| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Wind farm rejected
Credit: By Carl Clutchey, CJ staff | The Chronicle Journal | November 3, 2015 | www.chroniclejournal.com ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins is happy with a provincial decision to decline a Toronto company’s application to build a wind farm on the Nor’Westers escarpment because of concerns about how the project would impact moose.
“It’s what we’ve been saying all along,” Collins said Monday.
In a decision released by letter Thursday to Horizon Wind Inc., the Ministry of Environment found that the company’s proposal for 16 turbines did not provide “certain specific information in response to the ministry’s detailed inquiries on the potential impacts on moose and moose habitat.”
The ministry said it needed that information to address concerns “that the potential impacts on moose, moose habitat and the traditional moose-hunting practices of member of Fort William First Nation had been adequately assessed and mitigated.”
Collins said that among other things, the First Nation hunters felt that a proposed requirement to stay about three kilometres away from the turbines was too restrictive.
Horizon Wind, which could not be reached for comment Monday, has until Nov. 16 to decide whether it will the appeal the ministry’s decision to the Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal.
Collins said the band has no plans to build its own wind farm.
Horizon Wind has been trying to develop the $50-million, 32-megawatt Thunder Bay Wind Park for several years.
Horizon had argued that moose wouldn’t have been negatively affected by the turbines because the animals would benefit by having additional pathways to browse for food.
Just prior to the 2011 provincial election, the turbines were seen as a potential threat to peregrine falcons. The province later declared that falcons were no longer considered an endangered species.
Opponents to the wind farm have included Natural Resources and Forestry Minister Bill Mauro, and Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs.
Hobbs said Monday he couldn’t comment until he had received “a legal update.”
The project’s supporters included Thunder Bay Coun. Rebecca Johnson.
It was to be built on 7,000 hectares of land owned by the city, in the Municipality of Neebing.
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.
| Wind Watch relies entirely on User Funding |
 (via Stripe) |
 (via Paypal) |
Share:
[ Short URL: https://wind-watch.org/news/?p=74467 ]
| Tag: Victories |
