{"id":801,"date":"2008-11-27T20:36:13","date_gmt":"2008-11-28T01:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/?p=801"},"modified":"2011-07-20T17:53:11","modified_gmt":"2011-07-20T21:53:11","slug":"about-the-proposed-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/?p=801","title":{"rendered":"About the Proposed Project"},"content":{"rendered":"<ol>\n<li><strong>Is this a \u201cDone Deal\u201d?<\/strong><br \/>\nNO! \u2013 We need to continue to document the numerous negative effects this proposal would have on the environmental, social, cultural and economic life of Bala. We need to make this known to the Minister of the Environment who can cancel the project. We need to raise money to pay environmental specialists and lawyers to achieve a \u201cbump up\u201d for Swift River\u2019s screening assessment expected to be completed either in December 2008 or early next year. Please see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ene.gov.on.ca\/envision\/env_reg\/ea\/English\/General_info\/PartIIOrders.htm \">http:\/\/www.ene.gov.on.ca\/envision\/env_reg\/ea\/English\/General_info\/PartIIOrders.htm <\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>How long will this construction take?<\/strong><br \/>\nWE DON\u2019T KNOW FOR SURE. While estimates differ, the proponent\u2019s projection is 18 months, barring unforeseen problems. They would plan to start construction in November 2009, completing before May 24 weekend in 2011. But \u2013 have you ever seen a complex construction project completed on time?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Would this newly generated power be used in Bala?<\/strong><br \/>\nNO! \u2013 It just goes directly into the power grid.<\/li>\n<li><strong>What is the mechanism for accountability?<\/strong><br \/>\nAt present, there appears to be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>NO MECHANISM for accountability.<\/li>\n<li>NO RECOURSE should the economy of our town be damaged.<\/li>\n<li>NO RESPONSIBILITY assumed by the town, district, province, proposed developer, or proposed operator.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do the risks of this project outweigh the benefits of the power production?<\/strong><br \/>\nYES! \u2013 Sacrificing the environmental, social, cultural and economic health of our community cannot be justified by the relatively tiny amount power generated. See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ieso.ca\/default.asp\">the Independent Electricity System Operator<\/a>, a not-for-profit corporate entity established in  1998 by the Electricity Act of Ontario.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The ISSUES we have with this project are:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>a) Socio-economic<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The lives of the permanent town community would be seriously disrupted \u2013 negatively affecting the economy and social events.<\/li>\n<li>The cottage\/waterfront community would be affected by unnatural fluctuations in water levels and dangerous and fast water currents.<\/li>\n<li>Restricted access to the town dock.<\/li>\n<li>Restricted swimming and scuba diving.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>b) Engineering<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Safety \u2013 many traditional boating and swimming areas would become dangerous. Ambulances, fire departments and police would be delayed by construction traffic congestion and stoppages for trucks and blasting.<\/li>\n<li>Water flow and lake levels \u2013 fast water would make many areas dangerous for recreation. The water levels would no longer be managed by the MNR, but by an absentee for-profit landlord.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>c) Environmental<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fish habitat near both sides of the falls would be destroyed.<\/li>\n<li>Noise, dust, traffic congestion, blasting, and trucking would make Bala a less-than-desirable tourism destination.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Who would benefit financially from this exploitation of Ontario\u2019s water resources?<\/strong><br \/>\nPrincipally Swift River Energy Limited and Lakeland Power.<\/p>\n<p>BALA GETS NOTHING and LOSES HER MOST IMPORTANT ASSET.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Has the proponent completed an economic impact study? <\/strong><br \/>\nNO! \u2013 The developer stated at their presentation to the Moon River Property Owners Association that they are not required to do an economic impact study. This is one of the reasons we will be requesting a \u201cbump up\u201d to the more detailed Environmental Assessment Review.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is this a \u201cDone Deal\u201d? NO! \u2013 We need to continue to document the numerous negative effects this proposal would have on the environmental, social, cultural and economic life of Bala. We need to make this known to the Minister of the Environment who can cancel the project. We need to raise money to pay <a href='https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/?p=801' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-background","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethebalafalls.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}