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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 44 Issue 20
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.10% 3 Year GIC - 3.00% 5 Year GIC - 3.35% Daily Savings 1.50%
Friday, May 20, 2011
Commenting period for NextEra Energy wind farm open until July 31 by Chris Daponte MAPLETON TWP. - The Ministry of the Environment has opened the 60-day commenting period for NextEra Energy’s application for a 10-turbine wind farm southwest of Arthur. On May 11 MOE spokesperson Kate Jordan contacted the Community News to explain the “Conestogo Wind Energy Centre” application is now posted on the ministry’s environmental registry and is open for comments until July 11. “We want to hear from the community and encourage residents to review and comment on the proposal,” Jordan said. “We’ll take all public comments submitted into careful consideration as part of our review and before we make any final decisions on the pro-
posal.” The commenting period was previously delayed due to NextEra changes to the project layout. A public meeting about those changes was held in March at the new community hall in Alma. At that meeting NextEra officials touted the changes as a “net benefit” to residents, but John Krul, who lives next to one host property, summed up the meeting as “lots of questions and concerns, but very few answers.” Company spokesperson Josie Hernandez has stated if the project is approved by the MOE, NextEra plans to have the Mapleton wind farm operational by the end of this year, with construction beginning in late summer or the fall. Continued on page 3
Local man recognized for 75 blood donations MAPLETON TWP. - It’s becoming a regular occurrence in this township. Last week, for the third time in as many years, another Mapleton blood donor was recognized for reaching a major milestone. Allen Martin has made 75 blood donations, and because each unit of blood can potentially save up to three lives, Martin’s efforts may be responsible for saving 225 lives. On May 12, Canadian Blood Services held its 13th annual donor recognition ceremony in Kitchener. The event honours community partners
and residents who give stem cells or bone marrow, or who reach milestones of 50, 75, 100 and 150 donations of blood. This year 467 donors were recognized with certificates of appreciation for helping to meet the needs of patients across Canada. Martin, who was unavailable for comment, joins Kevin Bowman, Cleon Gingrich, Clifford Martin, Willard Bowman and Richard (75 donations) and Linda Brimblecombe as Mapleton residents recognized since 2009 by Canadian Blood Services for making at least 50 donations.
Young planters - Students from the environmental club from Drayton Heights Public School participated in the tree planting event on May 1 at Conestogo Lake. The event, planned by local cottage owners and paid for through a grant from Cottage Life magazine, was intended to replace the large amount of trees lost due to the 2005 tornado that ripped through Mapleton Township. submitted photo
Council: Nichol-Peel Townline work not a priority by Chris Daponte MAPLETON TWP. Mapleton council has decided to pass on improvements to the Nichol-Peel Townline - at least for this year. Finance director Mike Givens last week told council he was recently contacted by Ken Elder, director of public works with neighbouring Centre Wellington Township.
Elder wanted to know if Mapleton would be in favour of evenly splitting costs with Centre Wellington for $200,000 worth of upgrades to the Nichol-Peel Townline, located on the east side of Highway 6, opposite County Road 17. Givens said he told Elder the work was not included in Mapleton’s 2011 budget, but
he would bring the request to councillors anyway for their opinions. “Not this year,” councillor Jim Curry said, adding there are other roads in Mapleton that are “a much higher priority.” Councillor Andy Knetsch agreed and said it sounds like a lot of money. Councillor Neil Driscoll
said he wished Centre Wellington had made the request before council passed this year’s budget. Mayor Bruce Whale told Givens to inform Elder that given the township’s circumstances and its list of priorities, it can not budget for the work this year. The township would consider the project in a future year though, Whale added.
CAO hopeful township will receive wastewater discharge increase by 2012 by Chris Daponte MAPLETON TWP. - At this time next year, the township’s wastewater operations could look very different - both on paper and in reality. The addition of an extra lagoon cell should be completed by the fall and last week officials announced an important step in moving towards increasing discharge capacity at the Drayton plant. CAO/clerk Patty Sinnamon announced at last week’s council meeting the Ministry of the Environment has approved Mapleton Township for a discharge rate of 750 cubic metres per day. She told the Community News the wastewater plant, which accepts waste from
Drayton and Moorefield homes, is “rated” for 650m³/ day, and the current certificate of approval is for 750m³/day. However, due to issues at the plant - elevated phosphorous and/or ammonia levels developed over the winter led the MOE to partially or completely suspend spring discharges in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008 - and the lack of an aeration system as required by the certificate of approval, the township had not received formal approval at the 750m³/ day rate. The plant has enjoyed three full years at that discharge rate with no issues - “we’ve been very fortunate,” Sinnamon said - and the aeration system was installed in 2009.
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But Sinnamon stressed the recent MOE decision is really just providing approval for what is already taking place at the plant. “It’s not giving us any more capacity,” she said. And neither is the extra lagoon cell, which is expected to cost about $1.6-million (not including land purchase). The extra cell was required as part of a contingency plan that will ensure, in case the MOE suspends spring discharge, there is enough storage at the plant to accept sewage from Moorefield and Drayton users until the fall discharge period (Oct. 1 to Dec. 31). Sinnamon said the township is currently applying for a certificate of approval to facilitate
the lagoon construction, and she expects tender documents to be ready for council’s next meeting on May 24. Councillor Mike Downey had questioned why the tender documents were taking so long to prepare, noting the “scope of the work” had not changed. “You definitely want to be done by October,” Downey said of the construction of the new cell. Sinnamon said the process was delayed due to the land purchase. She expects construction to begin in mid-July. Once the certificate of approval is received for the new cell, the township would then seek approval for a discharge rate of 950m³/day, which the township set as a
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goal over three years ago. “We’ve always maintained that what we’re discharging into the river is ... cleaner than what is there,” Sinnamon said. “We’re actually improving [the water quality].” An extensive monitoring study in 2003-04 found that: - the Conestogo River has elevated levels of phosphorous, nitrate, and E. coli bacteria, but the problems already exist up stream of the Mapleton pollution control plant and are not caused by the plant; - there is “more than adequate” capacity in the Conestogo River to allow the average flow rate to increase to 950m³/day; and - proposed changes in the operation of the plant “will
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maximize the use of available dilution capacity in the stream, reduce the accumulation of nutrients in the reservoir prior to summer, and result in an overall improvement in river quality.” Therefore, the “assimilative capacity report” concludes, discharge rates should be allowed to increase to an average daily rate of 950m³/day. Sinnamon said the township is hopeful that report, combined with three years of uninterrupted discharges, as well as input from the Grand River Conservation Authority, will be enough to convince the MOE to grant the increase in discharge capacity. She hopes to receive approval by the end of the year.
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