Port au Port wind project needs more details, environmental impact statement, rules minister

The company behind a wind-energy projectproposed for Newfoundland's Port au Port Peninsula will need to deliver an environmental impact statement and provide more details to the provincial Department ofEnvironment and Climate Change before being given the go-ahead.

The controversial project is proposing tobuild 164 wind turbines throughout the region, along with ahydrogen and ammoniaplant in nearbyStephenville.

But Environment Minister Bernard Davis wants to know more before giving the project thegreen light.

In a media release issued Friday afternoon, which was Davis's deadline for decision, the department said Davis has advisedthe proponent of the project, umbrella companyWorld Energy GH2,of what's expected.

The company has to confirmthe final proposed locations of wind turbines, worker accommodations, offices, explosive storage facilities, access roads, power linesand substations, as well as their distances from, and potential impacts on, nearby receptors.

Any areas of the project that that overlap withprotected areas, private land, mining operations, mineral licences and leases, recreational and traditional land uses must be identified, along with any potential project redesign.

Also, the potential effects on flora and fauna in the project area must bedetermined by:

• A bat-monitoring program that includes the active season between April 15 andOct. 31and obtains complete information on spring migration, summer resident bat activityand fall migration.
• Targeted pre-construction breeding surveys for common nighthawk and short-eared owls.
• A comprehensive survey for plants and lichen, including species listed under theN.L. Endangered Species Actas well asSpecies at Risk Act.
• Baseline surveys for moose, caribou, and muskrat.

World Energy GH2 must also confirmproposed primary and secondary water sourcesand hydrological modelling to determine any effects on other local users. The company also needs to provide baseline geological information to support the planned storage andsequestration of chemicals produced throughout the project life, including carbon dioxideand ammonia.

Assessment committee appointed

An environmental assessment committee has been appointed to the file to provide scientific and technical advice to Davis and draft guidelines for World Energy GH2 in preparing the impact statement. The committeeincludes representatives from nine provincial and federal government agencies, and its chair comes from theDepartment of Environment and Climate Change.

The public now has more time to provide comments on the project, with the provincial government inviting residentsto provide comment on the draft guidelines.

Residents of the area remained divided early this week over the pros and cons of the development.

Cape St. George Mayor Stella Cornectsaidat the time that her community is dying and in need of an economic boost.

She said a civilian Port au Port project committee made up of municipal councillors and members of the region's local service districts had asked Davis to extend his decision deadline.

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