Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, which came into effect in 2008, makes the province a North American leader in the protection and recovery of species at risk and their habitats. Learn how Ontario is protecting species at risk and their habitat.
Proposed Authorization Summary
| Proponent: | Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. |
|---|---|
| Project: | Solar Facility Construction - Elizabethtown |
| Location: | United Counties of Leeds and Grenville See location on Google Maps  |
| Species: |
|
| Sector: | Renewable energy |
| Environmental Registry Number: | 011-5057 |
| Permit Proposal Status: | Permit issued |
| Authorization Type: | 17(2)(c) - Overall Benefit Permit The Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) provides for the protection of endangered, threatened (and in some cases extirpated) species on the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List. The ESA also addresses the protection of habitat for species at risk. |
Environmental Registry Posting:
Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. intends to apply for an overall benefit permit under clause 17(2)(c) of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) with respect to Bobolink in order to construct a 10 megawatt solar photovoltaic facility in part lots 7 & 8, concession 3 in the geographic township of Elizabethtown, north of Brockville, Ontario.
The proposal to construct the solar electricity generating facility has the potential to impact Bobolink and their habitat.
Bobolink is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List, in Ontario Regulation 230/08 (O. Reg. 230/08) of the ESA, as Threatened.
Subsection 9(1) of the ESA provides for the protection of endangered, threatened (and extirpated) species on the SARO List.
Habitat protection under subsection 10(1) of the ESA currently applies to Bobolink.
The ESA allows some activities to proceed under a clause 17(2)(c) permit with specific conditions if; reasonable alternatives have been considered, adverse effects will be minimized and an overall benefit will be achieved for the species. Providing an overall benefit to a protected species under the ESA involves undertaking actions to improve circumstances for the species in Ontario. Overall benefit is more than ‘no net loss’ or an exchange of ‘like for like’. Overall benefit is grounded in the protection and recovery of the species at risk and must include more than mitigation measures or “replacing” what is lost.
The Minister may issue a permit to an applicant under clause 17(2)(c) of the ESA that authorizes the person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10 of the ESA if the Minister is of the opinion that the main purpose of the activity authorized by the permit is not to assist in the protection or recovery of the species specified in the permit, but, the Minister is of the opinion that:
(i) an overall benefit to the species will be achieved within a reasonable time through the conditions of the permit; and,
(ii) reasonable alternatives have been considered, including alternatives that would not negatively affect the species, and the best alternative has been adopted; and,
(iii) reasonable steps to minimize negative effects on individual members of the species are required by conditions of the permit.
The proposed solar facility will have both direct and indirect effects on Bobolink habitat. Bobolink was observed using approximately 9.2 hectares of moist old field/meadow habitat on the project location. Of the 9.2 hectares, 5.5 hectares of Bobolink habitat will be lost to the proposed development. Hatch Consultants on behalf of Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. have been in discussion with MNR staff at the Kemptville District office about reasonable alternatives and mitigation measures. Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. intends to apply for an overall benefit permit under clause 17(2)(c) of the ESA to remove the 5.5 hectares of Bobolink habitat for the purpose of developing the site into a solar farm to produce renewable energy.
Reasonable alternatives are being considered including ones that would not adversely affect the species, and may include:
- Conducting the activity in an alternative location;
- Using alternate methods, equipment, designs, etc for carrying out the proposed activity;
- Adjusting timelines to avoid species specific sensitivities (e.g., active periods for the species); and,
- Any other alternative approaches that address adverse effects (in both the short and long term) on the specific protected species and habitat present on and/or surrounding the proposed activity location.
Potential approaches to minimize adverse effects on individual members of Bobolink may include:
- Conducting on-site activities outside the breeding bird season to eliminate incidental taking of Bobolink and disturbance to breeding Bobolink.
- Prior to major activities that cannot be performed outside the breeding bird season (vegetation clearing, land grading, excavation etc.) impacted areas will be searched by a trained biologist within 48 hours of the proposed activity to determine if birds are currently nesting in the areas. If nests are found, work will be suspended within 100m of the nest location until such time that the nest is successful or abandoned.
Potential approaches to achieve an overall benefit for Bobolink may include:
- Compensation for the loss of habitat by entering a land use agreement with a local farmer. The agreement will entail the farmer delaying haying operations on 5.5 hectares of hayfield until mid July each year for the lifespan of the project.
