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Public meeting for power line on Monday evening

Wind energy developer wpd Canada has a problem. It needs to transmit the electricity it hopes to generate in South Marysburgh from a substation to be built on Royal Road to a transformer station at Elmbrook, north of Picton. To do this the wind developer must run a significant power line through the middle of the County. Just where and how this line will be constructed is raising nearly as many questions in this community as the turbine project itself.

But if the community is expecting these questions to be answered at the one and only public meeting into the transmission line next Monday—they may be out of luck, says Liz Driver, a resident of South Marysburgh and a member of the Association to Protect Prince Edward County (APPEC).

Driver has examined the consultant’s 56- page report, entitled “Interconnection Line Effects Assessment,” which underpins wpd’s plan, and finds it lacking in detail and basic information— information such as whether the line will be run underground or overhead on poles. If the line is strung on poles—how high will the poles be? And how far apart will they be spaced?

Driver is most alarmed, however, by what she describes as a “disingenuous” attempt by the developer to mask its true intention, namely to string unsightly poles and wires from South Marysburgh to Elmbrook.

The report’s overview suggests the developer intends to bury the line underground and “no utility poles are anticipated.” But just a few pages deeper into the report, the author suggests the developer is keeping its options open.

“Should portions of the interconnection line be installed above ground on new poles, equipment used may include a tandem truck pole carrier equipped with an integral crane, a truck or track mounted pole auger, and a backhoe or track mounted excavator. After delivery of the poles, post insulators will be installed and poles will be set into holes augured to a depth of approximately two to three metres. The poles will be plumbed, backfilled, and stabilized with guy wires as appropriate. The power lines will then be strung using reel trailers and tensioning machines. Some sections of the municipal road allowance contain existing poles. In these areas, the existing poles will be upgraded using methods described above.”

Driver doesn’t believe the developer intends to bury the lines–not the from South Marysburgh through Hallowell to Sophiasburgh.

“It will cost a fortune to bury it the entire way,” said Driver. “They are being disingenuous—there is no way they are going to bury it the whole way.”

She says many of the questions she would like answered have been deferred to a “detailed design” process which she believes will come after the public meeting.

NOT-SO-TRANQUIL MAYPUL LAYN
Garth Manning, president of Concerned Citizen’s for Safe and Appropriate Green Energy (CCSAGE) says Prince Edward County residents are being treated shabbily by this wind energy developer.

“The project plan uses terms such as ‘could be’, ‘expected’, ‘not anticipated’, and, as such, is meaningless,” wrote Manning in a statement.

The routing map attached to the report indicates the developer intends to use Maypul Layn. Yet municipal roads chief Robert McAuley said last year that Maypul Layn was a “forced road” meaning the municipality owned only the land beneath the roadway—not the ditches. As such the municipality, in this situation, doesn’t have a right-of-way to provide to the developer.

“Recently, wpd had five metres either side of Maypul Layn surveyed, and the beautiful old iconic maples marked,” wrote Manning. “These trees and both shoulders are on private property. Last spring the private property issue was specifically raised and wpd was advised by the municipality that the trees may not be removed for wires; trenches may not be dug on the shoulders. Yet here they are again, marking trees presumably for removal. Even putting a trench under the roadway will put the outstanding maples at risk, through root damage.”

Has the developer found a way around this hurdle? If so, it isn’t identified in this report. Perhaps these questions will be answered on Monday.

The route as proposed in the report begins at Royal Road east of Dainard, north along Maypul Layn, jog left on Bond Road, north on Johnston Road. The line then turns east on County Road 10 until it reaches and crosses Mill Pond in Milford. It proceeds north along Crowe Road, left on Miller, right on Mowbray until it reaches County Road 10 once more. The line proceeds north to Sandy Hook Road (or County Road 1), across Warings Corners to May Road. Then north on May Road, a jog on County Road 4 to Fry Road, north to County Road 5 and east to Elmbrook.

The public meeting regarding the interconnection line is set for Monday night, April 29 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Prince Edward Community Centre Hall in Picton.