The Ministry of Natural Resources is responsible for administering the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act (LRIA), and two approvals required for the construction of the proposed hydro-electric generating station at the Bala Falls are:
Location Approval. That is, is the location of the proposed structure acceptable, given the requirements to respect riparian rights of adjacent land owners, and for the protection of persons and property.
Plans and Specifications Approval. This must show the design and proposed operation of the proposed structure.
On March 4, 2013, we sent this letter to the Minister of Natural Resouces, this presented some of our concerns, including risks during construction of flooding and damage to the highway bridge over the north channel, and also the danger to in-water recreation. We also provided a copy of the information previously sent to the Ministry of the Environment providing the informtion required to show the existence of a traditional Portage which would be obstructed by the proposed project.
On May 30, 2013 we received this reply. It notes the MNR continues to decide whether they agree the proposed project would obstruct the Portage, that flooding and other risks would be considered under their LRIA approval process, that “MNR has traditionally advised that swimming in waters adjacent to any control structure is a potentially dangerous or risky activity”. Strangely, the letter references the MNR’s Public Safety Measures Plan for Bala Falls Dams which did not have such concerns.
The summary is the MNR still has not addressed concerns about flooding, public safety, or obstructing the Portage.