I was very happy when the…

I was very happy when the newly elected government terminated the Feed-in-Tariff contract for the White Pines Wind Project and revoked the renewable energy approval issued by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. This environmentally and culturally rich and sensitive area should never have had a wind project approval. Something like this should never happen again…
The people of Prince Edward County spent countless time and funds to save their extraordinary area. Kudos to them for working so hard to protect their environment and heritage! So glad this one was a happy ending.

Construction of Ontario’s wind projects did not require any independent qualified experts to check on whether the companies were in compliance with any steps in the construction requirements of their approvals, so after looking at the draft technical requirements for closure of the White Pines Project, I am relieved to see that independent experts of the different components of the closure have been included in many parts of this document but I would suggest a few more.

Section 3.2.3: “A staging area at each turbine location and substation site shall be used for temporary storage of the components, parking, and excavated foundation spoil pile. This area shall not be excavated or gravelled and shall be restored to pre-construction conditions as part of the closure of the facility.” The landowner should be required to make sure it’s returned to pre-existing conditions.

Section 4: In particular, that the concrete is removed and/or other materials and excavated areas brought up to grade with clean fill. The landowner should be checking on that.

Site Restoration Natural Features: 5.1.1: Who is going to make sure that the co. “restores the natural features previously found in the project location and the 120 m Zone of Investigation to the state that existed before the construction and closure of the facility started?” The landowner and Ministry?

5.1.2: “If the removal of or damage to trees or other vegetation is unavoidable, the Company must contact the Ministry a minimum of five (5) business days prior to commencing the decommissioning activity and describe why the activity is unavoidable.” I would suggest that the Ministry (District Manager) should determine whether that should be allowed or not.

Sec. 10: Blanding’s Turtles Avoidance Measures: I know there are qualified experts identified in this section but I would suggest that the Ministry visit the sites periodically to check on compliance.

Having the Ministry and possibly the County visit the sites periodically during the whole course of the closure would be prudent.