Meaford residents may have noticed a large barge floating on Georgian Bay off the shore of the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre’s lands. The barge appeared last week, and is part of TC Energy’s geotechnical testing for their proposed pumped storage facility.
“As part of continued pre-development work on the Ontario Pumped Storage Project, TC Energy is conducting an offshore geotechnical program this summer. This is one of many important studies TC Energy will undertake as the Project advances,” Sara Beasley, External Relations for TC Energy, told The Independent. “The offshore geotechnical investigations currently underway are being conducted with rigorous environmental safeguards and strict adherence to federal and provincial regulatory requirements. Protecting Georgian Bay remains a top priority throughout all phases of project development.”
TC Energy said that the barge platform will be roughly 12 metres by 18 metres in size, and will be raised a minimum of approximately three metres above the water. The drill rig will be installed on the barge platform. The field teams will travel to the barge daily by boat from the Meaford marina. The barge will be positioned within the maritime exclusion zone, ranging from approximately 600 metres to 1,000 metres offshore, directly east of 4 CDTC in Georgian Bay.
Beasley said that the program will test the geological conditions of the lakebed.
“The geotechnical program tests the geological conditions beneath the lakebed and will provide TC Energy with information on the conditions of the soil and bedrock in Georgian Bay,” Beasley told The Independent. “The testing is completed through borehole drilling – a method used to investigate subsurface conditions by drilling narrow, deep holes into the ground or seabed. Due to the depth of the water, the boreholes will be drilled from a temporary barge platform positioned off 4 CDTC lands, in Georgian Bay. This type of work is common in the Great Lakes, as many types of projects include components that extend into bodies of water.”
Beasley noted that the geotechnical program required authorization from provincial and federal authorities. “Specifically the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The Department of National Defence and Navigation Canada have also been engaged,” Beasley said.
The proposed pumped storage facility would include the construction of an inlet and outlet structure to transfer water from Georgian Bay to the reservoir and back into the bay.
“Geotechnical data is needed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of the inlet and outlet structure,” advised Beasley.
Beasley told The Independent that TC Energy has engaged WSP, a top Canadian engineering firm, to oversee the geotechnical program.
“The WSP team brings substantial expertise in offshore drilling within the Great Lakes,” Beasley noted.
Since the project became pubic knowledge in 2019, proponent TC Energy has said the proposal is a green initiative that would consume inexpensive off-peak power at night to pump water from Georgian Bay into a 374-acre storage reservoir located 150 metres above the Georgian Bay shoreline on the military base. The reservoir, which would hold 20 million cubic metres of water, would be emptied back into Georgian Bay during peak usage periods, driving hydraulic turbines to generate electricity.
The proposed project prompted the formation of advocacy group Save Georgian Bay, which has been raising awareness locally and expressing opposition to the proposal. The group has held a number of protest rallies and has collected thousands of signatures on petitions opposing the proposed facility.
The concerns of Save Georgian Bay and other opponents are many, ranging from fears that the facility would have negative impacts on the environment, including negatively impacting fish in the bay, to concerns that homeowners in close proximity to the site could be in danger of flooding should the reservoir fail.
Save Georgian Bay Director Tom Buck suggested that the appearance of the barge should be a wake-up call.
“This is a wake-up call,” said Buck, in a media release issued on Monday morning. “For anyone who believed this project would harmlessly bring jobs and economic perks, this industrial barge offshore shows the real environmental threat we’re facing. And this is only the beginning.”
Buck also called for a halt to the work being done by TC Energy.
“Save Georgian Bay is demanding that both federal and provincial authorities halt all further drilling and commit to a comprehensive environmental assessment before any construction proceeds,” said Buck.
The group is also seeking assurances that the project will not be fast-tracked under Ontario’s Bill 5 or federal Bill C-5.
The geotechnical testing program began on July 28, and according to Beasley is expected to run through the end of September.
“Following completion of the borehole drilling, the barge will be removed from Georgian Bay and laboratory testing will be completed on the sampled materials and will be incorporated into the Project’s design documents as part of the upcoming regulatory process. Once the regulatory process commences, the Project’s regulatory documents will be available for public review and feedback,” Beasley advised.
