Works specifically involving pipeline crossings should
refer to the Pipeline Crossing Guidebook section. When
Public Utility Works
planning your project, develop designs and select locations
Urban Stormwater Management
to minimize potential impacts to fish and fish habitat. If
Wharf, Pier, Dock, Boathouse & Mooring your works are outside the scope of this Guidebook then
a MOE Approval application must be completed and DFO
Supporting Documents
contacted to determine if a review and/or Authorization
General BMPs & Standard Project under the Fisheries Act is appropriate.
Considerations
Regional Timing Windows
Contact List
B.C. Ministry of Environment Contacts
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Contacts
Glossary
MOE/DFO Notification, Approval &
Authorization Instructions & Forms
Introduction

About this document... Glossary

Before you proceed with your project you must ensure that you:
Important words,
• understand and apply the appropriate Water Act Standards to your denoted in bold text,
project; are defined in the
glossary, included as
• understand the federal Fisheries Act and ensure you are in a separate document
compliance with Section 35 of the Act which prohibits the
for download as part
Harmful Alteration, Disruption or Destruction (HADD) of fish
of this same series.
habitat and Section 36 of the Act which prohibits the release of
deleterious substances to a watercourse;
• review the appropriate DFO Pacific Region Operational Statement(s) and determine if
Operational Statement Notification and or Authorization is appropriate;
• incorporate the applicable Best Management Practices to comply with the Standards; and,
• complete and submit a Notification, Approval and/or Authorization application for MOE
and DFO as required for your project.

Disclaimer
Information in this document is provided for guidance only. Users must apply appropriate legisla-
tion and regulations as applicable to the works in and about a stream that are being considered. It is
strongly recommended that an appropriately Qualified Professional(s) (QP) be consulted as part of
project development. Legislation and regulations should be consulted and applied as they pertain to
your project. If a discrepancy arises between this document and legislation, the legislation takes prece-
dence. Neither the Province of British Columbia nor Government of Canada guarantee the accuracy
or completeness of the information referenced herein and in no event are liable or responsible for
damages of any kind arising from its use. Note that other legislation and regulations (e.g., municipal)
may also apply to such activities and should be consulted.

Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 2
How to proceed with your Public Utility Works project

The following five (5) steps will help guide you through the provincial and federal Notification, Approval
and/or Authorization process for Public Utility works.
Step

1
Step

2
Step

Step

4
Step

5
Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 3
Best Management Practices (BMPs)

Step
The following Best Management Practices (BMPs) are methods that, if followed, will

4 help ensure your project minimizes potential impacts to fish and fish habitat and will
provide a standard level of protection to the aquatic and terrestrial environment poten-
tially affected by your project.

It is the responsibility of the proponent/developer to ensure that they are in compliance with all applicable
legislation.

There are three (3) types of BMPs you should consider:

i. General BMPs and Standard Project Considerations applicable to any project;

ii. Public Utility Works specific BMPs (below); and,
iii. Supportive information applicable to project design, implementation and Public Utility
Works techniques.

i. General Project BMPs and Standard Project Considerations

Please proceed to the General BMPs and Standard Project Considerations section to review consider-
ations applicable to your project.

ii. Public Utility Works Specific BMPs

To achieve the required Standards and objectives that your activity must meet, apply the following BMPs
as applicable to your works.

To reduce impacts on fish and wildlife habitats and populations, your Public Utility Works activities must
consider:

A. Maintenance of Riparian Vegetation in Existing Rights-of-Way

Design
PUW01 ensure General BMPs and Standard Project Considerations have been consulted and
appropriately applied prior to commencement of work;
PUW02 vegetation maintenance and removal of operational debris within the watercourse
should adhere to Regional Timing Windows to prevent disruption of fish and wildlife
habitat;

Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 4
Best Management Practices (BMPs): continued...

PUW03 ensure vegetation maintenance techniques do not employ the use of herbicides or other
deleterious substances in or around the watercourse;
PUW04 if tree topping or maintenance works are being proposed within the riparian area an
assessment by a Qualified Professional must be conducted to determine the presence
and status of bird nests;

