Bonfield Forest Products Incorporated (International Wood Industries Incorporated) - Licence for a forest resource processing facility

We are considering issuing a Type “D” forest resource processing facility license for the construction and operation of a new sawmill facility. Under Ontario Regulation 167/95 under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, a Type “D” licence is issued to forest resource processing facilities which will consume more than 1,000 cubic metres of forest resources per year and have the capacity to produce more than 200 cubic metres per 8 hour shift of:

• lumber
• speciality solid wood products
• by-products including chips, shavings, sawdust, bark and hog fuel

A forest resource processing facility licence may be issued for a term of 1 to 5 years.

International Wood Industries, Inc. has submitted a proposal on behalf of Bonfield Forest Products, Inc. to construct and operate a $300 million-dollar wood processing facility in Bonfield Township located in the District of Nipissing.

The facility is proposed to:

• consume more than 400,000 cubic metres of hardwood and softwood per year
• source forest resources for operation of the facility from surrounding Crown Forests including, but not limited to Nipissing Forest, Algonquin Park Forest and Temagami Management Unit and from private land

Harvesting of Crown forest resources consumed by the facility will be conducted in accordance with approved Forest Management Plans.

The facility proposes to produce:

• conifer dimensional lumber
• hardwood lumber
• red and white pine timbers for home construction

The facility will also produce speciality products such as:

• hardwood flooring
• red and white pine tongue and grove boards and decking
• pallet stock
• mouldings
• fuelwood

The facility will consist of two primary buildings and several additional buildings. Equipment at the facility is proposed to include, but not limited to:

• debarkers and slashers (used to debark and cut logs)
• two sawlines
• a planing mill
• several kilns
• a hardwood flooring production and finishing plant
• a bark burner/boiler system

If approved, the facility is expected to produce approximately 90 million-foot, board measure of product per year and is expected to directly employ 90 people.

Issuance of a forest resource processing facility licence is conditional upon the ministry’s acceptance of a business plan which demonstrates the applicant’s ability to finance, operate and manage the facility. The business plan must also include an analysis of the source, species and volume of forest resources that will supply the facility.

International Wood Industries, Inc. and Bonfield Forest Products, Inc. have not yet demonstrated the ability to finance construction and operation of the facility. The company intends to continue towards meeting this requirement during the comment period.

Construction and operation of the facility may also be subject to other approvals from other ministry and governmental agencies, including approvals from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks relating to air and noise emissions.

We are inviting comments on the potential environmental impacts of the construction and operation of, or the product(s) to be produced at the proposed Bonfield Forest Products, Inc. facility.