ERO number 019-1503 Comment:…

ERO number
019-1503
Comment:

I am new to commenting on EROs. To be upfront, I am opposed to the highway 413 project. There are 100s of thousands of others who feel the same as I do. I say this only to caution the engineers and other experts involved in the design process of this corridor that theirs is not the only important public good.

In regards to the ERO process, I would suggest the working group hire a public communication officer. To provide a google earth map without layering details fails to communicate information on which to comment. The background links are most general. For example, the map could be used to indicate where focused study areas along the route are located. Where, for example, are the areas of federal concern been identified. What instruments- permits, approvals, licenses, orders- have been issued or are needed related to environmentally sensitive areas along the route.

In regards to the route, there is huge concern amongst the public with the effects this project will have on the watersheds which it transits. I have great concern, in particular, for the effects of the construction process and the operational impacts of both the transmission corridor and the highway on the Nashville Conservation Reserve lands and the West Humber River watershed. The corridor also passes over the Credit River, here identical concerns are applicable.

Construction on this scale opens up a huge scar in the fabric of the land, destroying forest and habitat. This wound opens the area to invasive species from which the ecology may never recover. The need for ongoing maintenance, and runoff from the highway ensures the wound will never heal completely. There are construction methods which could be implemented, at some cost and with some extra effort, that might mitigate the damage. There are also design concepts that could be incorporated that will reduce harm over the long term.

Finally, I would suggest that the government consider expansion of the conserved lands areas around these critical watersheds to protect the vital environmental and social economic benefits that they freely provide us and can continue to provide us over generations to come- If we are good stewards, mindful that in the short transit of our own lives the great damage, or good, we will pass on to the future.