I am submitting the…

I am submitting the following comments regarding the proposed Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) for the Searchmont Ski Resort Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and its proposed discharge to the Goulais River.

 My comments are based on the information provided in the Design Brief (including the Assimilative Capacity Study), publicly available ERO postings, and provincial policies and guidelines. All references below are taken directly from the documents provided to the public

Request to MECP

I respectfully request that the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks (MECP) require and do the following:

1. Exercise the full extent of your authority to protect Goulais River
2. A revised, scientifically defensible ACS
3.What alternatives were considered? We want to know.
4.Proper mixing zone modeling.
5.Multi‑year monitoring (including winter and low‑flow conditions).
6. Water quality monitoring in Goulais Bay
7. Full incorporation of PTTW water withdrawals into flow assumptions.
8. Realistic, achievable effluent limits supported by treatment design data.
9. Completion and public release of the updated SAR study and EIS.
10. A cumulative effects assessment and monitoring strategies.
11. Demonstration of compliance with Policy 2 for phosphorus
12. A transparent public consultation process once all documents are available.
13. Make a condition that the proponent must establish a community led, 3rd party local water expert managed, proponent funded water quality monitoring program (ie. NORDIK in Sault Ste. Marie) for a minimum of 10 years or more.

 This is not about opposing development just because. It’s about ensuring that development does not harm the Goulais River — a river that is ecologically significant, culturally important, and directly connected to Lake Superior.

 The introduction of effluent waste into the Goulais River will come with multiple long-term consequences. Respectfully, we need the MECP to recognize that this is not a municipality that has Canadian residents and waste management issues and demands that urgently need to be addressed.  We are looking at a private, non-Canadian owned business built for profit that wishes to expand extensively. Respectfully, we need the MECP to recognize that the current proposal frames river discharge as unavoidable, but this a result of the proponents’ aggressive expansion plan – not inherit limitations of the land they occupy. We are asking the MECP to require a more balanced alternative assessment that considers wastewater solutions compatible with both environmental protection, preservation, conservation and sustainable development.

 The Goulais River, surrounding communities, species at risk and future generations deserve a complete, transparent, and scientifically defensible assessment before this Environmental Compliance Approval is even considered.