By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiaitive

A group of Dunham residents are bracing for “a heck of a fight” against the Brome electrical substation project as currently proposed by Hydro-Québec.

Denis Dumouchel, who has lived in the area for 40 years, is the spokesperson for the recently formed group Résistance Dunham. In the past two months, he and his fellow volunteers have distributed more than 750 yard signs to people opposed to the project.

He and his neighbours have concerns about the environmental, social and economic impact of the transmission lines for the new substation, which will supply electricity to Sutton, Brome Lake and Cowansville and replace existing substations in Sutton and Knowlton. Both currently proposed routes for the transmission line pass through Dunham; according to Dumouchel, both would pass over a pipeline. “We know there’s a low likelihood [that an accident would happen during construction], but as long as there’s reasonable doubt, we’re concerned,” he said. He added that residents were worried about electromagnetic radiation generated by the 120-kV line, damage to the landscape from the construction of 40-metre pylons and impact on property values, tourism and the local economy. “In the years I’ve lived here, I’ve seen agrotourism grow a lot. It took years and years to get where we are now, and if you break the landscape, you break that.”

Dumouchel is encouraging Hydro-Québec to consider an alternative plan pitched by the Town of Sutton involving 69-kV lines; a Hydro-Québec representative has previously told the BCN Sutton’s current proposal is not feasible for technical reasons, but the town plans to submit a detailed study later this week in hopes of persuading the utility.

On May 20, Hydro-Québec held a question-and-answer session in Dunham which lasted nearly five hours and attracted more than 200 participants. Dumouchel and Mayor Pierre Janecek were in attendance. “I congratulate the citizens [who attended] because there were a lot of good questions and a lot of good answers,” the mayor said. “The [Hydro-Québec] representatives were professional; they know their stuff.”

Janecek said that under two of the scenarios Hydro-Québec is currently proposing, “eighty per cent” of the transmission line would pass through the territory of his municipality, with no tangible benefit for Dunhamites. “The line is to supply Sutton and Brome, not us.” He shared Dumouchel’s concerns about declining property values, which could potentially impact tax revenue, and “disfigurement” to the landscape. “Dunham is a tourist town, and no one wants to see a trench or pylons crossing the woods.” He acknowledged that “nobody” wanted the transmission line in their backyard, and his counterparts in surrounding towns are also fighting to have the line built someplace else. “We are working to win, and so are the others, but there will be a winner and a loser somewhere. We’ve said our piece.”

Janecek said Dunham was also working on an alternative proposal, for which he would be able to provide details in the coming weeks.

Hydro-Québec regional affairs representative Ève-Marie Jodoin said the citizens’ concerns were “legitimate.”

“We know it’s a region that is very sensitive and has a lot of deeply involved citizens who have their region at heart,” she said. “We need to put [the line] somewhere; that’s why we have three proposals, and we’re collecting comments to see which one will be most compatible.” She explained that the utility determines the locations of new substations and transmission lines based on a “balance” of technical, economic, agroenvironmental and social acceptability criteria. “Since April, we’ve received a number of proposals, people saying, ‘Did you look at this, did you look at that, have you thought of this?’ We look at all of them.”

Jodoin said another consultation may take place in the fall to “present an optimized line, or explain why we couldn’t use one or the other [suggestion].” Hydro-Québec aims to have sites for the substation and the transmission line selected by the end of the year, with construction expected to begin in 2027.