BNA District Heating System Project

This determination was based on a consideration of the following factors:  

• Impacts on rights of Indigenous Peoples.  

• Changes to the environment and the impact of these changes on the Indigenous peoples of Canada and on health, social or economic conditions resulting from project activities.   

• Comments received from the public.   

• Technically and economically feasible mitigation measures.   

Potential project impacts identified include:   

• Impacts to groundwater through trenching. 

• Impacts to migratory birds through habitat removal. 

• Impacts to air quality through dust creation and emissions from boiler. 

• Impacts to soil quality through biomass stock leaching.  

Mitigation measures considered for this determination are:   

• Limiting depth of trenching to avoid interactions with groundwater. 

• Removing vegetation outside of the local migratory bird nesting season. 

• Using dust suppressants, limiting vehicle speed, and covering open body trucks to limit dust creation.  

• Optimizing delivery schedules and using well-maintained vehicles to limit exhaust emissions.  

• Storing biomass stock indoors or in a protected area to limit leaching.  

NRCan and the FedNor are satisfied that the carrying out of the Project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects and thus are able to provide financial assistance to the proponent to undertake the Project.   

Notice of Intent: 

Located on the Sand Point First Nation Reserve in the municipality of Greenstone, Ontario, the BNA District Heating System Project (the Project) is a 350kW, biomass-fueled district heating system proposed by Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (BNA) (the Proponent). The project components include the construction of a central boiler facility and wood chip yard, installation of a boiler and heating equipment within the facility and laying piping to connect the boiler facility with 30 residential houses. The footprint of the boiler facility and wood chip yard will be approximately 580 m2 with an additional 3,700m of 5' deep trenching for the piping, extending outwards from the facility. 

Project activities include minimal removal of vegetation, grading the area for construction, pouring concrete pads, constructing the boiler facility (footprint of 460m2) and the woodchip yard (footprint of 120m2), and installing 3,700m of 5' deep pipes to connect the homes to the boiler facility. Potential adverse impacts of the project include impacts to wildlife and migratory birds through the potential removal of habitat, impacts on air quality from the creation of fugitive dust during construction and operation, impacts on air quality from emissions during operation of the boiler, increased noise during construction, and potential accidents and malfunctions from equipment used during construction and operation. As part of the ongoing assessment, appropriate mitigation and monitoring measures are being identified.    

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor) must determine whether the proposed BNA District Heating System Project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects. NRCan and the FedNor are inviting comments from the public on the proposed project to help inform their determination under Section 82 of the Impact Assessment Act.   

All comments received will be considered public. For more information, individuals should consult the Privacy Notice on the Registry website (https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/Protection?culture=en-CA).   

Please submit comments in writing by December 4, 2024 to Federal_Lands-Territoire_Domanial@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca