Excerpt:
Healthy rivers are vital to our survival on this planet. Damming rivers to provide income for this generation is short-sighted and ill-advised, and will diminish a life-giving resource that is essential to the survival of our future generations.
The decision-making and reporting process used by Xeneca in reaching its conclusions in this ER are neither transparent nor traceable. First Nation and public consultation were inadequate, many kilometers of riverine ecosystem have not been adequately assessed, and there are many other concerns and uncertainties detailed above. As a result, ORA submits that Xeneca has not met the requirements of the Class EA for Waterpower.
After having carefully reviewed the Ivanhoe River Generating Stations for The Chute and Third Falls ER, and its supporting documentation, ORA is requesting that the Minister of Environment issue a Part II Order to elevate this EA to an Individual Environmental Assessment.
Elevating this Project to a more rigorous and thorough Individual EA would improve the project by allowing time for further key studies to be completed, and for many of our recommendations noted above to be incorporated into the Project. Thus allowing for a more sustainable and responsible contribution to the Province of Ontario. As PGL said, “The geomorphic study would most certainly benefit from further field investigations in which additional data could be collected throughout the zone of influence to compile a more complete collection of river characteristics.” So would many other aspects of the Project.
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