Standing denied for public hearing

The Gunn Métis settlement has received status to participate in public hearings for TransAlta’s $1.5 billion gas-fired power plant proposed for the southwest shore of Wabamun Lake. However, Alberta Utilities Commission denied similar status to Samson Cree and Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nations. AUC ruled that neither First Nation had established that their treaty rights were “adversely and directly affected” by the proposed plant, as their concerns about air pollution were “broad and generic.” Also denied status was the Village of Kapasiwin, on the eastern shore of the lake. “It is beyond outrageous that the very people put at risk by the pollution from these projects are the ones now excluded from any semblance of open, public review of major emitting power plants,” said Edmonton NDP MP Linda Duncan, who was also denied status. The Wabamun Lake area is facing major industrial construction, with four other power plants in the works — Capital Power’s proposed plants Genesee 4 and 5, the Paul band’s proposed 1,000 megawatt gas-fired plant, and Atco’s plans for a 400-megawatt plant in the nearby Industrial Heartland. “In the commission’s view, general concerns, including concerns about Wabamun Lake and about cumulative effects, provide insufficient basis for standing,” said the ruling.