EDMONTON – Despite concerns from environmental groups and landowners, a public hearing is not necessary into two new gas-fired power plants proposed by Capital Power near Wabamun.

That decision by the Alberta Utilities Commission has raised concerns that the regulator is stifling public discussion and taking a more restrictive of view of who has a right to raise concerns about a new electricity project.

But the AUC firmly rejected that suggestion, saying there has “absolutely not” been any change its approach.

None of the concerned landowners or groups qualified under the AUC rules, which require a person be “directly and adversely affected” and live within 2,000 metres of a proposed power plant — though that distance is flexible, said AUC spokesperson Jim Law.

Capital Power maintains its position that additional emissions from the two new plants, Genesee 4 and 5, will be under legal limits and accepts the AUC decision, said Capital Power’s Michael Sheehan.

Brian Staszenski of the Strawberry Landowners Group, which has qualified for standing at the AUC in the past, says a hearing is necessary to give the public confidence in resolving conflicting views about air pollution from the proposed plants.

“The AUC has taken the company’s word that the new plants will not add to the pollution load,” said Staszenski, with the group that represents about 60 area landowners and was turned down by the AUC.

“But how do we know that, and where is the public test? That’s how the system is supposed to work,” said Staszenski, adding that his group qualified for standing at a 2010 hearing.

The Pembina Institute, an environmental research group, was also turned down for standing, though it also qualified in 2010.

The Pembina notes that the airshed in Edmonton, downwind from the coal and proposed gas plants to the southeast, is already at the legal limit for particulate matter. It says emissions from the new plants will exceed those levels — a view disputed by the company.

Lawyer Debbie Bishop, who has been representing landowners and other groups for years at the AUC, says the AUC’s June decision is “troubling” and “surprising.”

“The AUC used to be really good about hearings and this is the first time these same groups did not get standing as they have in the past,” said Bishop, who represents the Strawberry landowners.

“There are benefits to everyone going through the process and the result can be conditions on the operator to do a better job.”

The nearby Gunn Métis settlement was also turned down.

Bishop also said it is odd that the AUC asked the company for additional information on its pollution estimates after the hearing was denied.

That new information should be tested at a hearing, she said.

Ben Thibault, director of electricity policy at the Pembina Institute, says the decision not to hold a hearing shows the AUC process is “flawed.”

The AUC is supposed to make decisions on new projects based on the public interest, but the public is excluded without a hearing, he said.

But it’s not clear how larger issues, such as Edmonton’s airshed, get addressed, he said.

“To air these concerns at a hearing, why would it have been harmful?” he said.

Also, no one is looking at the cumulative impacts of each new plant that adds more to the already high pollution load, he said.

“We had hoped to get conditions on the project to make sure it does not make air pollution worse,” said Thibault.

“These concerns don’t go away just because people are denied standing.”

Capital Power is also looking to extend the life of its nearby coal-fired plants.

Since new transmission lines were recently completed into the area, activity is high. Two more plants are in the works — TransAlta’s 800 megawatt Sundance 7 plant and Atco’s 400-megawatt plant in the Industrial Heartland east of Edmonton.

The area landowners are also dealing with an application to expand the coal mine, and that goes through the Alberta Energy Regulator, said Staszenski.

It’s not possible for landowners to live within the 2,000 metre radius of the proposed plants due to the large coal mine, he added.

The AUC is reviewing the application and the additional emissions information supplied by the company on July 5, said Law.

In making its decision on a hearing, the AUC looks at a number of factors, including “the nature of the project, the specific concerns and who would be directly affected,” said Law in an email.

In this case, “the AUC determined there were not individuals or groups with a direct connection …”

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As the planned sale of Alberta’s largest electrical transmission company to an American firm comes under scrutiny from politicians and the public, the president of AltaLink remains confident the deal will win approval from provincial and federal reviews.

The $3.2-billion sale of AltaLink by Quebec-based SNC Lavalin to Berkshire Hathaway Energy — owned by billionaire Warren Buffett — is attracting attention, from the hiring of lobbyists to full-page newspaper ads from ATCO warning about “serious consequences” if the deal goes ahead.

Jim Law of the Alberta Utilities Commission said the ads — along with a response from AltaLink — prompted an outpouring of about 300 emails to the independent provincial agency that’s mandated to examine whether the sale is in the interests of consumers.

“There were some in favour but the majority followed the ATCO ad, expressing concern or raising questions,” Law said in an interview Tuesday.

Besides the AUC review, the sale could also be halted by the federal government, which analyzes the transaction based on whether it provides a net benefit to Canada.

The provincial government can provide input to Ottawa as part of the review, and the three candidates running to become Progressive Conservative leader say they are watching the sale closely.

The provincial NDP has called for the deal to be killed by the federal government, while other opposition parties say they have concerns.

But AltaLink president Scott Thon said Tuesday he isn’t fazed either by the public input to the AUC or the comments from concerned politicians.

The more people look at the takeover by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the more they will see it is to Alberta’s benefit, he said in an interview.

“This is a great investor for our country. It’s someone who actually wants to be in the country, who wants to leave all the profits in the country and you just don’t hear that in the utility (sector) in Canada,” said Thon.

“All the profits, we would hope to reinvest in Alberta.”

However, foreign takeovers have prompted political brawls in the past, with the most notable recent example being Saskatchewan’s successful push in 2010 to get Ottawa to block the sale of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan to BHP Billiton.

Thon said there is absolutely no comparison between the two transactions and he ultimately expects little controversy.

However, he said the companies are prepared to make their case to political leaders about the merits of the deal.

The federal lobbyist registry shows Berkshire Hathaway Energy retained lobbyists from the firm Hill and Knowlton Strategies in May in relation to the company seeking approval for its investment in Canada.

In Alberta, Elan MacDonald — a former senior official in the offices of premiers Ed Stelmach and Alison Redford — was hired in May as a lobbyist by  Berkshire Hathaway, according to the provincial registry.

ATCO is also a registered lobbyist both provincially and federally. The federal registry shows a flurry of contact with federal ministers and officials at the end of May by ATCO, although the company declined to comment on the nature of the discussions.

ATCO CEO Nancy Southern — who has said critical infrastructure such as transmission lines should remain Canadian-owned — declined an interview request, but the company said in a statement it was hoping for a serious policy review in relation to the AltaLink sale.

International and Intergovernmental Relations Minister Cal Dallas, who was in Nebraska this week for a state government conference, said he has met with officials from Berkshire Hathaway.

Dallas said he was not looking for particular assurances from the company and the conversation instead dealt with Alberta’s economic and regulatory environment.

But he noted the province will ultimately make its position on the sale known to the federal government.

“We’d be getting ahead of ourselves for me to articulate an opinion today,” he said.

With files from Chris Varcoe, Calgary Herald

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