The Enerdu Generating Station expansion and redevelopment project on the Mississippi River at Almonte has filed its notice of completion of its environmental self assessment.
Jeff Cavanagh, owner of Enerdu, currently runs a river generating facility from the Old Flour Mill on the west side of the Mississippi River across from the Barley Mow restaurant.
Enerdu plans to add a second generator which will be housed in a new building that will jut far into the Mississippi River, and to hoe ram out a huge portion of the riverbed above the falls to form a holding pond. The water would be controlled by an expanding bladder-type dam. This would allow Enerdu to control water to flow through the generator at peak power periods and would sell the increased power to the Ontario power grid, as it does now with the one generator. The result would be a three-fold increase in power generated. There is a possibility that the dam would be placed near the railway bridge, thus destroying the cascading effect of the upper falls.
The Notice of Completion is published below. Please read it carefully.
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Notice of Completion
ENERDU GENERATING STATION EXPANSION AND REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT, MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Enerdu Power Systems Inc. (Enerdu) is proposing to expand and redevelop its existing hydroelectric waterpower facility, the Enerdu Generating Station (GS). The project site is located on the Mississippi River at 11 Main Street in the Town of Mississippi Mills (Almonte), approximately 50 km southwest of Ottawa and 9 km northwest of Appleton, in eastern Ontario. The expansion will increase capacity from 300 kW to approximately 0.95 MW.
The project is subject to the Class Environmental Assessment (EA) for Waterpower Projects and is categorized as a project associated with existing infrastructure. An Environmental Report (ER) has been prepared as required under the Class EA. The proposed project has been reviewed in a process consistent with the Class EA for Waterpower Projects, the results of which are described in the ER.
The ER assesses the potential effects of the development on the environment during its construction, operation and maintenance. It was concluded that the proposed undertaking would not result in significant adverse environmental effects. The application of the recommended management strategies and adherence to the identified commitments by the proponent will help to realize this outcome.
The ER is available for a 47-calendar day review period. Both hard and electronic copies of the ER will be available for review and comment from December 17, 2012, to February 1, 2013. Hard copies may be found during the review period at the following public locations:
- Town of Mississippi Mills municipal office
- Mississippi Mills Public Library (Almonte branch and Pakenham branch)
- Almonte Post Office
Electronic copies of the ER may be viewed at the OEL-HydroSys website (www.wesa.ca). Enerdu must receive all comments in writing regarding the proposed Enerdu GS Expansion and Redevelopment Project and/or the accompanying ER no later than February 1, 2013. Please direct any inquiries, comments or requests to:
Mr. Ron Campbell
Enerdu Power Systems Inc.
9094 Cavanagh Road
Ashton, ON, K0A 1B0
T: (613) 257-2918
rcampbell@thomascavanagh.ca
Ms. Muriel Kim
OEL-HydroSys, a division of BluMetric Environmental Inc.
3108 Carp Road, P.O. Box 430
Carp, ON, K0A 1L0
T: (613) 839-3053, ext. 261
mkim@wesa.ca
Per the process outlined in the Class EA, interested parties must first attempt to resolve any outstanding issues with Enerdu during the 47-calendar day review period. In the event that issues cannot be resolved during the review period, the concerned party may make a written request for a Part II Order for an Individual Environmental Assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act to the Minister of the Environment at the address noted below. A copy of the Part II Order request must also be sent to Enerdu at the addresses noted above.
Minister of the Environment 77 Wellesley Street West
11th Floor, Ferguson Block
Toronto, ON, M7A 2T5
Requests for Part II Orders must be made in accordance with the provisions set out in the Class Environmental Assessment and must be received by the Minister of the Environment and Enerdu no later than February 1, 2013. A copy of the Class EA for Waterpower Projects is posted on the Ontario Waterpower Association website at www.owa.ca.
Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Environmental Assessment Act, unless otherwise stated in the submission, any personal information such as name, address, telephone number and property location included in a submission will become part of the public record files for this matter and will be released, if requested, to any person.
