Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board turns down appeals of wind farm approvals

The NS Utility and Review Board has dismissed appeals by Eco Awareness Society and Helen and Donald Brown from a decision of the County of Antigonish allowing the re-zoning of 14 areas on 9 properties to allow for the construction of 14 wind turbines by Shear Wind Inc.  The appeals were dismissed because the Board determined that the appellants were not "aggrieved persons" as was required to have standing to appeal the decisions under the applicable legislation.  A person must have "standing" to participate in a particular matter before a decision-making body such as a court or a tribunal.  "Standing" may depend on a person's direct or indirect connection to the matters in issue, and in some cases includes a connection based on the public interest.

In this case, the Board concluded:

For the reasons outlined above, the Board finds that the Appellants have not shown, on the balance of probabilities, that the rezoning (or any future development falling within the scope of the proposed rezoning) will adversely affect the value or reasonable enjoyment of Mr. and Mrs. Brown's properties (or the properties of a majority of members of the Eco Awareness Society), or cause or threaten any form of harm prejudicial to their interests (or the interests of a majority of members of the Eco Awareness Society). Further, the Society has not shown, on the balance of probabilities, that it is an incorporated organization, the objects of which include promoting or protecting the quality of life of persons residing in the neighbourhood affected by the council's decision, or features, structures or sites of the community affected by the council's decision, having significant cultural, architectural or recreational value.

Read the decision at: Re Eco Awareness Society.

Standing at the ERCB without an interest in land, but “no costs for you!”

Standing at the ERCB without an interest in land, but “no costs for you!”

Click on the link above to read an article by Assistant Professor Shaun Fluker of the University of Calgary, Faculty of Law about participation rights before the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB):

Standing at the ERCB without an interest in land, but “no costs for you!”

          Written by: Shaun Fluker

Case considered: Freehold Petroleum and Natural Gas Owners Association v. Alberta (Energy Resources Conservation Board), 2010 ABCA 125

In Freehold Petroleum and Natural Gas Owners Association, Madam Justice Elizabeth McFayden dismisses an application for leave to appeal an Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) hearing costs decision that relates to an earlier ERCB decision concerning a mineral lease dispute. This Court of Appeal decision and the underlying ERCB decisions are noteworthy to me for two reasons: (1) the ERCB granted full hearing participation rights to the Freehold Petroleum and Natural Gas Owners Association (the Freehold Owners Association) despite the fact it does not have an interest in land; and (2) the Court of Appeal defers to the ERCB on what I consider to be an unreasonable exercise of its discretion on the costs matter. I will comment on each of these points in turn after briefly summarizing the facts. [...]