Vice-President's response

Physical activities

Atura Power is proposing to expand the existing Napanee Generating Station, a natural gas-fuelled electricity generating station located about 13 kilometres south of Napanee, Ontario. As proposed, the Napanee Generating Station Expansion Project would include a 430-megawatt simple-cycle gas turbine generator, generator step-up transformer and grid connections, natural gas supply, and ancillary components and equipment. The project would increase the electric generating capacity of the existing Napanee Generating Station from 1,040 to 1,470 megawatts to support year-round electricity generation in Ontario. The project is anticipated to operate until 2040.

Delegation of powers to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Under subsection 154(1) of the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), the Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature may, subject to any terms and conditions that the Minister specifies, delegate to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) any powers, duties, or functions that the Minister is authorized to exercise or perform under the IAA. The Minister delegated to the President or Vice-President of Operations of IAAC the authority to respond to requests for designation, for which limitations on designation described under subsection 9(7) of the IAA apply.

Decision

Non-designated physical activities

Reasons

Pursuant to subsection 9(7) of the IAA, the Minister must not exercise their power to designate if the carrying out of the physical activity has substantially begun (paragraph 9(7)(a) of the IAA) or if a federal authority has exercised a power or performed a duty or function conferred on it under any Act of Parliament other than this Act that could permit the physical activity to be carried out, in whole or in part (paragraph 9(7)(b) of the IAA). Therefore, the Minister cannot designate the Napanee Generating Station Expansion Project for the following reasons:

• The carrying out of the physical activity has substantially begun as physical undertakings associated with construction of the project have been carried out that have a direct linkage to the project, are an essential part of the project that are long-lasting, have resulted in substantive landscape alteration, and occurred over an extended period of time. Construction activities have been ongoing since October 2025, and certain activities, such as site preparation, groundwork, foundations work, and installation of a transformer and the switchyard, have been completed.