Comment ID: 210825 Comments…

Comment ID: 210825

Comments on Otter Creek posting EBR reference 013-1043 August 22, 2017 IMPACT ON SPECIES AT RISK – BATS Background: Clearview wind project On October 7, 2016, (and revised October 17, 2016), the REA awarded to the Clearview wind project near Collingwood, was rescinded at ERT 016-036, “Wiggins vs Ontario (Environment and Climate Change) based on evidence regarding the impact of the Project on a species at risk, specifically little brown myotis (little brown bat or Myotis lucifugus) and evidence regarding the impact of the Project on aviation safety. The project Approval Holder, wpd Fairview Wind, was granted a remedy hearing on December 12, 2016. That hearing was held on February 28, 2017, where the Approval Holder proposed an amendment to the REA to include a revised mitigation plan to reduce the mortality rate for the little brown bat. The Tribunal for the remedy hearing ruled, on August 16, 2017, that the REA would not be amended because the harm to human health would still be present. Section 7 of the Decision document [1] states: (start quote) As described in greater detail below, the Approval Holder has proposed an amendment to the REA to include additional curtailment measures designed to reduce little brown myotis mortalities. The Tribunal finds that THESE ADDITIONAL MEASURES, PROVIDED THEY ARE AMENDED TO REQUIRE THAT THEY BE IMPLEMENTED FROM SUNSET TO SUNRISE, IS LIKELY TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE LITTLE BROWN MYOTIS MORTALITY OVER THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT. However, as neither the Approval Holder nor the Director has proposed effective means to mitigate the serious harm to human health, as found by the Tribunal in its October 2016 Order, the Tribunal concludes that the decision of the Director should be revoked. As such, an amendment to the REA to address harm to little brown myotis via an amended mitigation plan is rendered unnecessary.” (end quote) (capitals are my emphasis) [1] http://elto.gov.on.ca/tribunals/ert/decisions-orders/ The mitigation plan proposed by the Approval Holder is a direct acknowledgment that the project would result in serious harm to the little brown bat. The main components of the proposed mitigation plan are found in Sections 24 and 25 of the decision document: From Section 24: (start quote) “The mitigation plan: incorporates operational curtailment from the onset of operation that utilizes a 5.5 m/s cut-in speed from sunset to midnight throughout the bat active season from May 1 to September 30 each year; provides a mortality monitoring protocol extending to 60 metres (“m”) from the turbine bases; provides a monitoring program to examine site-specific environmental influences on bat mortality and supplements the existing Environmental Effects Monitoring Plan (“EEMP”) monitoring by conducting biweekly species-specific surveys of all turbines in years in which the EEMP monitoring is not occurring; and creates a technical advisory committee that will analyse data, annually report on its findings, and make recommendations for modification to the Mitigation Plan using adaptive management practices.” (end quote) From Section 25 of the decision document: (start quote) Under the Mitigation Plan, a single species at risk bat fatality (little brown myotis, northern myotis, eastern small-footed myotis or tri-colored bat) would result in curtailment at the particular turbine being extended to sunrise for the remainder of the active bat season and behavioural studies would be conducted in the vicinity of that wind turbine to identify causal risk factors. (end quote) The proposed amendment by wpd Fairview Wind is an acknowledgment that the boilerplate mortality monitoring and reporting programs required by the MNRF, and proposed by the Otter Creek proponents, are insufficient to protect the little brown bat, a “species at risk” in Ontario. The large range of operational wind speeds for the proposed Otter Creek turbines, down to as low as 2.5 meters/second, would put bat species at particular risk due to operation during a larger portion of the bat's activity period. Partial curtailment of wind turbines during the bats' known activity periods is known to be effective, and was reported as far back as 2010 in the report, “Altering turbine speed reduces bat mortality at wind-energy facilities” by Arnett, et.al. [2], in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. [2] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/100103/abstract Delaying the onset of operation to a 5.5 m/s cut-in speed from sunset to midnight throughout the bat's active season from May 1 to September 30 is a much more direct and a guaranteed method to “significantly reduce little brown myotis mortality” than playing around with electronic “deterrents” that are being tested at some wind facilities in Ontario. It is very disappointing that none of the Otter Creek REA documentation and correspondence mention the proposal put forward by the Clearview wind project Approval Holder for mitigating bat mortalities. While the remedy ERT decision was made public on August 16, 2017, the hearing was held on February 28, 2017. There was more than enough time for the MOECC, the MNRF and the Otter Creek developers to review and incorporate the learning from that project prior to the July 7, 2017, date when the MOECC decided that the Otter Creek REA documents could be “deemed complete”. RECOMMENDATION If or when an REA is granted to the Otter Creek proponents, it should include the full mitigation plan to reduce bat mortality as proposed by wpd Fairview Wind for the Clearview project.