For their 2009 environmental assessment, the proponent claimed in-water recreation would be safe outside of their safety booms, and in 2013 the Ministry of the Environment (now called the MECP) gave their approval for the construction. Yet we have since learned that:
- The proponent’s own information shows the operation of their generating station would make the water outside of their downstream safety boom dangerously fast and turbulent.
- People upstream of their dangerous industrial facility would be drowned just 45 seconds after tipping out of a canoe.
That is, when they provided environmental approval, the MECP did not have the information from the proponent to know whether their proposed project could be safely operated. As noted in our previous e-Newsletter, the proponent still requires a Permit to Take Water (PTTW) from the Ministry of the Environment before they are allowed to operate their generating station.
As both the Environmental Assessment Act and the Environmental Protection Act confirm that the MECP has the responsibility to protect human life, we have asked that the MECP not issue this PTTW: “until an unbiased organization with in-water recreation safety expertise has confirmed that the proponent’s Public Safety Plan would adequately protect the public.” The Township of Muskoka Lakes has also requested this generating station not be allowed to operate due to the dangers it would create.
While the proponent apparently submitted their application for a PTTW in November 2018, on June 10, 2019 the Ministry of the Environment replied to us that: “At this time, the application is still under review by the ministry.”
The proponent has still not publicized their safety plan or answered any of our questions on how or if they could safely operate their dangerous industrial facility, so we look forward to the MECP doing the right thing and protecting the public by not allowing operation of this dangerous industrial facility.
However, it appears that the proponent is again resorting to political interference and lobbying, as on June 5, 2019 Simcoe North PC MPP Jill Dunlop posted this video with Ontario Waterpower Association president Paul Norris announcing that she was about to table a Private Member’s Bill which would eliminate the PTTW requirement for projects such as in Bala (video here, June 13, 2019 press release here). The Ontario Waterpower Association (OWA) is an industry group promoting development of hydro-electric power in Ontario, and attempting to eliminate such protection for the public is clearly their political agenda as can be seen by this session in their upcoming annual industry conference.
While we’re all for government efficiency, it would be wrong to depend on only the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s approval under the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act as this only requires that the MNRF examine the design of the generating station itself, not whether it could be safely operated. For example, the MNRF has:
- Stated they do not have the legislative authority to require the proponent show they could safely operate.
- Made ridiculous statements about public safety – showing they do not have public safety expertise.
- Sent many letters (such as this), stating that public safety is the proponent’s responsibility.
In summary, only the MECP, and not the MNRF, has the specific responsibility for protect human life for projects that have negative environmental impacts. The long-standing requirement for hydro-electric generating stations to receive a PTTW enables the MECP to fulfill this responsibility – and is not an “unnecessary and duplicative regulatory burden” as MPP Dunlop claims. The PTTW also enables to MECP to ensure that hydro-electric generating stations do not contaminate the water passing through with lubricating oils and other deleterious substances.
It would therefore be wrong for the government remove the requirement for the operation of hydro-electric generating stations to require a PTTW, and we request our MPPs to not support this Bill 128, An Act to amend the Ontario Water Resources Act. We have requested to meet with MPP Jill Dunlop but as of June 16, 2019 have not received a reply.