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The federal agency in charge of regulating complex industrial projects will not do a full assessment of two proposed natural gas power plants in Pictou County, N.S.
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) released two identical decisions Friday for the controversial power generating facilities.
While the projects “may cause adverse effects,” the agency said it believes those effects would be limited or addressed by existing laws and regulations.
“Decisions like these ensure that Canada’s impact assessment process is efficient by determining at an early stage whether a further assessment is required or not,” the agency said.
The two proposed 300-megawatt plants — one in Salt Springs and one in Marshdale, both rural communities — meet the requirements for impact assessment under federal legislation. That’s why Nova Scotia’s power grid operator — the Independent Energy System Operator, or IESO — submitted the projects to the IAAC last year.
The IAAC’s mandate includes the protection of the environment and Indigenous rights. The agency collected public feedback on the two power plants and identified several “key issues” in both those areas:
- Adverse effects on fish and fish habitat.
- Adverse effects on Mi’kmaw communities’ health and well-being.
- Adverse effects on Mi’kmaw use of land and resources for traditional purposes.
- Adverse effects on Mi’kmaw spiritual, physical and cultural heritage.
- Concerns about Mi’kmaw treaty rights.
- Recommendations for consultation from Environment and Climate Change Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
In its response to the federal agency on those issues, the grid operator said it plans to undertake further studies to assess potential adverse impacts and create mitigation plans. It said it is engaging with Mi’kmaw communities and considering traditional knowledge, and will engage with the federal departments that requested consultation.
Critics disappointed
Fred MacKenzie is a Pictou County resident who’s part of an advocacy group — Living Ecosystems and Power, or LEAP — formed in opposition to the plants. He said he’s very disappointed in the agency’s decision.
“We think that there is definite grounds for a closer look or a wider environmental assessment,” he said in an interview Friday.
MacKenzie highlighted some of the same issues that were flagged by the IAAC, including potential impacts on Atlantic salmon caused by the power plants’ groundwater withdrawals and effluent discharge, and the possible destruction of black ash, a tree species that is classified by the province as threatened and is culturally significant to the Mi’kmaq.
MacKenzie did not accept the IAAC’s rationale that other laws and regulations would protect against adverse impacts.
“I don’t think they are near robust enough,” he said.
Possible judicial review
The projects have both received provincial environmental approval, but MacKenzie is one of eight people who have collectively applied for a judicial review in hopes the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia will overturn those approvals.
The court is considering the application but has not yet agreed to hear the case.
MacKenzie said he’s pushing back against the gas plants because he worries they will further harm ecosystems that are already suffering.
“We’re living in a time right now when our environment is really getting hit hard from a lot of different directions,” he said.
“[The environment] just seems to be put on the back burner constantly as we continue to forge forward with big infrastructure plans.”
In a statement, the grid operator reiterated its position that the gas plants are urgently needed to support the transition to more renewable energy.
It said the IAAC’s decision reinforces the importance of the conditions and requirements tied to the provincial environmental approval.
The IESO is not planning to build the plants on its own, but rather it will contract a developer who will also own and operate the facilities. The IESO has not yet issued a request for proposals for the projects.
The gas plants will require provincial industrial approval and water withdrawal approval before they can operate.
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