PUBLIC HEARING BEGINS APRIL 29, 2003

Quebec City, April 16, 2003 - The Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) Commission, composed of Sylvie Girard, chairwoman, and Bertrand Bouchard, commissioner, hereby announces that the first part of the public hearing on the Proposed hydroelectric development in Angliers by La Régionale Société d’hydroélectricité Régionale inc. will begin on April 29, 2003 at 1:30 p.m. at the Église d’Angliers church hall, 14, rue de la Baie-Miller. Sessions will continue in the days following, according to the needs of the public and the Commission.

The Commission has a maximum of four months to carry out its mandate. The BAPE will submit its report to the Minister of the Environment no later than August 28, 2003.

A two-part hearing

The public hearing will proceed according to usual BAPE procedure, that is, in two distinct parts. The first part is designed to enable the public and the Commission to define all of the aspects involved in the project.

In the second part of the public hearing, scheduled to begin May 28, 2003 in the same location, the Commission will gather public’s opinions and suggestions. At this time, it will hear any individual, group or municipality wishing to voice its views on the project in the form of a brief or an oral presentation.

Project

The proposed hydroelectric development in Angliers is designed primarily to harness the hydropower potential of the rivière des Outaouais. The project consists in building a 25-MW generating station on the right bank of the rivière des Outaouais on Des Quinze dam infrastructures. The station would be located 250 meters from the current Des Quinze dam control structure. A bridge would be built over the inlet channel to maintain the road link (road 391). The station would house four 6,25- MW turbine generator units. The average annual energy yield has been assessed at 155-165 GWh.

Work could begin in July 2003 and the generating station’s start-up would be scheduled for late 2004. The total estimated project cost is $55 million.

Documentation available

All documents related to the project are available for consultation at the following locations:

Project-related documents and information are also available on the BAPE website at: www.bape.gouv.qc.ca in the section “Enquêtes et audiences publiques - mandats en cours” .

For further information, contact Marie-Ève Rochette, coordinator of the Commission’s secretariat, or Marie-Ève Chamberland, communications advisor, at (418) 643-7447 or 1-800-463-4732 (toll-free). The Commission can be reached at: angliers@bape.gouv.qc.ca.

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SOURCE: Marie-Ève Chamberland
Communications Advisor