Comments for the Initial Project Description — Ontario Pumped Storage Project 89803

Save Georgian Bay Association (SGB) submits that TC Energy’s Initial Project Description (IPD) for the proposed 1,000‑MW open‑loop pumped storage project at 4 CDTC Meaford is materially incomplete and does not provide sufficient information for IAAC or the public to assess potential adverse effects under section 22 of the Impact Assessment Act. Key project components, baseline environmental and geotechnical conditions, associated infrastructure, and cumulative effects are inadequately defined or deferred.

The submission identifies threshold failures related to site suitability on karst escarpment terrain, legacy contamination risks on an active military base, impacts on fish and species at risk, groundwater and dam safety concerns, and exclusion of transmission and ancillary works from scope. Procedural concerns include constrained public participation, deferral of Indigenous rights and knowledge, and regulatory sequencing issues. Independent IESO determinations finding insufficient ratepayer value are material to the assessment of project need and public interest.

SGB submits that the IPD raises a reasonable basis to conclude the project may cause significant adverse environmental effects within federal jurisdiction and requests a comprehensive Impact Assessment, preferably by a Review Panel, before any further advancement.