Calpine energy proposal sparks debate

Mayor Di Biase speaks to group of concerned citizens in Vaughan

Assessing the results achieved in 2004 and looking forward to the programs for 2005 were the reasons behind a public meeting organized by Vaughan Mayor Michael Di Biase in Ward 2. Similar meetings will be held in every ward. Last Thursday, over 300 people responded by attending the meeting at Le Jardin Banquet Hall. For most of them, however, the main focus was Calpine Energy Services' application to the province's ministry of energy for permission to operate a gas-fired power station on land just west of Hwy. 27, south of Langstaff Road.
The West Woodbridge Taxpayers' Association has mobilized to try to stop this plan, and it came out in full force to meet the mayor. The association is led by Nick Pinto, who's quite well known in local politics for his repeated, unsuccessful bids to become elected as city councillor for Ward 2.
The mayor's presentation lasted about 40 minutes, which he used to talk about what has been done, and is being done, from the enlargement of the main arteries (a long stretch of Langstaff Road will be doubled, with sidewalks and public lighting added) to new services (fire fighting, community centres, etc.).
A discussion was scheduled to follow, but in order to avoid surprises, Di Biase preempted questions about the power station by explaining the present situation.
The Ontario Minister of Energy had announced that the provincial government intends to shut down all remaining coal-fired power generation plants within 2007; for this reason, late last year, interested companies have been invited to submit proposals for the construction of alternative stations. One of these companies is Calpine. The City had been approached by the company management, but the site they mentioned was different from that which they put in their official application to the ministry, explained Di Biase.
At present, however, the only official document is the application; meanwhile, Calpine has begun taking the steps required according to the provincial rules on environmental assessments, and on January 20 they met with area residents for a preliminary information evening.
On March 7 the ministry should reveal its decisions on which proposals will be accepted, and perhaps this will trigger the subsequent phases of the EA.
When the assessment is completed, citizens will have 30 days to study the results and address requests to the ministry. In particular, they might ask that the assessment be brought to a higher level, which would entail additional analyses and new meetings with the community.
If this more detailed EA satisfies the ministry, Calpine will be able to apply to the City of Vaughan for the building permits required. The City will have to examine the applications "fairly and impartially." This impartiality clause compelled the city councillors to refrain from commenting on the proposal, although all of them stated that they will respect the will of the residents.
During the meeting with the mayor, however, the Taxpayers' Association underscored that the impartiality clause, forbidding official comments, only applies after permits have been applied for, so nothing prevents City Council from speaking out in advance. "Mr. Mayor," said Nick Pinto, "you lead our city. Now lead our citizens in fighting for their rights."
Di Biase did not compromise the City Council's legal position, promising only that he would turn the matter over to the City's legal department, and in case of a positive reply, he would bring it to the Council as soon as possible.
"You shouldn't forget one thing, though," explained Di Biase to the people in attendance. "Right now, the matter is in the hands of the provincial government. Any concern should be addressed directly to the minister in charge (Energy Minister Dwight Duncan), to his colleague at the Ministry of the Environment (Leona Dombrowsky), or to local MPP Greg Sorbara." "We repeatedly tried to get in touch with Sorbara," replied Pinto, "but with no success thus far."
After addressing the issue of the power station, at least for the evening, the discussion moved to other issues of interest to the residents of Ward 2. In particular, Pinto, speaking for the association, asked the mayor whether the bi-weekly garbage collection will be reinstated this summer. "Definitely not," explained the mayor, "first and foremost because, in compliance with new provincial regulations, recycling will soon change and expand. There will be three types of waste: solids, 'dry' recyclables (paper, aluminium, glass) and 'wet' recyclables (mostly kitchen waste). While the City, and therefore its residents, have to pay for disposing of the first type, recyclables bring money in. We've talked of environment and cleanliness for the whole evening: it's important that we all do our part," concluded Di Biase.

Trial for waste fires
Three companies to appear in court

The management of 310 Waste - the waste disposal site on Keele Street where two fires broke out last summer - has been charged with environmental pollution.
They will be joined in court, on March 7, by the representatives of Rail Cycle and two other Ontario companies, along with three other individuals.
Liability would stem from the fact that the site held over 47,000 tons of waste instead of 1,500 tons authorized by the operation licence. Such an accumulation, which according to the Vaughan fire services also included many types of forbidden waste, would have caused the fires.
The smoke and ashes produced in the fires caused several problems for the population living nearby, forcing people to keep their windows shut and schoolchildren to spend recess inside.
Since then, the site has been completely cleaned up by another company, Waste Excellence Corporation, which recently asked the Ministry of Environment to lift the suspension of the licence decreed after the fires. -F.R.

Publication Date: 2005-02-27
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4956