Raincoast Conservation Foundation | Iona North Arm Jetty Breach No. 2

December 14, 2022

Project status
Permit application under review

In December 2022, Raincoast Conservation Foundation (“Applicant”) submitted project permit application to construct Iona North Arm Jetty Breach No. 2 in the Fraser River Estuary, in Richmond, British Columbia on federal lands and waters managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

As part of the Project and Environmental Review  for the proposed project under the Impact Assessment Act, the proposed project was posted on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry with an opportunity for public comment between December 13, 2022 and January 11, 2023.

About the project

Raincoast Conservation Foundation (Raincoast, a charitable, non-profit conservation science organization) is proposing to construct a linear breach, i.e., channel, across the Iona Island North Arm Jetty in the Fraser River estuary, Richmond, B.C. The North Arm Jetty is a human-made structure that was constructed in 1916 to aid in navigation. The goal of this project is to restore natural migration pathways for juvenile salmon and other fish species, and to restore the natural movement of freshwater and fine sediments in the estuary. This breach will be located east of the jetty breach Raincoast built in early 2022.

The proposed Project works include:

  • Removal of rocks, soil, and sediment to construct a second breach approximately 120 meters (m) long and 30 m wide at the bottom and 55 m wide at the top, including the slide slopes. The breach will be excavated to an elevation of -1.35 m Geodetic Datum (GD), and lined with filter rock and riprap to a final elevation of -0.5 m GD.
  • Construction equipment and materials will be transported to the site by barge.
  • The excavated material (approximately 17,000 m³) will be placed adjacent to the breach above the high-water mark of 1.9 m GD.

Contact information
For questions regarding the Project and Environmental Review of the proposed project, or to get in touch with our team, please contact us by email or phone at 604.665.9047.

Please note, when receiving public feedback as part of the PER process, the port authority may collect your personal information, i.e., your name, contact information and personal views and opinions, to inform the PER process for a proposed project. Your personal information may be disclosed to third parties, such as our tenants, in order for them to respond directly to you or help inform our response. You are entitled to submit a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner office here.