Canadian Environmental Assessment Act - comprehensive study report: new Grand-Mere hydroelectric facility proposed by Hydro-Quebec

A description is given of the hydroelectric construction project as well as the environment surrounding it, the outcome of consultations with interest parties in the public, the overall environmental impacts and cumulative impacts with associated problems that may occur in carrying out the project, attempts at project and environmental mitigation, measuring the importance of the cumulative and environmental effects, conditions for project acceptance, and the overall acceptance of the project or its rejection. The older hydroelectric project was constructed in the post-1910 period and being out of date is experiencing operational problems. There are four problem areas that are important including a need for major repairs to the turbine-generators, lack of flexibility and low electrical capacity that affect the working of the sending-end substation, a state of deterioration affecting operation of the spillways concrete structure, and a bottleneck problem on the Saint-Maurice river caused by the low flow design of the Grand-Mere power station in comparison with that of the Saint-Maurice station. Considering economical, social and environmental factors, of the three options of abandoning the site, upgrading the existing site or constructing a new one, the third option is the preferred one, a conclusion based on considering the out of date state of Grand-Mere facilities and the bottleneck flow condition created on the Saint-Maurice river by the older station. Given the proposed efforts at mitigation, and the follow-up operations stated by the third option advocate, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is of the opinion that the proposed plans will not affect the environment in an adverse manner. 7 refs