A water well advocate has been granted intervenor status at an upcoming hearing before the Ontario Energy Board for the proposed $300-plus million St. Clair Transmission Line project by Hydro One.
A water well advocate has been granted intervenor status at an upcoming hearing before the Ontario Energy Board for the proposed $300-plus million St. Clair Transmission Line project by Hydro One.
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Kevin Jakubec will be representing himself and is not asking for any costs according to a procedural order from the OEB dated July 31. The order noted Jakubec is approved as an intervenor but can only address matters that are within the scope of the proceeding, including the interest of consumers with respect to prices, reliability and quality of electricity service.
The OEB is the authority that grants approval for the project.
The proposed 64-kilometer long double-circuit 230-kilovolt transmission line is planned to run from the Lambton transformer station through the Wallaceburg transformer station to the Chatham switching station. The goal is to have it in service by 2028 to meet the growing demand for power in the region, which is expected to more than quadruple by 2035.
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Jakubec, backed by a scientific advisory team, consisting of a hydrogeologist, bedrock geologist, well driller and an academic researcher, tried to convince Hydro One to conduct a baseline groundwater study because a large section of the new transmission line will run through North Kent, which is environmentally sensitive.
Jakubec was part of the Water Wells First group that sounded the alarm in June 2016 that pile-driving vibrations during construction of the North Kent wind farm’s 34 wind turbines would stir up Kettle Point black shale, known to contain heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and mercury, at the bottom of the aquifer. Sediment clogged many area homeowners’ wells after Korea’s Samsung Renewable Energy and its US partner, Pattern Energy, began construction.
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The concern is the towers Hydro One plans to construct to run the power lines could cause similar problems to water wells in the area.
The OEB noted in the order that Hydro One’s legal counsel objected to Jakubec’s intervention request, stating environmental issues he raised are “beyond the scope of this leave-to-construct proceeding.”
A letter to the OEB from the McCarthy Tetrault, the law firm representing Hydro One, states in part: “Mr. Jakubec’s intervention request appears to only relate to the consideration of environmental issues without any explanation as to how these issues directly impact price, reliability and the quality of electricity service.”
Jakubec said, “I’m really grateful to the Ontario Energy Board for granting me this status despite Hydro One lawyers objecting to it.”
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He believes he has been granted intervenor status “to give voice to people who are affected by these projects.
“There’s consequences to these projects in our area that is so environmentally sensitive,” he added.
Hydro One previously told Chatham-Kent council in late November 2023 it won’t be using pile drivers to install the tower foundations, but rather screw (helical) piles, which are simpler to install and cause minimal noise and vibration.
Jakubec argues if Hydro One’s claim that its tower foundations won’t cause any damage to water wells, it shouldn’t be a problem to do a baseline water study that will provide valuable data if issues arise with water wells in the future.
“All we’re asking Hydro One to do is recognize that and just give the people some assurance by doing the most basic thing, that groundwater baseline study.”
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When asked about the scope the OEB is requiring him to remain within, Jakubec said, “I have to focus on the consumer’s side and how it will affect people, that’s the costs.”
Jakubec said he’s aware of people living within North Kent wind farm area who are struggling with the cost of an alternative water supply such as a cistern or large agricultural water tanks after their water wells became contaminated.
“There are real costs involved when families who don’t have a lot of money now are scrambling for a water supply,” he added. “It’s an unexpected expense that is unavoidable. You have to have water.”
Noting many people are feeling the financial impact of inflation and the rising cost of living, he wants Hydro One to give people assurance that if any water well damages are caused by this project, the utility will address it.
Jakubec said a date for the hearing is yet to be set, but he would prefer to make an oral argument in person even though he has been told there is a virtual option available to him.
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