environmental baseline study: light - alberta.ca · 2016. 11. 16. · a sekonic l-558 cine light...

Environmental Baseline Study:

Light

Total E&P Canada Ltd.Calgary, Alberta

Binder Section Pages.indd cover5Binder Section Pages.indd cover5 12/11/2007 1:53:08 PM12/11/2007 1:53:08 PM

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Table of Contents

TOTAL E&P Canada Ltd. December 2007 Page i

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1-1 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................................. 1-1 1.2 Focus of Baseline Investigations .................................................................................................. 1-1 1.3 Study Area .................................................................................................................................... 1-3 2 Methods ....................................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Illuminance and Luminance at Receptor Locations ..................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Assessment Criteria for Illuminance and Luminance ................................................................... 2-2

2.2.1 Illuminance Criteria ......................................................................................................... 2-2 2.2.2 Luminance Criteria .......................................................................................................... 2-2

3 Results ......................................................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Illuminance and Luminance at Receptor Locations ..................................................................... 3-1 4 Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 4-1 5 References ................................................................................................................................... 5-1

List of Tables

Table 1.3-1 Residential Light Receptors ............................................................................................ 1-3 Table 2.2-1 Illuminance Criteria ......................................................................................................... 2-2 Table 2.2-2 Luminance Criteria .......................................................................................................... 2-2 Table 3.1-1 Residential Light Receptors ............................................................................................ 3-1

List of Figures

Figure 1.1-1 TOTAL Lands ................................................................................................................. 1-2 Figure 1.3-1 Light Receptors in the Local Study Area ........................................................................ 1-4 Figure 2.1-1 Typical Landscape in the Study Area .............................................................................. 2-1

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Table of Contents

December 2007 TOTAL E&P Canada Ltd.Page ii

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Acronyms and Abbreviations

TOTAL E&P Canada Ltd. December 2007 Page iii

Acronyms and Abbreviations

AENV ...................................................................................................... Alberta Environment cd ................................................................................................................................. candella m2 ........................................................................................................................ square metres IES ........................................................................................Illuminating Engineering Society LEED ........................................................... Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LSA .................................................................................................................. local study area lux ................................................................................... unit of measurement for illuminance RSA ............................................................................................................ regional study area TOTAL ........................................................................................... TOTAL E&P Canada Ltd.

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Acronyms and Abbreviations

December 2007 TOTAL E&P Canada Ltd.Page iv

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Section 1: Introduction

TOTAL E&P Canada Ltd. December 2007 Page 1-1

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

TOTAL E&P Canada Ltd. (TOTAL) owns a parcel of land in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta (see Figure 1.1-1). The parcel is situated in the following portions of Township 55, Range 21, West of the 4th Meridian:

• Section 18: • portions of legal subdivisions (LSDs) 11, 12 • all of LSDs 13 and 14

• Section 19 • Section 20:

• portion of LSD 3 • all of LSDs 4, 5 and 6 • northwest quarter

Throughout this document, this land (including small inholdings that TOTAL is intending to acquire) is referred to as the TOTAL lands.

This report is one of a series of studies prepared to document the environmental baseline conditions of the TOTAL lands and surrounding area.

1.2 Focus of Baseline Investigations

The purpose of the light baseline investigation is to evaluate current light levels at residences near the TOTAL lands. The following issues were the focus of this assessment:

• Illuminance – the total luminous flux (i.e., the perceived power of light) incident on a surface per unit area. Illuminance is measured in lux and can be thought of as the amount of incident light available to read the text on a piece of paper at a specific location.

• Luminance – the luminous intensity (i.e., the power of light energy emitted) per unit area projected in a given direction. A direct line of sight is required for this issue to be of importance. Luminance is measured in candela per square metre (cd/m2). While illuminance levels can be low at a particular location, bright lights in the distance can still be objectionable to people looking at the light. Luminance can be thought of as the “brightness” of such a light. Note that while brightness is subjective and cannot be measured, luminance is a measurable quantity that closely corresponds to brightness as both parameters are significantly dependent on the area and angle from which the light is emitted.

