Quebec environmental review body highlights considerations in Hertel-NY hydro line

Quebec's environmental review body, the BAPE, has made its report public on the Quebec portion of the project to deliver Hydro-Quebec electricity to New York State, highlighting the necessary follow-up on the yield of agricultural land, the measures to be taken to reduce soil compaction and the importance of active participation by civil society in the energy transition.

Environment Minister Benoit Charette mandated the BAPE (Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement) last November to hold a "targeted" consultation on the Hertel-New York Interconnection Line -- a preferred option when the issues raised are "of limited concern and do not call into question the relevance of the project."

The Hydro-Quebec interconnection line project is to cross the territories of the regional county municipalities of Roussillon, Le Haut-Richelieu, and Les Jardins-de-Napierville.

At the end of its three-month mandate, the commission of inquiry concluded that "certain considerations deserve attention."

According to the report, the agronomic monitoring program that would allow for the evaluation of the yield of agricultural land following the construction of the proposed power line should be for a period of seven years, as recommended by the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ). Such a period is required to verify the return to normal yields on the land, it says.

In addition, the Ministry of the Environment "should consider, in its eventual recommendation on the authorization of the project, all of the conditions determined by MAPAQ to reduce soil compaction both on the surface and at depth."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 17, 2023.