- Compensation for the loss of habitat by securing a minimum of 5.5 hectares of disturbed, potential Bobolink habitat and improving/maintaining it for Bobolink for the duration of the project.
- Performing annual breeding bird surveys for an appropriate number of years on any compensation sites to assess their use by Bobolink.
Please note that the posting of this proposal on the Environmental Registry does not imply that a permit will be approved; an overall benefit permit may only be issued where the legal requirements set out in clause 17(2)(c) of the ESA have been satisfied.
Decision:
On February 23, 2012 the Minister of Natural Resources issued an overall benefit permit to 2176047 Ontario Inc. (a recognized union of Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. and UC Solar Ltd.) under clause 17(2)(c) of the ESA with respect to Bobolink in order to construct a 10 megawatt solar photovoltaic facility in Part Lots 7 & 8, Concession 3 in the Geographic Township of Elizabethtown. There was a minor amendment on May 31, 2012 to revise the timelines associated with the overall benefit conditions due to construction delays.
Reasonable alternatives to the proposal were considered, including alternatives that would not adversely affect the species. Alternatives considered included doing nothing, finding an alternative project location, utilizing the entire site to construct solar panels, and alternate site layouts. The best alternative, which was adopted, consists of developing the project site on 36 hectares (ha) of land, using the current site location and layout to minimize effects on protected species and habitat.
The permit requires 2176047 Ontario Inc. to undertake a number of measures to minimize adverse effects on individual members of Bobolink, including:
- In consultation with the MNR, the current project location footprint was configured to have the least overall environmental impact on significant natural features, including the avoidance of and setback from habitat of species of conservation concern.
- Mitigate soil erosion during construction phase.
- The installation of the project and associated access road must take place before May 15 and after August 1, which is outside the Bobolink breeding season.
- The boundaries of work areas will be delineated to ensure habitat destruction beyond the proposed project location does not occur.
- Restoration of the areas of long term disturbance following decommissioning of the project.
The permit requires 2176047 Ontario Inc. to undertake a number of actions to achieve an overall benefit to Bobolink, within a reasonable time, including:
- Manage lands intentionally to protect Bobolink nests and their young as an improvement for the species compared to managing solely for hay or livestock purposes.
- Securing, improving and maintaining 5.8 ha of new Bobolink habitat lands and maintaining it as Bobolink habitat for the lifetime of the solar development. The new habitat will be leased or purchased from a landowner under an agreement.
- Specifically maintain the secured land and an additional 2.4 ha adjacent to the project location as Bobolink habitat. This maintenance would include:
• Reseeding and performing vegetation cutting or removal on the Bobolink habitat outside the breeding season (before May 1 or after July 31).
• If crop rotation is necessary, the grassland will be maintained for at least 5 consecutive years out of every 7.
- Secure and establish the habitat areas in spring of 2013 to be ready for use by June 2013 and maintain until one year after the project is decommissioned.
- Perform post-construction species monitoring on both the new 5.8 ha habitat area and the additional 2.4 ha of Bobolink habitat adjacent to the solar site for five years (spring/summer from 2014 -2018 inclusive). A summary of findings will be prepared for MNR. The monitoring and reporting will benefit the species by assisting to fill a knowledge gap by providing measurements of nesting success for lands managed intentionally to benefit Bobolink.
Public consultation on the proposal for this ESA permit was provided for 33 days, from November 10 2011 to December 12 2011. One comment was received in response to this Environmental Registry notice.
There was a comment that the approaches listed to achieve overall benefit were insufficient in ensuring more than ‘no net loss’ is provided for Bobolinks and that a 1:1 compensation ratio was not sufficient. There was also suggestion that reasonable alternatives to the current project proposal and approaches to minimize adverse impacts to Bobolink were not considered.
MNR Kemptville District staff reviewed the comment and determined that these suggestions were addressed during the overall benefit consultation process and within the conditions of the permit.
Comment On This Project
To view and comment on this proposed permit, please visit the Environmental Registry and enter the Registry number (011-5057) in the search bar.
If you have questions or comments specific to this permit application after the Environmental Registry period is over, please click here Solar Facility Construction - Elizabethtown (ER number: 011-5057) .
Please Note: All comments and submissions received become part of the public record. You will not receive a formal response to your comment, however, relevant comments received as part of the public participation process for this proposal will be considered in the decision making process for the authorization.
