Stop The Stink In Elmira

From: Dr Dan [mailto:lgr@epix.net]
Sent: January 24, 2012 5:14 PM
To: Keyvani, Mohsen (ENE)
Subject: question

Hi,
Just a follow up…you are usually so quick in responding to my questions that I’m wondering why you haven’t answered the last one regarding location versus design…..?

Thanks
Dan

Dan Holt, Ph.D.
519 210 2121
lgr@epix.net

From: Keyvani, Mohsen (ENE)
Date: 1/25/2012 8:16:31 AM
To: Dr Dan
Subject: RE: question

Hi Mr. Holt,
I haven’t received your e-mail regarding location versus design. The last e-mail that I received from you was dated January 20, 2012 in which you wanted me to clarify when I referred to Woolwich whether I meant “Woolwich Bio-EN” or the township. Please either send your question again or call me to discuss.

Regards…Mohsen
Mohsen Keyvani, P. Eng.
Senior Waste Engineer
Approval Services
Environmental Approvals Branch
Ministry of the Environment
2 St. Clair Avenue West, 12th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4V 1L5
Phone: 416-326-6095
Fax: 416-314-8452
E-mail: mohsen.keyvani@ontario.ca

From: Dr Dan [mailto:lgr@epix.net]
Sent: January 25, 2012 12:41 PM
To: Keyvani, Mohsen (ENE)
Subject: RE: question

Hi,
In the email you sent explaining that the Ministry has requested some design changes and that Bio-En has agreed to those requested changes and that was what prompted the letter I received from Bio-En’s consultant Conestoga Rovers you are dealing only with design of the facility. Since the citizens of Elmira are not really concerned about the design, but instead are concerned with the location of the facility does this mean that the location has been approved for Elmira? Or is location still being reviewed? Rumors are that the location has been approved and I just want to find out for sure if that is, in fact, true. Our objections have never been with renewable energy. Our objection has been and still is the location. It is not appropriate, safe, healthy, environmentally sound to have such a facility within a town and residential neighborhood. Other locations are much more appropriate and Bio-En should be located else where.

All that is to ask: has the decision been made as to the location for the Bio-En facility?

Thanks,
Dan

Dan Holt, Ph.D.
519 210 2121
lgr@epix.net

From: Keyvani, Mohsen (ENE)
Date: 1/26/2012 9:49:10 AM
To: Dr Dan
Subject: RE: question

Dear Mr. Holt,

I understand from your e-mail that you are concerned about the location of this project and its potential impact on human health and the natural environment. Please note that it is the proponent’s decision to select the project location. However, a proponent of a renewable energy generation facility including Woolwich Bio-En must ensure that the facility will be developed on a property that meets all regulatory requirements and its operation will not impact the human health and the environment. The MOE through its technical review of the Woolwich Bio-En’s REA application and supporting documentations determined that some aspects of the initial proposed design was not meeting the regulatory requirements and was not protective of the environment. As a result Woolwich Bio-En submitted the revised design to the ministry for review and approval. To date the Director has not made an approval decision on Woolwich Bio-En’s proposal.

Regards…Mohsen

Mohsen Keyvani, P. Eng.
Senior Waste Engineer
Approval Services
Environmental Approvals Branch
Ministry of the Environment
2 St. Clair Avenue West, 12th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4V 1L5
Phone: 416-326-6095
Fax: 416-314-8452
E-mail: mohsen.keyvani@ontario.ca

From: Dr Dan [mailto:lgr@epix.net]
To: Keyvani, Mohsen (ENE)
Subject: RE: question

Dear Mr. Mohsen;

Thank you for the reply and explanation. You can see that with the response from the citizens of Elmira and the Woolwich Township Council, provided to the Ministry over the past several months, that the people do not want the facility located in the proposed spot. I’m not sure why it is solely up to the proponent to select the location especially in light of the impact on all of those involved and with all the people opposed to it. Approving the proposed location will confirm that the citizens and local government are not being considered in the process and the Ministry doesn’t care about the expressed wishes of the people and local government. Allow the facility to be built, but at a more suitable location.

Thank you,
Dan
Dan Holt, Ph.D.
519 210 2121
lgr@epix.net

Hi to all,

As requested by Mr. Keyvani below, I am sending this to clarify his email and reference to “Woolwich”. Hope this helps. In addition, it seems that the emails have been dealing only with design and modifications to design… I have requested clarification regarding the location which is what we are interested in… I will update you on his reply.

Thanks,
Dan

To my recollection in all my e-mail correspondence with you when I referred to Woolwich, I meant the proponent “Woolwich Bio-En” and NOT the township; this includes the last sentence in my last e-mail of January 20, 2012 to you I hope this clarifies the issue and much appreciated that you communicate this clarification with your group.

Regards…Mohsen
Mohsen Keyvani, P. Eng.
Senior Waste Engineer

Dan Holt, Ph.D.
519 210 2121
lgr@epix.net

Hi to all,

Hope the new year is treating everyone well.

It seems that some rumors are surfacing that Bio-En has received approval to build in Elmira so I contacted the Ministry official with whom I’ve been communicating and his response is below. I take it from this that the Woolwich Township Council needs to reply but that the approval has not been given.

Woolwich Bio-En has not yet received the REA from the ministry. As per my e-mail of January 3, 2012 Woolwich revised the design of the facility to address the public and MOE concerns. They also informed the public of the changes made to the design of the proposed facility. The ministry conducted its technical review of the proposed revised design. Woolwich is yet to respond to MOE concerns on the reports of the revised design.

Regards…Mohsen
Mohsen Keyvani, P. Eng.
Senior Waste Engineer

Keep the faith,
Dan

Dan Holt, Ph.D.
519 210 2121
lgr@epix.net

Hi to all,

Happy 2012!

Below is the reply I received from the Ministry of Environment just this morning. I hope it answers some of your questions regarding the letters. I am pursuing this on another front as well and will report what I find out as soon as I have any additional information.

Dan

Woolwich Bio-En has not yet received the REA from the ministry. The MOE conducted the technical review of the application and in its review also considered the comments received from the public. To address the ministry’s concerns, Woolwich has revised the design of the facility. Woolwich was required to inform the public of the changes being made to the design of the proposed facility and that is why you received the notification letter from their Consultant, Conestoga-Rovers & Associates (CRA). The ministry is currently reviewing the proposed revised design and upon the completion of its review will decide as to whether approve or deny the proposal.

Dan Holt, Ph.D.

519 210 2121
lgr@epix.net

Hi to all,

Below is the reply to my inquiry regarding the number of calls/contacts that were sent to the MoE regarding the location of the Bio-En facility in Elmira back in the summer. FYI…there were about 600 signatures on the petitions.

The ministry is currently conducting the technical review of the application and no decision has been made yet. We received a total of 192 comments and the petition dated August 17 that you sent me. All these comments will be considered in making the approval decision.

Regards…Mohsen
Mohsen Keyvani, P. Eng.
Senior Waste Engineer
Approval Services
Environmental Approvals Branch
Ministry of the Environment
2 St. Clair Avenue West, 12th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4V 1L5

Dan Holt, Ph.D.

519 210 2121
lgr@epix.net

Hi to all,

Well, the only update I have is that after the election and the shake up in personnel in the Ministry there has been some confusion regarding various agreements prior to the election. So I imagine that after a little time to straighten things out again we’ll see something happen. Remember though that every day of delay is a good thing for our cause. Let others know that it is not over.

Thanks for all your efforts and hanging in there!

Dan

Dan Holt, Ph.D.

519 210 2121
lgr@epix.net