The ongoing saga of an imposing hydro plant

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Hydroelectric project divides community
BALA - Negative energy arrived in the Bala community along with the plans for the hydroelectric project.
Muskoka Lakes council opposes hydro plant
Provincial government plans green hydro project
Residents organize to Save the Bala Falls
Swift River tries to build plant

BALA - Controversy surrounded the proposed hydroelectric plant by Bala’s North Falls from the day it was launched on Aug. 29, 2007.
It has since become a battlefront of government environmental policy facing off against heritage designations, the desire to protect natural beauty and perceived threats to tourism.
Swift River, the developer of the project, told Bala residents at the August 2007 open house that construction was expected to begin in the spring of 2009, allowing 18 months for the necessary environmental assessment to be completed.
Five years later, construction isn’t expected to start until at least the spring of 2013, with operation of the hydroelectric facility beginning in the fall of 2014.
The project is a three- to five-megawatt run-of-river water power facility that will be adjacent to Bala’s existing north dam. It is one of 41 water power projects planned for Crown land locations throughout Ontario.
The provincially planned projects left little room for input from residents and municipalities other than appealing the government’s decisions.
Swift River first suggested the plant be built where the former Bala Electric Light and Power Company generation facility was prior to 1957. Since then, drawings have been altered, the location has changed twice, frustration has risen on both sides, and the Ministry of Environment is still wading through environmental appeals.
In a game of political ping-pong, residents, members of Muskoka Lakes council, and Save the Bala Falls have voiced their concerns and appealed every decision the Ministry of Environment has made concerning the project.
Their major concerns are possible damage to tourism and the economy, affects on the visual appeal of the falls, environmental issues, and safety. They have attempted to create heritage sites that would at the least hamper the project and perhaps even shut it down.
On the other side, Swift River has tried to expedite the process and keep it alive.
They have tried to work with the township and the district to change the location of the project so the hydroelectric facility is further away from the North Bala Falls. They have delegated and spoken to residents. But they have not given up – and residents still aren’t happy.
In between the two sides are the residents: some agree with the project, some don’t. Some prefer Option 2, a plant 100 feet from the falls which includes a park, an underground plant, and a viewing platform; some are opposed to the project entirely; and still others just want the ordeal to be over.
Others say they have no choice whether the plant is built or not because it is a project legislated by the provincial government over which the municipality has no control.

To view a timeline of events regarding the Bala Falls hydroelectric project, go to the Nov. 21, 2012 Bracebridge Examiner or Gravenhurst Banner, page 10 & 11 in the print editions.

For more background articles, go to cottagecountrynow.ca and click on “Bala Falls Hydro Project.”

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