Residents express strong opposition to planned Brighton Mountain Wind Farm near Juniper
Dozens of residents turned out to J.D. Irving, Limited’s first open house on Thursday, Aug. 8, in Juniper to express strong opposition to the company’s plans to build a massive wind farm in the forested mountains surrounding their homes.
JDI officials hosted the open house at the Juniper Recreation Centre on Thursday afternoon as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studying a proposed project to install 58 windmills along company-owned land in northern Carleton County.
Close to 100 people attended the event, most of whom opposed the project. The opponents made their voices heard during an often raucous question-and-answer session moderated by Maurice Robichaud.
The strongest opposition came from residents living in rural communities like Knowlesville, near the proposed project. While many explained they live environmentally conscious lifestyles and support renewable energy, they expressed strong distrust of the company and the EIA process.
Ayiana Rahhali, a young woman who has lived in Knowlesville for the past 10 years, offered a viewpoint she believes most of her neighbours share.
“My primary concern is the forest,” she told the River Valley Sun following the first of three hour-long information sessions hosted by JDI. “ I’m not against windmills per se. I’m against where they’re putting them right now and I’m against the money going into Irving’s pocket.”
Jean Arnold, a long-time Knowlesville resident and environmental activist, forcefully delivered her opposition message to Irving officials.
She believes the Irving spokespeople, including representatives from Hatch Consultants, are in a conflict of interest.
“They’re representing Irving,” Arnold said.
She described the proposed Brighton Mountain Wind Farm as a massive industrial-style project destined for a primary, highly productive forest land.
“A project like this should be on degraded land, not in primary forests,” Arnold explained.
She noted the project will overlook the headwaters of three important rivers.
“They’re talking about the headspring for the Miramichi, the Nashwaak and the Becaguimac,” she said.
J.D. Irving, Limited officials and a representative from Hatch consultants attempted to answer a series of questions during the open house, often reminding them that the EIA is designed to mitigate most of their concerns.
Officials present included JDI Vice President of Energy Dion Handrahan, Senior Project Manager Calvin Rice, Director of Environmental Affairs Renee Morais, and Director of Sustainability and Indigenous Affairs Andrew Willett. They were joined by Ian Walker from Hatch.
JDI officials tried to explain in detail the EIA process and long-running studies to establish benchmarks, areas of environmental concerns, steps to mitigate concerns and efforts to keep the public informed during the process.
Walker explained that Hatch’s role included drawing on the data and knowledge of experts worldwide. He explained that they studied not only the potential impact of the wind farm on Brighton Mountain but also gathered information from similar projects around the globe.
Morais defended Hatch’s role in the process. While JDI pays the firm, she explained, Hatch would not risk its license or reputation by delivering company-friendly data.
Morais also defended JDI’s communication efforts, explaining they delivered notices detailing the scope of the project to nearby residential addresses. She said they also attempted to respond to hundreds of email inquiries.
Several residents disputed those claims, saying they not only did not receive notices, but their emailed questions went unanswered.
Morais admitted the company was facing a backlog of emails but would make every effort to respond to all questions.
Wotstak First Nation Chief Tim Paul, who did not attend the Juniper open house, previously told the River Valley Sun that both JDI and the provincial government failed to fulfill their duties to adhere to Indigenous rights regarding the project.
“Any project that affects Indigenous treaty rights, they (the provincial government) are supposed to flag it. Once it’s flagged by them, they get a hold of us. Brighton should have contacted Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick (WNNB),” Paul said.
The chief claimed the province first erroneously claimed the project didn’t affect treaty rights but is now backtracking on that viewpoint.
“Regardless of whether it’s their land (Brighton/Irving) or Crown land, these types of projects affect wildlife in the area and go over streams, which should automatically trigger section 35 (of the Indian Act). There should be consultation,” said Paul.
He explained that Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, states that “the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed. The Duty to Consult process is part of the duty of all federal and provincial governments to maintain the Honour of the Crown. (from Canada.ca website).
Paul described the impact of the windmill project as far-reaching.
“They’ll be making roads into these places. The bases for those windmills are huge. There may be places with archeological artifacts that they may find. If we are not part of that, it gets swept under the rug,” Paul said.
J.D. Irving, Limited spokespeople previously listed steps the company and government took to inform local residents and Indigenous groups of the project’s plans.
Those included:
— Filing an Environmental Impact Assessment with the province, announced in a news release on April 22.
— Notified First Nations of a potential project in August 2023, with additional written communication in March 2024.
— JDI representatives went door-to-door to 250 addresses near the project, answered questions and left pamphlets at each household.
— Established a website for the project, brightonwind.com, with feedback encouraged via email submission.
— Sent letters about the project to the Western Valley Regional Service Commission, the Hartland and Central Valley Fire chiefs and camp owners with lease agreements on JDI Property.
— JDI representatives addressed the Annual General Meetings for Quad NB and Snowmobile Motoniege NB.
— Met with the Western Valley Regional Service Commission, CAOs and local councillors on May 22.
Carleton North Mayor Andrew Harvey attended the Juniper open house, noting he tentatively supports the projects. As a former provincial cabinet minister, he said he is familiar with and has faith in the EIA process.
He said Carleton North Council will make a formal statement regarding the project in the near future.
Harvey noted most of those opposing the windmill project encourage the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy. He said this project would make a massive dent in that changeover.
“You can’t have it both ways,” he said.
Florenceville-Bristol resident David Hunter expressed similar sentiments when he challenged project opponents during the first Q&A on Thursday afternoon.
“I drove my electric car out here,” he told project opponents. “The world is in a climate crisis. And you guys are doing this ‘not in my backyard syndrome stuff.”
He questioned how they drove to Juniper.
Marais said JDI officials understand residents’ concerns, but she pointed out that the EIA process will help the company mitigate those concerns. She explained that the process will identify and address water, birds, wildlife, and other concerns.
She and other officials stressed Brighton Mountain “checks a lot of boxes” as an ideal site for such a project. The Irving-owned land provides excellent wind resources, 75 per cent of required roads are in place and offers easy access to N.B. Power transmission lines.
