The appellant appealed the issuance of a Renewable Energy Approval for a wind farm project.
At a pre-hearing conference, several individuals and entities sought participant or presenter status.
The Tribunal granted the status requests but considered whether it had jurisdiction to hear evidence on all issues raised, including economic impacts and general animal health.
The Tribunal held that under the Environmental Protection Act, its jurisdiction is strictly limited to whether the project will cause serious harm to human health or serious and irreversible harm to plant life, animal life, or the natural environment.
Consequently, the Tribunal ruled that evidence regarding economic impacts and issues not pleaded in the Notice of Appeal were outside the scope of the hearing and could not be presented.
