Tag Archives: lakes

Energy East Pipeline – Get Informed

By Linda Heron on Thursday, March 6th, 2014
Posted in E-Newsletter, Media, Pipelines, Rivers at Risk

Posted 8 March 2014

The Energy East Pipeline Pre-Application was just filed by TransCanada, and public consultation is beginning.

You can register for the OEB Province-Wide Stakeholder Community Discussion Meetings here, and find details of when and where discussion meetings will take place here.

Volume 2 of their Project Description, section 1.11, lists the Ontario rivers that would be impacted, which are listed below for your convenience.

1.11.4 Ontario Water (Volume 2)

In ON, the ON West, Northern Ontario, and the North Bay Shortcut segments cross two primary watersheds (the Nelson River and Great Lakes–St. Lawrence watershed) and 41 named river crossings including:

  • Winnipeg River
  • Wabigoon River
  • Dog River
  • Black Sturgeon River
  • Kenogami River
  • Pagwachuan River
  • Nagagami River
  • Kabinakagami River
  • Opasatika River
  • Kapuskasing River
  • Mattagami River
  • Frederick House River
  • Blanche River
  • Montreal River
  • Madawaska River
  • Mississippi River
  • Rideau River
  • South Nation River

Preliminary List of Watercourse Crossings Requiring a Site Specific Design by Province of Ontario:

  • Hoasic Creek
  • Hoople Creek
  • Raisin River
  • McIntyre Creek
  • Riviere Beaudette
  • Riviere Delisle
  • East Rigaud River
  • Rigaud River

1.11.5 Ontario Wetlands (Volume 2, P1-48)

In Ontario, three wetland areas crossed by the Project have been designated as provincially significant. These include:

  • Delisle River (0.3 ha)
  • Froatburn Swamp (8.3 ha)
  • Glen Becker Swamp (5.6 ha)
  • Hosaic Creek (1.2 ha)
  • Ingleside (4.2 ha)

There will be up to 72 pumping stations which may carry an increased risk of spills.  Locations are yet to be determined through public and First Nation consultations.

 

Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act – MNR Technical Bulletins – EBR 012-0562 – ORA Submission

By Linda Heron on Tuesday, January 14th, 2014
Posted in Dams, Energy, Environmental Registry, Hydroelectric, Lakes & Rivers Improvement Act, ORA Submissions, Regulatory Submissions, River Concerns, Water Management Plan

Wabagishik Rapids, Vermilion River

Excerpt:  “Our intention in commenting on these bulletins is to help ensure that waterpower projects developed under the LRIA are not approved until the effects on the environment and aquatic ecosystems are fully identified, understood, and effectively mitigated.  It is also vital that the public has a mandated role and a voice in these processes.

It is also disturbing that the MNR is considering all responsibility for fish habitat and fish passage as out of scope, and is divesting its interests by way of these bulletins, with no clear MNR role mentioned, to the Department of Oceans and Fisheries (DFO).  This is at a time when the federal government has just announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the DFO and the National Energy Board (NEB) to relinquish much of its oversight of fish habitat along pipeline corridors.  This news was quietly released just before Christmas, and only highlights the need for the Ontario government to look after its own interests and not rely on federal protection for any of our crown resources.  Unfortunately many elements of these bulletins do the very opposite.  It is even more disturbing that this deferral was carried out despite the Fish Habitat Compliance and Referral Protocols for Ontario which was approved by government and identifies and enables roles for MNR in the matters of fish habitat and fish passage.

The exercise of reviewing these technical bulletins has been very disturbing to say the least.  It is as though the bulletins were written by the waterpower industry instead of MNR. This series of bulletins reflect an abdication of the MNRs responsibilities under the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act (LRIA).

It is ORA’s view that this government must continue to play a strong role in ensuring effective mitigation of the impacts of development to meet their strategic directions for sustainable development; and certainly that will be what Ontario taxpayers expect.  It is vital that these bulletins reflect a commitment for inter-governmental cooperation, in a holistic and collaborative way, to ensure there are no gaps in fulfilling all responsibilities and commitments legislated under LRIA.”

Continue reading →

Proposed Great Lakes Protection Act – EBR Registry #011-6461 – ORA Submission

By Linda Heron on Saturday, April 27th, 2013
Posted in Environmental Registry, Great Lakes Protection Act, Regulatory, Vermilion River, Wabagishik Rapids

Excerpt:  “ORA supports the clarity in Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy that the goal that appeared in draft form as “protecting water” has been refined to “protecting water for human and ecological health” (p.30).  Our concern is that the cumulative impact of various decisions that impact the waters in our rivers and streams (as evidenced by the example of Wabagishik Lake above) must be addressed urgently.  The focus on improving wetlands, beaches and coastal areas, without also ensuring the rivers and streams feeding these features are being protected and improved as well, will not enable the vision of the proposed Act to be realized.

ORA recommends that, should Bill 6 be enacted, the Province immediately place a moratorium on all hydroelectric approvals within the Basin, until such time as their well-documented and substantial impacts on the health of the Great Lakes can be effectively assessed and addressed.  The 40 year FIT contracts awarded to hydroelectric projects would ensure a long and lasting impact that could be very costly to stop or reverse once approved.” Continue reading →

Ontario Resurrects Proposed Great Lakes Protection Act As Part Of Larger Great Lakes Strategy

By Linda Heron on Wednesday, March 6th, 2013
Posted in Algae, Articles, Great Lakes Protection Act, Invasive Species, Media, Regulatory

On February 25, 2013, Ontario’s Minister of the Environment, Jim Bradley, re-introduced the Great Lakes Protection Act, the government’s first major step in implementing its Great Lakes Strategy released in December 2012. Given the central role that the Great Lakes play in the lives of the majority of Ontarians, it is expected that the Great Lakes Strategy and proposed Act will play a significant role in the province’s regulatory framework.

Background: Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy (December 2012)

Amidst growing concerns about the effects of population growth, new chemicals of concern, invasive species, climate change, and other new challenges facing Ontario’s critically-important Great Lakes, the Government of Ontario began pursuing a “Great Lakes Strategy” in 2009 with the release of a discussion paper entitled “Healthy Lakes, Strong Ontario.” In June 2012, Ontario issued a draft version of the Great Lakes Strategy and engaged scientific experts and community stakeholders – including First Nations and Métis communities – in a series of public consultations. This process culminated in the Ontario Great Lakes Strategy report (GLS), released in December 2012.

To read the rest of this article, click here.