A motion declaring that The Blue Mountains council is opposed to the proposed pumped storage project in Meaford has been delayed until July 15.
Council was to consider the resolution from Coun. Paula Hope at its meeting on June 24, however, the meeting turned into a marathon affair that ended with Hope’s resolution being pushed to council’s next meeting on July 15.
The June 24 meeting stretched on so long that council was forced to pass a resolution to extend the meeting past its 4:30 p.m. time limit, which didn’t leave enough time for Hope’s resolution to be heard.
The primary cause of the length of the meeting was the sheer number of speakers and delegations on the agenda. Council heard from 12 separate delegations during the proceedings – including two about Hope’s resolution.
The public comment portion of the meeting was also dominated by speakers and comments sent to the clerk’s office regarding the controversial proposed pumped storage project on the military property in Meaford.
Tom Buck, a representative from the Save Georgian Bay Group opposed to the project, spoke to council as a delegation and outlined a number of concerns about the proposal, including the potential negative impact on the water, land, wildlife and humans.
A few delegations later, TC Energy representatives Clark Little, Sara Beasley and Greg Simon spoke in favour of the pumped storage project.
Hope’s resolution states:
“Whereas the pristine, clean, clear, sparkling waters and pine-strewn shoreline of Georgian Bay are critical to the health, well-being and economic welfare of the residents and visitors to the Town of The Blue Mountains;
And whereas the Town of The Blue Mountains is an unwilling host and will not risk its unique ecosystem for a project that may create unintended consequences;
Be it resolved that the Town of The Blue Mountains is OPPOSED to the TCE Pumped Storage Project.”
If Hope’s resolution is adopted by council, The Blue Mountains would become the first local municipality to formally oppose the pumped storage energy proposal. Meaford, Owen Sound and Grey County have all passed resolutions expressing conditional support for the project.
In December 2023, The Blue Mountains council did support a resolution from the Township of Archipelago opposing the project.
The project plans roughly include building a 375-acre reservoir dam, elevated from the shoreline, on the military training base in Meaford. Electric pumps at water level would pull water from the bay with intake pipes far from the shore, and send it up to the reservoir during off-peak hours when demand for electricity is low. Later, when the demand on the grid increases, the water would be released back into the bay by gravity, generating power for the grid.
