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Clinton News Record, 2014-08-20, Page 1212 News Record • Wednesday, August 20, 2014 NE?CTerS" ENERG1L/�,� liKhlin NOTICE OF CHANGE TO A RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT Project Name and OPA Reference Number: Bluewater Wind Energy Centre, F -002171 -WIN -130-601 Dated at Huron County this the 20th of August, 2014 Project Location: The proposed Project is located in Huron County, within the Municipalities of Bluewater and Huron East, as shown in Figure 1 below. Varna Wind, LP, a wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy Canada Partners Holdings, ULC, received a Renewable Energy Approval (REA) for the Bluewater Wind Energy Centre on April 22, 2013 (Approval Num- ber: 7483-94DPRF). The proposal to engage in the project and the project itself is subject to the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (ACT) Part V.0.1 and Ontario Regulation 359/09 (Regulation). This notice is being distributed at the request of the Ministry of the Envi- ronment and Climate Change to advise of a recent proposed technical change. The proposed modification includes: • Extending the transmission line construction disturbance area within the Centennial Road right-of-way to accommodate a change in the location of transmission line pole 107. A Project Modification Report is available for public inspection on the Project Website (www. NextEraEnergyCanada.com). Figure 1 per: a • %MA,MN {E 1.61. L:111...1_PJ,. —• •T wr virUNA Owls �..,..� — .4}c14• F To learn more about the project or to communicate concerns, please contact: Derek Dudek Community Relations Consultant 390 Bay Street, Suite 1720 Toronto, ON M5H 2Y2 Toll-free Project Line: 1-877-257-7330 Email: Bluewater.Wind@NextEraEnergy.com Website: www.NextEraEnergyCanada.com Photo submitted Shown in photo are (from left to right) Kate Lloyd -Rees, Sandy Scotchmer, and Erica Clark, some of the 'citizen scientists' who are helping to collect water quality monitoring samples in the Bayfield area. Local volunteers help collect water quality data Citizen scientists help by adding more water quality monitoring at more sites Several volunteers from Bayfield and area have signed up to be 'citizen sci- entists.' These people from the local community are helping to collect water qual- ity data along the Bayfield Main Beach. Ausable Bayfield Conser- vation staff members cur- rently collect about 1,300 water samples a year, said Hope Brock, Healthy Water- sheds Technician. "This monitoring helps us to know if water quality is getting bet- ter or worse in different places," she said. "It would be great to sample at more locations, but that is not always possible." That's where citizen science can help, according to Brock. "Volunteers can provide us with more data, more often, from more locations." Citizen science often involves volunteers who assist researchers by collect- ing information. Ausable Bayfield Conservation pro- vided training for the volun- teers, who will collect water quality data from stormwa- ter outfalls along the Bayfield Main Beach. The volunteers will collect samples every two weeks and during rain events throughout July and August. The samples will then be analyzed for concen- trations of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and phosphorus - a nutrient which can some- times result in algal blooms. The data collected by the volunteers will help project partners (Ausable Bayfield Conservation, Huron County Health Unit, and Municipality of Bluewater) to determine whether stormwater from the Bay- field area is having an impact on the beach and lake. When rain falls or snow melts during storm events, water can run off of land. That runoff could carry pollutants and degrade water quality if not properly managed. Algal blooms and bacteria can make the lake water not meet the standards for swimming and recreational beach use. Decaying algae can also deplete the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, which can affect aquatic life. Brock said this citizen sci- ence program not only expands the locations for collecting water quality information, but it is a chance to engage the com- munity in watershed improvement. Volunteers learn about how complex it is to manage stormwater. The Bayfield Beach Storm - water Monitoring project helps to implement the Bay- field and area community's Main Bayfield Watershed Plan. The local steering com- mittee launched this plan last autumn. The community steering committee for the Main Bayfield Watershed Plan set a goal to improve water quality within the Bay- field River, and its tributaries. The plan offers ways to do this. These ideas include more forest cover, wetlands, and streamside cover. Many landowners can use rain barrels, create rain gardens, and use permeable pavement to hold backwater and allow it to filter into the ground. Farmers can plant cover crops, add berms and grassed waterways, and use conservation tillage. Many actions by many people can help to reduce phosphorus and Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentrations, according to the plan. The Bayfield and area community has already implemented some of the plan's recommendations to improve water quality within the Bayfield River watershed. They have held a rain garden workshop, helped hundreds of landowners protect water quality and quantity by using hundreds of rain barrels pur- chased through a rain barrel blitz, and completed a watershed walk to identify potential best management practices. You can find a copy of the Main Bayfield Watershed Plan by typing in 'Main Bay- field' into the search box at the top of the Ausable Bay- field home page at abca. on.ca and pressing 'Enter.' Or, you can go directly to this link: http://www.abca. on.ca/page. php?page=bayfield-main For more information visit abca.on.ca or phone 519- 235-2610 or toll-free 1-888- 286-2610 or e-mail using the staff contact form on the Ausable Bayfield Conserva- tion website.