Environmental OK sought for Big Thunder Wind Park

Horizon Wind has submitteda Request for Environmental Approval for its proposed Big Thunder Wind Park to the Ontario government.

This comes five years after the company first reached an agreement with the City of Thunder Bay on the controversial project on the Nor'Wester Mountain Escarpment, in Neebing, south of Thunder Bay.

What's in the request for approval will not be made public yet.

But, Horizon said, it has listened to stakeholders, and has taken their feedback into account.

A news release from the company said the wind turbines would not be located in the migratory paths of birds, and would avoid important sugar-maple-tree stands. Many property owners who live in the vicinity of the proposed wind park have objected to the project, citing environmental and health concerns.

"Community members from Thunder Bay, the Municipality of Neebing and surrounding First Nation communities have been engaged in this process with us for several years now. We are hopeful that residents will be pleased with the REA [request for environmental approval] submission, and how it directly responds to their feedback," said Horizon's director of community affairs, Kathleen MacKenzie.

Horizon has until September 2014 to erect a wind turbine, or the city can terminate the agreement it signed five years ago.