You can help expose what the proponent is trying to do

What you can do:

1. Send an e-mail to the Honourable Glen Murray, Minister of the Environment at GMurray.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org and let him know that:
   • Swift River Energy Limited’s current plan for their proposed hydro-electric generating station at the Bala falls does not conform to the environmental approval they received.
   • You are therefore making a Part II Order request, as the proponent does not have approval; to triple the area of the aquatic habitat destroyed during construction, to build a gravel road across the base of the Bala north falls, to increase the footprint of their proposed building by 48%, to block all the flow down the Bala north falls in contravention of the Muskoka River Water Management Plan, to excavate the proposed site before doing the re-testing required by their 2013 Environmental Site Assessment which found groundwater Zinc levels above the Ministry of the Environment’s guidelines, to start in-water construction before July 15, or to install a silt curtain infringing on the Type 1 Walleye habitat at the base of the Bala north falls.
      
2. Send an e-mail to The Honourable Bill Mauro, Minister of Natural Resources at BMauro.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org and ask that he either:
   • Require the proponent for the proposed hydro-electric generating station to honour the commitments they made in their proposal, such as; the roof of their building being below the level of Muskoka Road 169 (the proponent repeated this commitment in their 2012 Addendum), that their building would have a rooftop viewing platform – without cutting down over 100 trees on the Township’s heritage-designated Portage Landing, that the development would:“enhance the natural landscape” rather than filling the entire Crown land site with concrete, and that the proposed project would: “not generally diminish the public’s enjoyment of the area for swimming, boating …” rather than making it far too dangerous for both. OR
   • Cancel the proposed project, with the proponent making no claims for their costs as the MNR’s 2005 Request for Proposals specified if the “proponent made a misrepresentation or provided any inaccurate, misleading or incomplete information in its proposal or during contract negotiations” – as we are just now learning indeed they have.
      
3. Send an e-mail to The Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario at KWynne.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org and ask that either:
   • The Ministry of Natural Resources require the proponent for the proposed hydro-electric generating station at the Bala falls to honour their proposal commitments and the Ministry of the Environment to require an individual environmental assessment be provided for their current plans to ensure that the environmentally-significant changes they have made are assessed. OR
   • The MNR cancel this project, knowing that the proponent cannot claim for any  costs as it was the proponent’s decision to both renege on their proposal commitments and to change their construction plans from what they submitted for environmental approval.
      
4. Your letters can be as brief as you’d like (as we have already sent the detail in our letters here), but send something – you can send to all three by clicking here.
    
5. For all letters, include your name and mailing address, and ask for a reply.