Operational
PUW05 maintenance activities (e.g. mowing, brushing, topping, slashing, etc.) must not damage
more than one third (1/3) of the total woody vegetation in the right-of-way, within 30
m of the high water mark (HWM);
PUW06 retain riparian vegetation according to applicable legislation and manage (e.g. prune,
top) only to a height required for operational and safety needs;
PUW07 maintain riparian vegetation in the right-of-way by using hand techniques, whenever
possible;
PUW08 ensure refuelling of hand tools (e.g. chainsaw) occurs at least 30 m from the high water
mark (HWM) of the watercourse and employ measure to ensure spills do not occur.
In the event of a spill, appropriate clean up procedures should be established prior to
beginning works;
PUW09 if operation of machinery on land is required to maintain vegetation, ensure machinery
minimizes disturbance to the banks of the watercourse;
PUW10 remove spoil materials in a way that ensures sediment or debris does not enter the
watercourse and prevents the Harmful Alteration, Disruption or Destruction
(HADD) of fish habitat;
PUW11 install effective sediment control measures before starting work to prevent the entry
or re-suspension of sediment in the watercourse and to prevent Harmful Alteration,
Disruption or Destruction (HADD) of fish habitat;
PUW12 inspect sediment control measures regularly to ensure proper function and make all
necessary repairs if any damage occurs;
PUW13 ensure root structure and bank stability are maintained when altering a tree located on
the bank of a watercourse;
PUW14 avoid vegetation maintenance or management activities that will affect trees used by
birds and other wildlife while they are breeding, nesting, roosting or rearing young;
PUW15 trees or other structures containing nests of eagles, peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons, ospreys,
herons and burrowing owls are protected year-round and must not be felled;
PUW16 retain large woody debris and large diameter trees stubs (where feasible) as these
structures are important for preservation of fish habitat and wildlife populations;
PUW17 fall trees away from the watercourse unless there is an immediate threat to the public;

Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 5
Best Management Practices (BMPs): continued...
Post Works Mitigation
PUW18 maintain effective erosion and sediment control measures until complete re-vegetation
of disturbed areas is achieved;

B. Minor & Routine Maintenance of Public Utility Works Activities

Design
PUW19 ensure General BMPs and Standard Project Considerations have been consulted and
appropriately applied prior to commencement of work;
Operational
PUW20 removal of vegetation should be kept to a minimum to prevent erosion and Harmful
Alteration, Disruption or Destruction (HADD) of fish habitat;
PUW21 inspect sediment control measures regularly to ensure proper function and make all
necessary repairs if any damage occurs;

C. Overhead Line Construction Activities

Design
PUW22 ensure General BMPs and Standard Project Considerations have been consulted and
appropriately applied prior to commencement of work;
PUW23 design the alignment of overhead lines to avoid or minimize the number of watercourse
crossings required;
PUW24 minimize disturbance to the riparian vegetation by constructing overhead lines in areas
that have been previously disturbed;
PUW25 reduce overhead line right-of-way widths and/or avoid running the alignment parallel
to the watercourse;
PUW26 design and construct approaches so that they are perpendicular to the watercourse to
minimize loss or disturbance to riparian vegetation resulting in Harmful Alteration,
Disruption or Destruction (HADD);
PUW27 avoid building any structures on meander bends, braided streams, alluvial fans, active
floodplains or any other area that is inherently unstable and may result in erosion and
scouring of any structures resulting in Harmful Alteration, Disruption or Destruction
(HADD);

Operational
PUW28 locate all temporary or permanent structures, such as poles, sufficiently beyond the top
of bank to prevent erosion and avoid Harmful Alteration, Disruption or Destruction
(HADD) to the watercourse;
PUW29 install overhead lines during frozen conditions, where possible, or using aerial methods
(e.g. helicopter) where wet terrain (e.g. bogs) occurs;
Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 6
Best Management Practices (BMPs): continued...
Post Works Mitigation
PUW30 inspect erosion and sediment control measures regularly to ensure proper function
and make all necessary repairs if any damage occurs;

D. Underwater Cable Crossing

Trenchless Cable Activities

Directional Drilling
Design
PUW31 ensure General BMPs and Standard Project Considerations have been consulted and
appropriately applied prior to commencement of work;
PUW32 document all incidents of frac-out, spills or release of deleterious substances that occur
and submit them to the appropriate authorities upon completion of works;
PUW33 immediately notify MOE and DFO if frac-out occurs during works (MOE
Environmental Emergency Management Plan Incident Reporting Hotline 1-800-663-
3456; DFO Observe, Record and Report Hotline 1-800-465-4336);
PUW34 conduct geotechnical evaluations for directional drilling and boring operations where
channel and surficial morphology or presence of known buried debris and construction
materials indicates a high risk of crossing failure;
PUW35 develop a frac-out response plan that includes measures to stop work, contain drilling
mud, prevent further migration into the watercourse and process to notify all applicable
authorities immediately should an incident occur;
PUW36 design the drill path at a minimum of 1 m depth below the watercourse to minimize the
risk of frac-out and prevent the line from becoming exposed due to natural scouring of
the stream bed;
PUW37 design drill entry and exit points far enough from the banks of the watercourse to
minimize impact on these areas;