TITLE

FIGURE 1.1-1TOTAL LANDS*

SCALE

North Saskatchewan River

Redwater River

Sturgeon R

iver

ManawanLake

CookingLake BeaverhillLake

Lamont

TofieldBeaumontDevon

GibbonsBonAccord

Legal

Bruderheim

Redwater

Morinville

Leduc

Edmonton

21

28A2

831

45

637

16

FortSaskatchewan

STURGEONMUNICIPAL DISTRICT

LAMONTCOUNTY

BEAVERCOUNTY

STRATHCONACOUNTY

LEDUCCOUNTY

COUNTY OFTHORNHILD NO.7WESTLOCKCOUNTY SMOKY LAKECOUNTY

IMPROVEMENTDISTRICT 13

North Sask

atchewa

n River

15

RR 22

0

830TWP RD 552

TWP 55RGE 21W4MTWP 55RGE 22W4M


Sturgeon River

Astotin C

reek

RR 21

5

RR 21

4

TWP RD 554

5 0 5 10 15Distance in Kilometres

500 0 500 1,000 1,500Distance in Metres

TOTAL LandsPaved Access - DividedPaved AccessUnpaved AccessRailwayWatercourse

Alberta Industrial HeartlandMunicipal BoundaryTOTAL LandsPaved AccessUnpaved AccessRailwayWatercourseUrban Area

*includes small inholdings TOTAL intends to acquire

A B

AB

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Section 1: Introduction


1.3 Study Area

The TOTAL lands are located along the north side of Highway 15. Dow Chemical Canada, Keyera Energy, BP Canada and Sherritt International all have facilities located along Highway 15 and southwest of the TOTAL lands. The Shell Canada Complex is located directly to the north and North American Oil Sands Corporation is proposing an upgrader to the east. The CN Scotford railyard lies between the TOTAL lands and Highway 15.

Private residences in close proximity to the TOTAL lands are considered to be receptors of interest to the baseline investigation. As such, a study area extending 2 km from the TOTAL property boundary was selected to encompass these residences.

For the residential receptor location coordinates, see Table 1.3-1. For graphic representation of the study area and receptor locations, see Figure 1.3-1. Because of surrounding industrial facilities to the north, west and southwest, the majority of the residential receptors are located to the south, southeast and east.

Table 1.3-1 Residential Light Receptors

Receptor

NAD 83 UTM Coordinates

Comments

E (m)

N (m)

3 360792 5957202 Just south of Highway 15, treed lot, possible view of Upgrader 11 363857 5959150 South of Highway 15, treed lot, possible view of Upgrader 15 363965 5960478 North of Highway 15, treed lot, possible view of Upgrader 37 359410 5962062 Treed lot, possible view of Upgrader 38 360044 5962226 Treed lot, slight berm, possible view of Upgrader 42 359992 5956511 South of Highway 15 on RR 220, treed lot, no view of Upgrader 48 360430 5957303 Just south of Highway 15, treed lot, possible view of Upgrader 50 362907 5958327 South of Highway 15, clear view of Upgrader, yard lights present at

Hutterite residences 520 364001 5958693 South of Highway 15, treed lot, possible view of Upgrader

North Sask

atchewan

River

15

RR 22

0

830TWP RD 552



3

50

48

42

3837

15

11

520

358000

358000

360500

360500

363000

363000

595550

0

595550

0

595800

0

595800

0

596050

0

596050

0

596300

0

596300

0

FIGURE 1.3-1

DRAFT

500 0 500 1,000 1,500Distance in Metres

Light ReceptorsLocal Study AreaTOTAL LandsPaved Access - DividedPaved AccessUnpaved AccessRailwayWatercourseUrban Area

TITLE SCALE

LIGHT RECEPTORS IN THE LOCAL STUDY AREA

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Section 2: Methods


2 Methods

2.1 Illuminance and Luminance at Receptor Locations

Baseline conditions represent current light levels in the study area. To assess these conditions at the receptors, illuminance and luminance data were measured at a representative point near each receptor property. As no development exits on the TOTAL lands, baseline measurements are thus associated with other existing sources. Luminance measurements are direction dependent.

Fieldwork in the Fort Saskatchewan area started on June 4, 2007 under a partly cloudy night sky. The temperature was about 10ºC. A Sekonic L-558 Cine light meter was used to record lighting levels. This particular light meter was selected as it is readily obtainable and provides a range of measurements (e.g., illuminance, luminance and aperture settings) in a single hand-held package.

For a photo of a typical landscape in the study area, see Figure 2.1-1.

Figure 2.1-1 Typical Landscape in the Study Area

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Section 2: Methods

December 2007 TOTAL E&P Canada Ltd.Page 2-2

2.2 Assessment Criteria for Illuminance and Luminance

Criteria are typically established by regulatory agencies to specify acceptable levels of a specific parameter (e.g., contaminant levels or lighting levels). As there are no regulations governing light trespass in Alberta, this assessment relies on information researched from other sources.

