Tag Archives: lake sturgeon

Marter Township Generating Station Environmental Report – Blanche River – Part II Order Request

By Linda Heron on Saturday, March 15th, 2014
Posted in Blanche River, Class EA for Waterpower, Dams, Energy, Environmental Reports, Hydroelectric, Marter Township GS, ORA Submissions, Part II Order requests, River Concerns, Rivers at Risk

Krugerdorf Chutes, Blanche River

This proposal has a Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) contract which pays a 50% peaking bonus for all power generated.  FIT Contracts have a 40 year term.   Projects with FIT contracts cannot be told to stop generating if Ontario has a surplus of power – they get paid for all power generated whether it is required or not.  Proposed to produce 2.1 MW Installed Capacity, which with seasonal flows will more realistically produce 50% of that – approximately 1 MW of power.

ORA has made a Part II Order request to the Minister of Environment to elevate this proposal to an Individual Environmental Assessment – a much more rigorous environmental assessment.  Awaiting MOE response.

Published: 14 March 2014

Excerpt:

“It is ORA’s submission that Xeneca’s approach falls far short of their claims in many key aspects of this ER, and does its best to sell the reader on the project, with an approach of convincing the reader to just trust them, let them build it, and then through monitoring and adaptive management during pre and post construction the riverine ecosystem will be just fine. This approach is not acceptable.”  Read more below:

Download (PDF, 593KB)

EBR 011-7696 – Proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act – FRDA to MNR

By Linda Heron on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013
Posted in Endangered Species Act, Environmental Registry, Regulatory Submissions, Species at Risk

FRENCH RIVER DELTA ASSOCIATION
857 Hartley Bay Road
RR 2 Site 10 Comp 4
Alban, Ontario P0M 1A0

January 18, 2013

Krista Adams
Senior Permits & Agreements Specialist
Ministry of Natural Resources, Policy Division
Species at Risk Branch
Permits and Agreements Section
300 Water Street, Floor 2
Peterborough, Ontario
K9J 8M5

Dear Ms. Adams:

Re: EBR Registry Number: 011-7696, Proposed approaches to the implementation of the Endangered Species Act which could include regulatory amendments to authorize activities to occur subject to conditions set out in regulation consistent with MNR’s Modernization of Approvals

The proposed regulatory changes contained in EBR 011-7696 are vague and will not meet MNR’s responsibility to endangered species and their habitat maintenance and protection.
While the ambiguity of this MNR and provincial cabinet’s proposal will serve MNR’s and cabinet’s partners in the mining, energy, forestry, and aggregate industries, it will not meet the primary purpose of the Endangered Species Act which is to protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats required for survival.

It is intriguing to note that the spring 2012 budget proposed amendments to the Endangered Species Act. These proposed exemptions – circumvention of permitting requirements, and removal of deadlines for recovery planning – faced serious public opposition and the budget amendments to the ESA were dropped. To now reposition the budget amendments as regulatory changes, which require only cabinet approval, is irresponsible, misleading and shows the continuing disrespect that cabinet and the MNR have towards the public, and as importantly, endangered species and their habitats. Continue reading →