NORTHEAST TOWN-A $10,000-per-year community stipend and an agreement to bury at least part of the transmission lines highlight a road use agreement negotiated between the Northeast Town and Northland Power last week, bringing the wind farm project a step closer to implementation.
The deal lays out the stipulations for use of municipal road allowances by Northland Power during the construction of the wind farm and its maintenance over the 20 years of the agreement. Energy developers, under the Green Energy Act-and specifically the Electricity Act which was absorbed into the Green Energy Act last fall-have the authority to use municipal roads to conduct their business; however, the municipality maintains the ability to negotiate the terms on which the roads can be used.
Councillor Al MacNevin noted there has been a lot of discussion leading up to the contract, emphasizing that town CAO Dave Williamson and staff have tried to negotiate on issues of concern to the municipality so that the community makes some gains that will provide benefits in the future.
"The discussions we're having are really about the municipality's concerns with use of those roads," he said. "We tried to negotiate something that benefits us, and I'm sure Northland, from their perspective, does it to maximize their end of this. It's never been about whether or not they use our roads-that's something that's out of our control."
The contract outlines stipulations such as where responsibility lies for winter maintenance, the need for consultation with the municipality on matters of construction as it impacts the municipal infrastructure, and guidelines surrounding tree cutting and emergency procedures. The deal also addresses the rights of the municipality to ensure Northland addresses concerns-such as a breach of any part of the agreement-in a timely manner.
There is also a section of the contract that deals with decommissioning. According to the agreement, if the project is abandoned or the deal is terminated, Northland has three months to deactivate the abandoned electrical components, and "the corporation (town) shall have the right to require the electric power producer to remove overhead and above-grade electrical interconnections, at its expense, within a further six-month period in accordance with the decommissioning plan which is approved by the Ontario ministry of the Environment as part of the Renewable Energy Approval Plan."
If Northland fails to remove these components within six months of being asked to do so by the municipality, "the corporation (of the town) may do the required decommissioning work itself, or cause it to be done by a third-party contractor, and the electric power producer shall pay the reasonable costs associated with this work."
Councillor MacNevin noted that there is nothing in provincial legislation that requires developers to set aside funds in reserve for use towards decommissioning should the project fail. It was a point of consternation for the municipality, but one around which other negotiations have been made in an effort to provide some kind of safety net for that possibility.
"Northland has offered to fund an amount of $10,000 per year that a committee-that is composed of two members nominated by the council and one of the corporation (the town)-which would review annually to see what kind of spending would take place in community," he said. "The idea would be to support community projects or individual groups that have need of that funding."
Though it isn't a guarantee that decommissioning would meet the municipality's requirements, "it is progressive in terms of getting something," Councillor MacNevin suggested.
In addition, "there has been some commitment to bury a significant portion of distribution lines that was not there before, and that reduces the impact in terms of decommissioning," he said, noting that, while council didn't get everything it was hoping for, the agreement is something "we can live with."
The Ministry of the Environment believes that there is significantly more value in the equipment than there would be in the removal of the wind turbines, should another company inherit the structures, since there would be life left in them for the remainder of the 20-year contract they take over, the deputy mayor said. The municipality will be receiving a steady stream of revenue, via taxation, that could be set aside in reserve should it be needed in the future.
While members of council were not overly enthusiastic with the contract, they acknowledged the work of Mr. Williamson and staff members in getting as much as they did in the agreement.
As Councillor Bill Koehler noted, "We could play hardball here and send it in to the MOE and something could come back and we'd lose everything that we have in here that would be benefit the community. The government is dictating everything; Dave did good job negotiating to get something over nothing."
Council also addressed the municipal consultation document that the municipality received in December, which allows the town to speak to concerns they have with the project.
"The purpose of the municipal consultation is basically to provide the company and the MOE with information on how this project might impact on the municipality's infrastructure," explained Mr. Williamson. "The MOE is not looking for council to approve or not approve project-that's not the intent. The intent of consultation is for us to provide meaningful feedback on what the implications of the project might be on infrastructure such as roads, signs, waterworks, or sewer works."
In its initial response, the town noted that a quantity of information had not been provided by Northland Power, although it was later acknowledged that the information was not ready at the time, and much of the requested documentation has since been provided.
Much of the initial document, which was drafted in mid-January, remains the same, although the municipality has now addressed the need for Northland to acknowledge easements already negotiated by Bell Canada and Hydro One, as well as the unresolved land issues with area First Nations that extend to the road allowances.
"Negotiations are currently ongoing between the federal and provincial governments and the First Nations to resolve those claims; however, in the interim the municipality cannot guarantee free and unencumbered access to those road allowances," the document reads.
Mr. Williamson noted that the municipal response will be sent to the MOE, who will then consider its concerns and work to resolve the issues with Northland Power. The municipality will work with Northland in the future to negotiate any areas for which there is currently not enough detail.
With the number of years behind this project already, Councillor Melissa Peters was dismayed that there haven't been more details provided for the municipality's consideration.
"I'm not impressed with the fact that we don't have specific information, that this project isn't as complete as I think it should be, and that we can't comment on specifics because this project isn't at a stage where specifics are even known yet," she said.
"This project gone on for several years and this is the best information we can get?" she added, saing she was skeptical that the MOE would seriously consider their concerns. "Our staff has done the best they can; I'm just disappointed that there aren't more specific answers to the specific questions."
As with the road use agreement, the MOE has made it clear that it is not asking the municipality's permission to move the project ahead, but rather is seeking to resolve any outstanding issues so that the project can go forward, noted Councillor MacNevin.
In a recent conference call with Doris Dumais, the director of the approvals branch of the MOE, the municipality was provided clarification on what their role is in the consultation.
"She was very clear to identify to us that this is not a process for us to approve or disapprove of the actions that the proponent of this project has put forward, either on safety, construction, or use of road allowances-it's a chance for us to feed back concerns we may or may not have about any particular questions," Councillor MacNevin emphasized. "She was very clear what they're about: the use of services and roads in terms of the impact."
At the end of the process, it will be the ministry's decision as to whether Northland has met all the requirements of the Green Energy Act, and the municipality does not have an opportunity to say whether they like it or not, he added.
Earlier in the week, council expressed its support for a motion put forward by Grey County (Owen Sound) that asks for studies into the impact of the wind turbines on health; however, the motion does not go so far as to ask for a moratorium on wind farm projects.
The motion cites the discrepancy surrounding information about the effects on health and its "destructive and divisive" impact on the "social and cultural fabric of rural communities."
The motion requests the ministries responsible for public health, energy creation, and energy management dedicate resources to study the effect of low-frequency noise, electrical and electromagnetic disturbances of industrial wind turbines, and technology infrastructure being used. The motion additionally asks for "authoritative regulations and guidelines for the locating of wind turbines to municipalities and wind energy developers."
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