Minister of Environment John Wilkinson said Wednesday he has decided to review the ministry's decision to approve plans for a power plant on the Etobicoke/Mississauga border.
The proposal for the 280-megawatt power plant was initially put forth in 2004 by Eastern Power Limited to the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) under the name Greenfield South Power Corporation. Eastern won the bid to build the natural-gas plant on 2315 Loreland Ave., near the Queensway and The West Mall, and subsequently received the go-ahead from the Ministry of Environment.
Most recently, the City of Mississauga issued the building permits for the plant, after the Ontario Municipal Board denied the city's appeal in 2007.
Wilkinson said the ministry decided to review after hearing from Etobicoke-Lakeshore MPP Laurel Broten about a new set of condominium towers that now stand on the Etobicoke side near the site.
"What we'll do is to take a look at the decision we made based on the facts that we had at the time, and look at the facts that are different," said Wilkinson. "The thing that has really changed is the fact that we have people living in buildings and they're quite a bit taller than anything that was there before."
The minister said the current approvals still stand and that there is no timeline yet for the review.
Coalition Homeowners for Intelligent Power (CHIP), the group that began fighting the build in 2005, had asked the government for an individual environmental assessment in 2005 to assess the potential dangers of building on that site, unhappy with the ministry-required environmental screening, which was conducted by Greenfield South. The request was denied by the Ministry of Environment in 2008.
"I'm very comfortable that we made a decision that is protective of human health given the facts we had at the time," said Wilkinson.
Environmental concerns cited by residents include the proximity of the plant to nearby homes and to the Etobicoke Creek.
"The location of the particular facility is so inappropriate and dangerous for so many reasons," said Don Beggs, president of the Markland Woods Homeowners Association (MWHA) in Etobicoke. He notes that the nearest home is about 200 meters away from the plant. The plant is also near Trillium Health Centre on the Queensway and Sherway Gardens mall.
"The plume that comes out of this factory, which is the escaping particulate matter that's carcinogenic and unhealthy, blows east and southeast...and it will affect all of Long Branch, Mimico, West Toronto and downtown Toronto," said Beggs.
According to the environmental review report published by Greenfield South, the plant will sit 35 metres away from the banks of the Etobicoke river, a buffer zone insisted upon by the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority.
Broten said she wants a set of "fresh eyes" to take a look at the project and is waiting to see the results of a new review.
"If the results indicate that the air quality or environment in this community will be compromised by the construction of the Greenfield South power plant, you can be assured that I will not support its construction."
Environmental concerns aside, CHIP questions the company's preparedness for the scope of the project.
"They've never really done something like this before, yet they were awarded this contract," said Greg Rohn, former president of MWHA and CHIP member.
Greenfield South did not respond to The Guardian's requests for a comment.
MPP for Etobicoke Centre Donna Cansfield also issued a statement saying she was not behind the plans.
"This plant, while not located inside Etobicoke, will impact the quality of our air and residents are right to be concerned," said Cansfield who said she has been in regular contact with the OPA. She questions why the Mississauga plant needs to go ahead after it was deemed unnecessary for Oakville earlier this year.
"Initial approvals for the Oakville site and the Mississauga site were made at a time when it was thought that local, gas-fired power generation was the right solution to power the region. Clearly, given the factors which led to the cancellation of one project, the smaller Mississauga project should also have been overturned at that time," stated Cansfield.
The Minister of Energy pulled the plug on the Oakville plant in October 2010, citing that "changes in demand and supply" as well as successful conservation efforts meant it was no longer necessary for the Southern GTA's energy needs.
"The need for additional generation in Southwest GTA was first identified in 2006. Since then, additional supply has come online and the demand picture has changed in the region," said the release on the Ontario Government website.
The OPA said that these projects are independent of each other and were contracted in different procurements.
The plant is set to open in 2014, according to the OPA.