Operational
PUW38 ensure operators do not remove riparian vegetation between drill or bore entry and exit
points in preparation of trenchless stream crossing operations;
PUW39 construct a dugout/settling basin at the drilling exit site to contain drilling mud to
prevent sediment and other deleterious substances from entering the watercourse. If
this cannot be achieved, use silt fences or other effective erosion and sediment control
measures to prevent drilling mud from entering the watercourse and causing Harmful
Alteration, Disruption or Destruction (HADD) to fish habitat;
PUW40 store all waste materials outside of the riparian area and dispose of excess drilling mud,
cuttings and other waste materials at an adequately sized disposal facility located away
from the water to prevent it from entering the watercourse;

Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 7
Best Management Practices (BMPs): continued...

PUW41 prevent deleterious substances, such as polymers, bentonite, lubricants and sediment
from entering the watercourse and causing Harmful Alteration, Disruption or
Destruction (HADD) to fish habitat;
PUW42 monitor fluid pressure and watercourse a minimum of 400 m downstream of the crossing
site to identify signs of frac-out during all phases of construction;

Emergency Frac-out Response

PUW43 keep all material and equipment needed to contain and clean up drilling mud releases
on-site, in good working order and readily accessible in the event of a frac-out;
PUW44 immediately notify MOE and DFO if frac-out occurs during works (MOE
Environmental Emergency Management Plan Incident Reporting Hotline 1-800-663-
3456; DFO Observe, Record and Report Hotline 1-800-465-4336);
PUW45 train all appropriate staff in emergency protocol implementation prior to works as part
of emergency frac-out plans;
PUW46 establish a prioritized clean up procedure according to risk of potential harm and to
capacity of drilling mud disposal to prevent re-entry into the watercourse;
PUW47 ensure emergency clean-up measures will not result in damage to banks or
watercourse;
PUW48 document all incidents of frac-out, spills or release of deleterious substances that occur
and submit them to the appropriate authorities upon completion of works;

Post Works Mitigation

PUW49 monitor reclaimed/deactivated sites in areas of erodible soils until successful plant cover
re-establishment and long-term site stability have occurred;

Punch & Bore Crossing

Design
PUW50 ensure General BMPs and Standard Project Considerations have been consulted and
appropriately applied prior to commencement of work;
PUW51 design the punch and bore path at a minimum 1 m depth below the watercourse to
prevent the pipeline or cable from becoming exposed due to natural scouring of the
stream bed;

Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 8
Best Management Practices (BMPs): continued...

PUW52 develop a response plan to be implemented immediately in the event of a sediment

release or spill of a deleterious substance. This plan must include measures to:
• stop work, contain sediment-laden water and other deleterious substances and
prevent further migration into the watercourse;
• notify all applicable authorities in the area (Environmental Emergency
Management Plan Incident Reporting Hotline 1-800-663-3456; DFO Observe,
Record and Report Hotline 1-800-465-4336);
• document all incidents of frac-out, spills or release of deleterious substances
that occur and submit them to the appropriate authorities upon completion of
works
• promptly clean-up and appropriately dispose of the sediment-laden water and
deleterious substances; and,
• ensure clean-up measures are suitably applied so as not to result in further
alteration of the bed and/or banks of the watercourse.

Operational
PUW53 excavate bell holes beyond the top of bank, a minimum of 30 m from any watercourse
to preserve riparian vegetation and allow containment of any sediment or deleterious
substances;
PUW54 treat water and divert uncontaminated water into a vegetated area or settling basin to
remove suspended solids and prevent sediment and other deleterious substances from
entering the watercourse, when dewatering bell holes;
PUW55 stabilize any waste materials removed from the work site (including bell holes) above the
ordinary high water mark (HWM), to prevent them from entering any watercourse;
PUW56 contain spoil piles with silt fence and flatten and covered with biodegradable mats or
tarps and/or plant native grass or shrubs;
PUW57 monitor the watercourse for signs of potential malfunction during all phases of the
work;
PUW58 keep on-site and readily accessible all material and equipment needed to contain and
clean up releases of sediment-laden water and other deleterious substances for the
duration of the work;

General Underwater Cable Crossing Activities

Design
PUW59 ensure General BMPs and Standard Project Considerations have been consulted and
appropriately applied prior to commencement of work;
PUW60 avoid floodplains, meander bends, braided streams, alluvial fans and any other areas
where bank stability may be a concern;
Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 9
Best Management Practices (BMPs): continued...

