Hydro One tries to assure Ansnorveldt residents transmission station will be a good neighbour
By Bill Rea

Hydro One is trying to be a good neighbour to people in the Ansnorveldt area, but there are still local residents who wish they would put their new transformer station somewhere else.

The utility has been looking at a site on the north side of Millers Sideroad, east of Dufferin Street, for the new transformer, and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) gave its blessing to the project in June, when it refused to grant King Township's request for a full environmental assessment of the project. There were a number of conditions tacked on to the MOE approval in an evident effort to cushion the blow.

Meeting these conditions was one of the items discussed last Wednesday at a pre-constriction public open house the utility hosted at Holland Marsh District Christian School in Ansnorveldt.

"Hydro One has an important responsibility to deliver electricity in a safe, reliable and environmentally responsible manner to all Ontario Ratepayers," Hydro One's Public Affairs Manager Enza Cancilla stated in a letter to local residents, inviting them to last week's session. "A key part of this role is building new transmission infrastructure to meet the growing demand for electricity. Electricity demand in the York Region is growing at a rate of three per cent each year. The new station will improve supply reliability to customers in the Newmarket, Aurora, King Township, East Gwillimbury and Bradford/West Gwillimbury areas."

"It's been a lengthy approval process," Cancilla told the audience at last week's meeting, as she also stressed the utility's desire to fit in. "We're going to be neighbours for a long time."

Construction is due to start on the station this month. Information distributed at the meeting stated there are advantages to starting such work in winter, because the ground should still be hard, making construction easier and cleaner, with less tracking on mud or dirt. As well, starting early helps avoid half-load restrictions, which would take effect in March.

The station is slated to go on a 56-acre property, although the facility itself will only take up about three acres. Cancilla explained part of the deal for acquiring the desired land from the private owner was to buy the whole parcel. It was either take it all or nothing. "Basically, we bought in order to build," she said.

Having a lot more land than was needed enabled the utility to move the planned site for the station about 100 metres to the east. Cancilla said this was deemed appropriate after surveys were conducted of the topography and wetlands on the site.

Doug Magee, team leader on the project, told the audience that before Hydro One acquired the property, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) had asked for detailed surveying of the wetland boundaries. Previously, they had just been relying on existing mapping. LSRCA had wanted a 120-metre setback from the wetlands, and that's what has been provided.

Magee also observed the topography where the plant was originally slated to go would have required a lot of cut and fill work, which would likely have impacted on the drainage of the wetlands. The move to the east gave them flatter ground for the station.

Some people at the meeting were not satisfied with that. One man wondered why such issues were not considered when the choice of sites was being made.

Brian McCormick, manager of environmental approvals and services for Hydro One, replied there were evaluations of the entire property. "The topography was just another factor," he remarked.

He added they were aware during the site selection process that picking this site would involve the whole property.

"It's not like it's a secret," Cancilla added.

The plan is to have eight distribution circuits running from the station. Four of them will serve Hydro One customers and the others will supply Newmarket Hydro. Where possible, the utility will use existing poles, or upgrade them, and try to keep the poles on one side of the road to avoid a tunneling effect.

There are also plans to put a distribution station nearby. Shane Deugo, an engineering technician with Hydro One, said the Ansnorveldt community is currently fed by a station in East Gwillimbury. This new station will be linked to that facility, as well as the one near Schomberg. He said the Schomberg station has load issues because of the anticipated growth in the area.

Jamie Bignell, a front-line manager with Hydro One, said the distribution station will be of a pad-mount design, and this will be the first of its kind in Ontario.

Magee told Debbie Schaefer, chair of Concerned Citizens of King Township, that lines will be on both sides of Millers Sideroad only east of Bathurst Street. West of Bathurst, they are going to make use of the existing installations.

He added there will be 65-foot poles running up the west side of Dufferin until about half way to King Street. Then the lines will have to jump to the east side, and then back west again at King. Those jumps were necessary because of rightof ways held by the Township. Once on King, Magee said the lines should follow the existing installations to Keele Street, although taller poles will have to be placed next to the ones already there. Bignell stated that placing the new poles in the holes occupied by the existing ones would increase construction costs. Magee added that would also mean power outages while the new poles are installed.

There were also questions raised about burying the lines, but Bignell said it's easier to get at overhead lines if they need to be repaired.

Cancilla said the MOE imposed a number of conditions to address such issues as noise, stormwater management, landscaping, etc. She added they've met the preconstruction conditions.

Doris Chee, a landscape architect with Hydro One, outlined the landscaping provisions that had been provided. Rows of trees are planned for Millers, and they will be set back about eight metres from the road. As well, she said there will be hedge rows planted to screen views from the north. One man at the meeting was concerned if that would be sufficient, since the site of the transmission station has been changed.

Shailesh Javali, a project manager with Hydro One, said construction will be timed to take place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., Mondays to Fridays. Depending on how things go, there might have to be some work on Saturdays, but Javali said they will try to avoid that, so as not to disturb the neighbours.

Construction equipment will only access the site from Bathurst Street. The only time Dufferin would be used is during line work.

He also said mitigation measures are slated to be installed in the spring of 2009, although there were some who thought it should be sooner, like this spring. But Javali said that would be too soon, adding they never work on landscaping until the construction is done.

"We've made a commitment to get out there and plant as fast as we can," Cancilla added.

She also told the audience the current plan is to return the land not being used to agriculture. Selling it could be an option too, but she said there are no plans for that.

There were also concerns for the condition of the roads, with all the construction equipment using them. Javali said they've done assessments on the existing state of the roads, so they can be restored as best as possible after the work is done.

King's Director of Operations Jody LaPlante confirmed that, adding the Township has a letter of credit to ensure it's is done.