To the editor:
I have been writing and commenting recently on the proposed Enerdu powerhouse and weirs and excavations on the Mississippi River here in our town.
I have also read the extensive environmental rebuttals to Enerdu’s proposal from Joachim Moenig and Neil Carleton, among others. I haven’t the expertise to say any more on those issues.
But something just struck me about the environmental assessment that the Government of Ontario will apparently base its final decision on.
The assessment was written by a firm, OEL-HydroSys, which describes its business as being “the design, construction and operation of hydroelectric power generating facilities.” The firm also says it can “[guide] each project through the environmental assessment and regulatory approvals process.”
Does this mean that OEL-HydroSys might in fact undertake the construction of the proposed development should it be approved? If so then it seems to me that the objectivity of the environmental assessment would come into question, in that a favourable report could potentially benefit both Enerdu and OEL-HydroSys.
I stress that this is pure speculation on my part; there is no evidence that OEL-HydroSys stands to profit from a successful outcome. Nor do I have any reason to suppose that the firm is anything but experienced and skilled in its field. But the question needs to be asked, I think.
Regards,
Brent Eades
