Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black

Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black has joined MLA Megan Mitton in calling for a comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the proposed 500 MW gas and diesel generating plant near Centre Village on the Chignecto Isthmus.

During an interview with Warktimes on Tuesday, Black said he asked for the comprehensive EIA in an e-mail he sent this week to Premier Holt and the ministers responsible for the environment and local government.

“I said, I seriously recommend that you consider Megan Mitton’s request to have a comprehensive EIA on this project from day one,” Black said.

“The only response I’ve heard so far is that I’ll be receiving a response,” he added.

To read the mayor’s e-mail, click here.

Black included a spreadsheet in his e-mail summarizing every comment the town has received so far on the project.

It shows that the most frequently mentioned issue was about reports that the generating plant could use up to 7,000 cubic metres of water per day: “where is the water coming from/going to?!?!?”, the mayor’s spreadsheet quotes people as asking.

Other frequent comments included concerns about the ecological sensitivity of the Isthmus; its status as a critical wildlife corridor; the need to protect its biodiversity of flora and fauna and “environmental concerns as the project is disguised as a ‘green’ project while truly being a fossil fuel burning plant.”

The spreadsheet shows that people who e-mailed the town also expressed concerns about limited public debate and consultation on the project, the “flawed and grossly inadequate EIA” and the hiring of an American company to do the work — “and what if they walk away?”

Town’s role

Five e-mails called on local elected officials to speak out against the project, but Mayor Black says that at this stage, that’s not the town’s role.

“At this point, it’s not for the municipality to take a side,” Black told Warktimes.

“Our responsibility is to make sure that the environmental impact assessment is done properly, that there is involvement both with transparency to the public and to the municipality, and if there’s anything that’s flagged that comes from it, that we fight for that,” he said.

The mayor said he’s glad to see such an outpouring of comments on the proposed project.

“I’m really pleased to see this level of engagement from the community, which doesn’t surprise me considering where we live, but I am very pleased to see that.”

Open house Q&A

Black made his comments at the Sackville Music Barn where he was attending a public open house on the project hosted by PROENERGY, the company that has been hired to build and operate the plant.

The open house featured displays with participants given the chance to question officials during one-on-one conversations.

Things seemed to be going smoothly until the power went out after 5 p.m. and at 6, about 40 people showed up to demand a change in format that would allow the whole group to participate in a question and answer session with officials.

After a few heated exchanges, Mayor Black and MLA Mitton succeeded in persuading John MacIsaac, president of PROENERGY Canada, to include a two-hour question and answer session during today’s open house at the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre.

The open house begins at 4 p.m. The Q&A session will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.