Approval given for ethanol plant to be built at the Oshawa Harbour

After years of wrangling, approval has been given for the construction of an ethanol plant at the Oshawa Harbour.  According to the Oshawa Port authority, construction on the $200-million facility is expected to begin this summer and be completed by 2014.  Oshawa Councillor Nancy Diamond calls the move, devastating for both the environment and the community.  She says despite the clear wishes of both Oshawa Council, residents and a unanimous vote at Regional Council, they’re just pushing this through.  Oshawa Mayor John Henry says he’s notified all members of council as to what’s happened and is extremely frustrated that they were not notified by the Port Authority.  Gary Valcour, with the Oshawa Port Authority says this facility will be located on the east side of the harbour, where there is already established industrial operations.  He says very in-depth studies were done on this project to ensure there will be no impacts on the environment.  According to FarmTech Energy Corporation, the project will result in close to 300 construction jobs, 50 well paying full time jobs and hundreds of industry related jobs in farming, shipping and port operations.

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