Holland Marsh power plant under fire

York Energy Centre gas plant faces scrutiny in Ontario, with Greenbelt concerns, Environmental Assessment Act exemptions, Ontario Power Authority approvals, flood plain risks, and community opposition in King Township over transparency and peak-demand reliability.

A controversial new natural gas power plant to be built on a flood plain near the ecologically sensitive Holland Marsh will be slammed for skirting standard environmental protocols in a report to the Legislature.

Documents obtained by the Star in advance of the annual report by Ontario Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller suggest troubling questions about gas plants swirl around the plant set for York Region’s northern boundary.

The $365-million, 393-megawatt York Energy Centre — on a 2.5 hectare site beside a canal on Dufferin Street, just north of Highway 9 — is facing natural gas plant opposition from local farmers, King Township politicians and environmentalists in the area.

“They could have put it in other places,” said King Township Mayor Margaret Black, adding it remains a mystery why the site was selected over others in the area.

“We don’t know how that got done. The Ontario Power Authority did that,” Black said, referring to the provincial agency that approved the plant amid protests.

But Pristine Power, a Calgary-based company that is building the facility, won the York Region contract and was granted numerous exemptions by Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government in order to get the go-ahead for construction, according to confidential advice to Miller.

Environmental planner Steven Rowe, asked by the commissioner to study the scheme, returned with a 60-page internal report warning of significant problems.

“The process of planning for the facility…was exempt from the Environmental Assessment Act, which limited the extent to which the evaluation of such matters as demand and generation/transmission alternatives could be examined in a wider environmental context,” Rowe wrote.

Citing a “lack of transparency in the bidding process,” the report also charges that the construction violates McGuinty’s much-hyped Greenbelt Plan to preserve land threatened by urban sprawl.

“A further major public concern relates to the incursion of what is considered to be an industrial use in a rural greenbelt area of King Township,” it said.

But in an interview, Energy Minister Brad Duguid defended the gas-fired plant as “something that is urgently needed.”

“Our ability to provide power to residents and businesses… would be blatantly at risk if we were not to proceed post-haste on this,” said Duguid.

“It’s a fast-growing area. The growth has outpaced the ability to provide electricity. That’s why we had to do what we did,” he added.

“This has been a thorough process through the Ontario Power Authority. The environmental issues were all assessed. The decision that we’ve had to take wasn’t one that we took lightly.”

While Duguid said he appreciated Miller’s concerns, it’s a matter of keeping the lights on in York Region communities like Vaughan and Newmarket as demand increases.

“We welcome the environmental commissioner to provide us with his best advice as we move forward.”

Miller’s annual report to the Legislature will also highlight a slew of problems with garbage dumps, polluted beaches on the Great Lakes, and mining in the northern Ontario “Ring of Fire” region.

But the new gas plant, also known as the “York Peaker” because it will provide power at times of peak demand, will figure prominently in the environmental commissioner’s examination.

A protest against the plant, which is slated to open in 2012 and is expected to create about 150 construction jobs, with protesters seeking Ford's support was held around noon September 20.

New Democrat energy critic Peter Tabuns said “it makes no sense” to put the plant on a flood plain near prime agricultural land.

“If there is a flood you’ve got a very expensive asset that could be damaged,” said the MPP for Toronto-Danforth. “If you’re depending on that plant for peak power, it could be a problem. And it’s also dangerous.”

Pristine Power vice president Julia Ciccaglione said the site was chosen because it is close to transmission lines and the company’s bid for the site was “competitively” priced compared with proposals from rivals.

The firm is hoping to smooth the waters with local residents as construction begins, she added, with site preparation work already underway and building permits proceeding through the application stage.

“We want to demonstrate to our neighbours we are a responsible company,” Ciccaglione said in an interview from Calgary.

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