Canada’s Ministry of the Environment (MOE) recently decided to proceed with certain changes to Birds and Bird Habitats: Guidelines for Wind Power Projects (2010) (Guidelines). The main amendments incorporated into the Guidelines include:
- The threshold for bird mortality has been lowered to 14 birds/ turbine/ year (from 18 birds). As a result, a mortality rate that exceeds the mortality threshold at a facility will trigger additional monitoring and mitigation obligations
- Additional information has been provided on important bird areas, including their importance and their link to significant wildlife habitats
- Monitoring methods for evaluating wildlife habitats and post-construction mortality monitoring have been revised to reflect public/industry comments and scientific recommendations
- Data submission procedures related to the Wind Energy Bird and Bat Monitoring Database have been detailed, and
- Ecological effectiveness monitoring plan information requirements have been updated to reflect the January 2011 amendments to O. Reg. 359/09.
Canadian Environmental Registry
www.ebr.gov.on.ca
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