2.2.1 Illuminance Criteria

Lighting criteria for illuminance are available from the U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED 2001) Reference Guide Version 2 (see Table 2.2-1). To put these numbers in context, the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) of North America recommends a minimum lighting level of 5.4 lux for safety. Various other standards recommend 5 to 20 lux for pedestrian walkways, and stairways are typically about 50 lux. Interiors of buildings measure in the hundreds of lux.

Table 2.2-1 Illuminance Criteria Item

Description

Maximum Illuminance

Lux Intrinsically dark landscape Parks 0.0 Low ambient brightness Outer urban and rural residential areas 1.1 Medium ambient brightness Urban residential areas 2.2 High ambient brightness Urban areas with residential and

commercial areas 6.5

2.2.2 Luminance Criteria

Although similar regulatory criteria do not exist for luminance, estimated Upgrader lighting levels can be compared with levels familiar from daily experience, (e.g., comparing an estimated luminance value with that from a full moon or a streetlight). For sample luminance measurements for typical light sources, see Table 2.2-2.

Table 2.2-2 Luminance Criteria Item

Approximate Luminance

(cd/m2) Sun 900,000,000 Street lamp 23,000 Full moon 400 Typical industrial facility at 2 km

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Section 3: Results


3 Results 3.1 Illuminance and Luminance at Receptor Locations

For baseline illuminance and luminance measurements at the selected receptors, see Table 3.1-1. As luminance is source specific (and thus direction dependent) the light source for each luminance measurement is also listed.

Table 3.1-1 Residential Light Receptors

Receptor

Light Level Light Source for Measured Luminance

Illuminance

(lux) Luminance

(cd/m2) 3 Eu1 8.6 Dow Chemicals

14 CN Scotford Railyard 16 Keyera

11 Eu1 2.1 Scotford Complex 2.3 CN Scotford Railyard 2.5 Strathcona Heartland Firehall 2.6 Intersection of Highway 15 and RR 214

15 Eu1 4.3 Scotford Complex 26 Gulf Chemicals

0.8 Dow Chemicals 37 Eu1 9.8 Scotford Complex 38 Eu1 28 Scotford Complex flare

11 Scotford Complex lights 42 Eu1 7.5 Dow Chemicals 48 Eu1 8.6 Dow Chemicals

14 CN Scotford Railyard 16 Keyera

50 Eu1 2.3 CN Scotford Railyard 8 Scotford Complex

520 Eu1 2.1 Scotford Complex 2.3 CN Scotford Railyard 2.5 Strathcona Heartland Firehall 2.6 Intersection of Highway 15 and RR 214

NOTE: 1 Eu indicates the lower limit of the Sekonic L-558 Cine light meter (0.63 lux) – this limit is well below an area of low ambient light levels as defined by LEED (2001).

Baseline illuminance measurements at the selected residential receptors were all below the LEED (2001) criteria for rural residential areas (1.1 lux) and also below the lower limit of the light meter (0.63 lux).

Baseline luminance measurements ranged from 0.3 to 28 cd/m2. The highest value of 28 cd/m2 was measured at receptor 38 and is associated with a flare at the Shell Scotford Complex.

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Section 3: Results


Environmental Baseline Study: Light Section 4: Summary


4 Summary Baseline illuminance measurements at the selected residential receptors were all below the LEED (2001) criteria for rural residential areas (1.1 lux) and also below the lower limit of the light meter (0.63 lux).

Luminance measurements at the selected residential receptors were typically below levels associated with an industrial facility at 2 km and the maximum of these measurements was below levels associated with car headlights at 1 km.

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Section 4: Summary


Environmental Baseline Study: Light Section 5: References


5 References Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). 2001. Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design Reference Guide. Version 2: Sustainable Sites, Credit 8.

Environmental Baseline Study: Light Section 5: References


Main MenuSearchTable of ContentsList of TablesList of Figures1 Introduction1.1 Background1.2 Focus of Baseline InvestigationsFIGURE 1.1-11.3 Study AreaTable 1.3-1FIGURE 1.3-1

2 Methods2.1 Illuminance and Luminance at Receptor LocationsFigure 2.1-1

2.2 Assessment Criteria for Illuminance and Luminance2.2.1 Illuminance CriteriaTable 2.2-12.2.2 Luminance CriteriaTable 2.2-2

3 Results3.1 Illuminance and Luminance at Receptor LocationsTable 3.1-1

4 Summary5 References

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