PUW61 protect natural function and features by avoiding critical fish and wildlife habitat
areas;
PUW62 align cable crossing perpendicular to watercourse flow;
PUW63 inspect erosion and sediment control measures regularly during the course of
construction to ensure they are functioning properly and make all necessary repairs if
any damage occurs;

Operational
PUW64 isolate trench work (e.g. coffer dam) to contain suspended sediment and prevent it
from entering the surrounding waters and causing Harmful Alteration, Disruption or
Destruction (HADD) to the watercourse;
PUW65 relocate any natural woody material or boulders moved to facilitate the placement of
cables as close to their original location as possible;
PUW66 ensure that fisheries Regional Timing Windows are adhered to prevent disruption to
spawning fish and incubating eggs, if cables are buried within 10 m of the high water
mark (HWM);
PUW67 operate machinery on land in a manner that minimizes disturbance to the banks or bed
of the watercourse and riparian area; and,

Post Works Mitigation

PUW68 inspect erosion and sediment control measures regularly to ensure proper function
and make all necessary repairs if any damage occurs;

Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 10
Supportive Information

iii. Supportive Information

The following sources provide you with additional planning, design, implementation and review advice for
a variety of project-specific activities. Please follow the appropriate links to obtain further information on
your project specific activity.

General Considerations
Pacific Region Operational Statements
http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/decisionsupport/os/operational_statements_e.htm

Develop with Care: Environmental Guidelines for Urban and Rural Land Development
in British Columbia, B.C. Ministry of Environment
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/bmp/devwithcare2006/DWC%202006%20Sec%201%20Introducti
on.pdf

Land Development Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Habitat (Section 5 and 6),
DFO
http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/publications/pdf/165353.pdf

A Guideline to Prepare Best Management Practices to Streamline DFO’s Approval

Process
http://www.nria-dfo.ca/bmp-e.pdf

Overhead Line Constructions, Pacific Region Operational Statement

http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/decisionsupport/os/os-ohead_line_e.htm

Cable Crossing Design & Techniques

Underwater Cables, Pacific Region Operational Statement
http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/decisionsupport/os/os-uw_cables_e.htm

Guide to the Code of Practice for Pipelines and Telecommunication Lines Crossing a
Water Body, Including Guidelines for Complying with the Code of Practice
http://www3.gov.ab.ca/env/water/Legislation/CoP/PipelineGuide.pdf

Oil and Gas Commission Stream Crossing Planning Guide (Northeast B.C.)
http://www.ogc.gov.bc.ca/documents/guidelines/Stream%20Crossing%20Planning%20Guide.doc

Pipeline Associated Watercourse Crossings, 3rd Edition

http://www.neb.gc.ca/clf-nsi/rsftyndthnvrnmnt/nvrnmnt/rfrncmtrl/pplnwtrcrssngs2005-eng.pdf

Pipeline-Stream Crossings
http://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/pipeline-stream-english.pdf

Watercourse Alteration Guidelines, Pipeline/Cable Crossings, New Brunswick

Department of Environmental Management
http://www.gnb.ca/0009/0371/0005/English/Section6.pdf

Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 11
Supportive Information continued...

Minor Routine Maintenance of Public Utilities Additional Information

Approved Work Practices for Managing Riparian Vegetation, B.C. Transmission
Corporation
http://www.bctc.com/NR/rdonlyres/6A311729-C84F-4103-8730-05E90E189051/0/031121_ awprv.pdf

Riparian Vegetation Removal Additional Information

Maintenance of Riparian Vegetation in Existing Rights-of-Way, Pacific Region
Operational Statement
http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/decisionsupport/os/os-riparian_veg_maint_e.htm

Rights of way Vegetation Management Plan, Fortis B.C.

http://www.fortisbc.com/downloads/safety/FortisBCs%20Vegetation%20Management%20Plan.pdf

Riparian Areas and Revegetation, DFO Pacific Region

http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/decisionsupport/os/riparian-reveg_e.htm

Best Management Practices for Hazard Tree and Non-Hazard tree Limbing, Topping or
Removal, B.C. Ministry of Environment
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/bmp/BMPTreeRemoval_WorkingDraft.pdf

Develop with Care, Linear Developments Fact Sheet #3, B.C. Ministry of Environment
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/bmp/devwithcare2006/DWC%202006%20Sec%207%20App%20F
%20FactSh3.pdf

Integrated Vegetation Management Plan for Distribution Line Corridors, BC Hydro

http://www.bchydro.com/rx_files/safety/safety4912.pdf

Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 12
MOE/DFO Notification, Approval & Authorization

Step
If you determine that your project requires notification and/or approval from MOE or DFO,

5 please ensure that MOE and/or DFO application instructions are followed and forms com-
pleted and sent to the appropriate agency.

The latest application instructions and forms for MOE and DFO can be found at
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/BMP/

Public Utility Works – Standards and Best Practices for Instream Works 13