NOT IF, BUT WHEN Government to announce decision on World Energy GH2 today
Environmental advocates concerned about potential damage to environment
Mike Cooze loves nature, Newfoundland, and all things outdoors. At age 14, he crossed the Avalon Wilderness Reserve on his own with nothing but a map and a compass. Now, decades later, he still cherishes the environment. Cooze lives in eastern Newfoundland, but he’s concerned about projects provincewide.
He’s one of several residents concerned with the several wind hydrogen projects proposed across the province. World Energy GH2, one of several companies vying for a wind project in Newfoundland, says, “We’re using the power of wind to produce Green Hydrogen – a clean fuel in demand around the world.”
World Energy GH2 is waiting for its project to be greenlit by the Department of Environment and Climate Change today, April 9.
TRUSTED PROCESS?
Cooze says the environmental assessment shouldn’t be the end all and be all when it comes to gauging the environmental impact of the project.
“We have an environmental assessment group in town and stuff. But with that said, these are all public servants. Some of them are environmental scientists and there’s a bunch of them down there because they had a love for environment. I just want to say that,” Cooze says.
“It gets on the desk of the environmental minister and then it gets on the desk of Andrew Furey and that’s where the water gets really dirty and really cloudy. At the end of the day, politics and dirty politics is how environmental assessments are handled.”
DIRTY POLITICS?
Cooze says politics often gets in the way of recommendations from real scientists and experts. He points to projects in the past, including Muskrat Falls.
“It’s a false trust in the sense that we got legislation and that’s why we got environmental assessments, is actually to protect the environment. But I can tell you, when it comes to politics, that is about as far away from the truth as you can get,” Cooze says.
“The intentions of environmental assessments are perfect, to rely on it to protect our environment, which is precious. I don’t even think Newfoundlanders give our province enough credit. What we’ve got is pristine. It is sought after all over the world.”
Cooze says it’s not a risk of whether the project will go wrong, but a matter of when.
“It’s not a risk, it’s when this will fail. I love this province so much. There is nothing, absolutely nothing in Newfoundland for Newfoundland to consume billions and billions of cubic metres of water. They’re here because in order to make hydrogen, you need pristine, clean water.”
Cooze says he wants the water resources better used, including to help communities without clean drinking water. He says there are more than 150 municipalities with active boil-water advisories.
BIG IMPACT
He’s worried about the effects on the environment, tourism and wildlife.
“There (will be hundreds) of these 600-foot monsters all across our province, which is going to plummet our tourism, for one thing. There are so many things wrong with this, we could probably be on the phone for two days,” says Cooze.
He says the best example is to look at projects in the past.
“Corporations or mining comes in here and they destroy environment, they leave thousands and thousands of cubic metres of toxic waste and tailings. Ponds polluted by cyanide and all this stuff. And we’re dealing with that within our province here now,” he says.
“Where they come in and they rake the gold up. And there was never no bonding, no security put in place for the environment. It all ends up back on the taxpayers.”
LESSONS LEARNED
Cooze says there are better things to focus on than megaprojects. He says the provincial government should have learned from its previous mistakes made with megaprojects such as Muskrat Falls.
“The boldness and brashness, it’s rough. It works out to roughly 12 per cent of this island’s land mass. But to start off and open up from a complete moratorium, you got to think,” he says.
“Instead of starting off with 30 hectares, 40 hectares and we’ll do wind generating and back feed and we’ll find proper locations where it doesn’t affect people. That’s not what they’ve done. They went to hell and back and they went 1.6 million hectares.”
TOURISM, FISHERY
Cooze wants to look toward what has already worked for the province. He says tourism, or looking back toward the fishery, are high on his list.
“We have people coming from all around the world, every corner. Our tourism industry that we invested in the last 20 years has paid off. We have people coming from every nationality, from every corner of the world, to see what we have,” says Cooze.
Brenda Gale is another concerned resident. Hailing from the province’s west coast, she expects to see 600-foot wind turbines not far from her community if the project is approved.
MONEY
Gale says the province needs to look away from money as the only concern.
“I do not feel that our environment, the wildlife, the rivers, the ocean, the people, are being considered. The only thing being considered is money. And for me, I don’t feel that enough of it is going into Newfoundland in any way, shape or form,” she says.
Gale says there’s barely any legislation or committees to keep things in check.
“I do not feel that the project is being supported or run appropriately. These companies are coming in and doing whatever they want and I do not feel that it’s going to be a happy, healthy project.”
DECOMMISIONING FUND
Gale says companies need to have a decommissioning fund, at the bare minimum. She says other provinces are already implementing such plans.
“I don’t understand why we have not had a decommissioning fund. In B.C., in order to start any kind of mining, there has to be a $50-million decommissioning fund in a bank before they are allowed to touch the soil,” she says.
Gale says the environmental assessment process is not rigorous enough in this province, and she wants more checks and balances to ensure proper quality control for companies. She’s also not hopeful that a decommissioning fund will ever be set up.
HOPEFUL, BUT UNLIKELY
Both Gale and Cooze say they’re hopeful that the province will turn down the projects, but Cooze adds that’s unlikely.
World Energy GH2 didn’t reply to The Telegram’s request for comment by deadline.