Comment

What is Bipole III? A 1,384 km high voltage direct current transmission line from a new converter station called Keewatinoow located near the proposed Keeyask, and Conawapa Dams east of Gillam. Ending at a new converter station at the Riel Converter Station Site east of Winnipeg. Parts of Bipole III The Bipole III project includes: Keewatinoow Converter Station located is east of Gillam near the proposed Conwapa Hydroelectric Generating Station. 1384 km long transmission line with a 66m wide right-of-way and 4 km wide study area corridor. The line starts near Gillam, runs around Cedar Lake, Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Manitoba on west side of Manitoba. Continues south of Lake Manitoba to east of Portage La Prairie, turning east after crossing PH #2, then turns north west of Steinbach, ending at the Riel Converter Station east of Winnipeg next to the Deacon Water Reservoir. Line will require nearly 3,000 towers, with an average of two towers per kilometer. Riel Converter Station, located east of Winnipeg next to the Deacon Water Reservoir, is already under construction under a separate Environment Act license already issued. What is a Converter Station? Converter stations convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) for transmission from northern Manitoba to southern Manitoba, and then convert DC back to AC for transmission to customers. Why is Bipole III being built? Approximately 75% of Manitoba Hydro generating capacity is delivered by Bi-poles I and II high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines. Energy travels to southern Manitoba and export markets through a single corridor (Interlake region). Bi-pole I & II are vulnerable to risk of catastrophic outages if both Bi-pole lines and/or the Dorsey Converter Station are damaged due to severe weather events. Manitoba Hydro's intended solution to this problem is construction of a third direct current bi-pole, known as Bi-pole III. Power travelling on Bi-pole III south will be for both export and domestic (Manitoba) use.

Bipole III Licence Appeals Filed

Recently Manitoba Conservation has stopped putting appeals to environment licences in the public registry. This makes it is more difficult to track appeals, or to know their outcome. An example of this change in operational standards under the Environment Act is the numerous appeals of 2011 peat mine licences. None of these were made public, none are in the public registry.

The Minister is required to review licence appeals, and formally respond; that is acknowledge receipt of the appeal, and then formally (written response) give reasons for either upholding the appeal, or dismissing the appeal.

Manitoba Wildlands letter of appeal cites a range of problems with the Bipole III proceedings, and the licence itself. Notable among these is the licence being based on the Bipole III EIS. The EIS was found to be deficient by the Clean Environment Commission. Numerous commitments regarding Bipole III were made by Manitoba Hydro during the CEC hearings. These are missing from the licence. The licence is precedent setting in a number of ways. The clauses in it include a range of steps Manitoba Hydro must take before construction. And Minister Mackintosh sent a letter with the licence to the utility indicating that CEC recommendations that are not regulatory must also be fulfilled.

Licence Not Recommended by Bipole III Participants

After 9 weeks of hearings, with a 3 month adjournment to prepare environmental statement for three BiPole III route changes, common ground among hearing participants were obvious.

Several concerns were clear:

• Most Manitoba Hydro conclusions based on desk studies and existing data, little field work done
• First Nation and Aboriginal communities rejected Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge findings
• Cumulative environmental assessment incomplete
• Valued Environment Components selected for self assessment incomplete
• Concern for woodland caribou and moose grew based on proponent's assumptions and presentations
• EIS appears incomplete, as if the utility assumed a licence would be issued
• Little content regarding drainage, water safety, aquifer safety
• First Nation land selection hampered, funding for First Nation community capacity insufficient
• Problems with Manitoba Hydro community engagement, and consultations by Manitoba government
• Inconsistent, and varying BP3 impact zones in Hydro technical work, leaving confusion about various impacts beyond the 66 meter right of way
• Lack of acknowledgment of the long term impacts from the corridor on farm operations, homes, and businesses in southern Manitoba

Participants asked the CEC to not recommend a licence until insufficiencies and problems in Manitoba Hydro technical work are deal with.

The CEC has 90 days to prepare its report for the Conservation Minister. The Chair indicated its report would be made public 10 days after delivery to the Minister.

Bipole III Proceedings and Hearings

• Proceedings Update: June 2012
• Proceedings Update: August 30, 2012
• Proceedings Update: September 15, 2012
• Hearings Week 1: October 1-5, 2012
• Hearings Week 2: October 10 & 11, 2012
• Hearings Week 3-4: October 15-26, 2012
• Hearings Week 5: October 29 - November 1, 2012
• Hearings Week 6: November 5-8, 2012
• Hearings Week 7: November 13-15, 2012
• Hearings Week 8: November 19-22, 2012
• Proceedings Update: January 25, 2013
• Proceedings Update: February 22, 2013
• Hearings Week 9: March 4-7, 2013

Bipole III Media Coverage

• November 14, 2012, No stretch to think bipole hearings a sham, Winnipeg Free Press
• November 14, 2012, Environmental hearing could delay Bipole III, Brandon Sun
• November 13, 2012, Hydro to file supplemental environmental assessment on revised Bipole III route, Winnipeg Free Press
• November 13, 2012, Métis group wins small victory over Bipole III route, CBC News
• November 13, 2012, Environmental review ordered for Bipole III, Winnipeg Sun
• November 13, 2012, Bipole III route concerns, CBC News
• November 9, 2012, Hydro's new power line faces delay, Winnipeg Free Press
• November 8, 2012 Manitoba Bipole line could face delay due to proposed environmental changes, iPolitics
• November 7, 2012, Bipole III: $4-billion political chicanery, Winnipeg Free Press
• November 1, 2012, Study on Bipole's impact on wildlife lacking, chief says, Winnipeg Free Press
• October 1, 2012, Eight weeks of hearings into Bipole III underway, Winnipeg Free Press
• September 20, 2012, Hydro CEO sees crisis if $20-billion plan stalls, Winnipeg Free Press
• September 18, 2012, Manitobans kept in dark on Hydro plans: Tories, Winnipeg Free Press

Comment
BiPole III Clean Environment Commission Chart: Events, Decisions, Documents Manitoba Wildlands is providing a chart that lists, in date order, the events, documents, motions, and rulings in the CEC proceedings for the Bipole III transmission project. The chart will be updated, and reposted. View BiPole III Clean Environment Commission Chart: Events, Decisions, Documents August 23, 2013

BiPole III Hearings and Supplemental Filing

Responses to the public review of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Bi Pole III Transmission Project were filed in March 2012. In late April the director of licensing for the Manitoba Environment Act determined that Manitoba Hydro will be asked to provide supplemental EIS information and file that information as part of the Bi Pole III EIS under the Environment Act. Until notification has been sent to Manitoba Hydro the schedule for response and review will not be known. All EIS filings and responses are part of the public registry under the Environment Act.

It is apparent that the Clean Environment Commission (CEC) schedule will run beside the schedule under the Environment Act, regarding the proposal to build BiPole III. The CEC maintains its own archive of evidence, transcripts, and other materials. The CEC will provide its BiPole III report and recommendations to the Minister of Conservation soon after the hearings end.