THE PUBLIC HEARING WILL BEGIN ON SEPTEMBRE 15^th, 2008

Québec, September 8^th, 2008 – The commission of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), made up of Mr. Pierre Fortin, chair, as well as Ms. Lucie Bigué and Mr. John Haemmerli, commissioners, is holding the first part of the public hearing on the Projets de parcs éoliens de Gros-Morne et de Montagne Sèche par Cartier énergie éolienne inc. The public hearing will begin on September 15th, 2008 at 7:30 PM.

The commission will hold the first part of the hearing at the following locations:

For the Gros-Morne project	Monday, September 15th at 7:30 PM Tuesday, September 16th at 1 PM Tuesday, September 16th at 7 PM	Salle municipale de Sainte-Madeleine-de-la-Rivière-Madeleine 104, route principale Madeleine-Centre
For the Montagne Seche project	Wednesday, September 17th at 7 PM Thursday, September 18th at 1 PM Thursday, September 18th at 7 PM	Salle des Chevaliers de Colomb 329, route 132 Cloridorme

A HEARING IN TWO PARTS

Obtaining information

The public hearing will take place in two parts. In the presence of the proponent and resource persons invited to answer participants’ questions, the first part will allow the public and the commission to obtain information about the project in order to learn more about it and examine all its aspects.

Voicing opinions

During the second part of the public hearing, which will begin on October 15th, 2008 and for which the locations will be announced later, the commission will obtain the public’s opinion and suggestions. The commission will hear any person, group, organization or municipality wishing to express an opinion on the project, be it in the form of a brief or an oral presentation.

The commission has a maximum period of four months to carry out its mandate. The BAPE report will be submitted to Ms. Line Beauchamp, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, by January 15th, 2009 at the latest. The Minister will then have 60 days to make the report public.

WHERE CAN THE PROJETC DOCUMENTATION BE CONSULTED

All of the documents pertaining to these projects are available for consultation at the following regional consultation centres:

For the Gros-Morne project:

1. Municipality of Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis, 1, 1re avenue ouest ;
2. Blanche-Lamontagne Library, 120, 7e rue ouest, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts ;
3. Caisse populaire Desjardins Mer et Montagnes, 144, rue Principale, Madeleine-Centre ;
4. Council of the Micmac Nation of Gespeg, 783, boulevard de Pointe-Navarre, Gaspé ;
5. Mi’gmawei Mawiomi Secretariat, 2, Riverside West, Listuguj.

For the Montagne Sèche project:

1. Caisse populaire Desjardins des Hauts-Phares, 533, route 132, Cloridorme ;
2. Council of the Micmac Nation of Gespeg, 783, boulevard de Pointe-Navarre, Gaspé ;
3. Mi’gmawei Mawiomi Secretariat, 2, Riverside West, Listuguj.

The entire file is also available at the BAPE office in Québec, 575, rue Saint-Amable, bureau 2.10, at Bibliothèque centrale de l’Université du Québec à Montréal, Pavillon Hubert-Aquin, 1255, rue Saint-Denis, local A-M100, as well as on the BAPE website at www.bape.gouv.qc.ca, under the heading « Mandats en cours ».

THE PROJECTS

Gros-Morne

The project proposed by Cartier énergie éolienne inc. consists of building a wind turbine park with a rated capacity of 211.5 MW on public lands. The Gros-Morne wind energy project was chosen during the first call for tenders of Hydro-Québec Distribution held in 2003. This project provides for the installation of 141 wind turbines, each having a rated capacity of 1.5 MW, distributed over a surface area of 7,134 ha. Phase I of the project would have 67 wind turbines, including 34 in Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis and 33 in Sainte-Madeleine-de-la-Rivière-Madeleine. The 74 wind turbines of Phase II would all be located in Sainte-Madeleine-de-la-Rivière-Madeleine.

The construction of the park would include, among other things, the clearing and stripping of the surface soils, the improvement and construction of access roads, the installation of aerial and underground power transmission lines and wind measurement masts, and the construction of the connection substation. The contract for the purchase of electricity by Hydro-Québec will last for 21 years for Phase I and 20 years for Phase II. At the end of these contracts and if they are not renewed, all of the aboveground equipment would be dismantled and removed, and the site would be restored.

The timetable proposed in the impact study mentions that the work for Phase  I would begin in the spring of 2010 and end in December 2011, with work for Phase II commencing in 2011 and ending in 2012.

Montagne Sèche

Cartier Énergie Éolienne inc. is planning to build a wind turbine farm on public lands of Petite-Vallée and Cloridorme in the RCM of La Côte-de-Gaspé. This project was chosen during the first call for tenders of Hydro-Québec Distribution held in 2003. With a rated capacity of 58.5 MW, the park would include 39 wind turbines, each having a capacity of 1.5 MW, namely 16 in Petite-Vallée and 23 in Cloridorme.

The construction of the wind turbine park includes the clearing and stripping of a portion of the surface soils, the construction and improvement of the access roads, the installation of aerial and underground power transmission lines and wind measurement masts as well as the construction of the connection substation. The project’s operating phase is slated to last twenty years. At the end of this contract and if it is not renewed, the project would be dismantled and the site restored. The laying out and construction of the wind turbine park would extend over a period of approximately one year.

The work would begin in 2010 for approximately 18 months and the commissioning of the wind turbine park would be in December 2011. The cost of the project is evaluated at approximately $83 million.

For more information, you can get in touch with Ms. Renée Poliquin, coordinator of the commission’s secretariat, by dialing 418 643-7447 or, toll-free, 1 800 463-4732, extension 424. You can also contact the commission by e-mail at one of the following addresses: eolien-montagne-seche@bape.gouv.qc.ca or eolien-gros-morne@bape.gouv.qc.ca.

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Source: Jean-Sébastien Fillion, communications advisor
           418 643-7447 or 1 800 463-4732, extension 538