[Clearview] & [Kawartha Lakes] Arctic Over the Horizon Radar

[Sauga89]

The federal government is proposing to build a series of massive radar installations in southern Ontario.

According to the CBC, they want to buy as much as 4,000 acres, or 16 square km, in Clearview, south of Collingwood for radio receivers. Another site will be set up in Kawartha Lakes, for transmitters. The long range radar installations will bounce signals off the atmosphere to detect incoming threats in the arctic.

A third and fourth site, one for transmitting and one for receiving, are also envisioned, with locations to be determined. The project is part of a $38 billion overhaul of NORAD's systems.

The CBC says local farmers in Clearview are concerned about expropriation, and the loss of prime agricultural land.

The feds also say any harmful levels of radiation will be limited to within the fence line. Some restrictions on flight paths for aircraft will be put in place to protect people on planes. They also say that some wetlands may need to be filled in, and forests cleared, in order to create flat surfaces for the equipment.

 

[picard102]

Seems like the perfect kind of thing to put up near Thunderbay. I assume the angle would be wrong or something?

 

[Sauga89]

I assume the angle would be wrong or something?

I believe that is the case. Here is how the government describes its location requirements.

Ongoing Siting Analysis​

DND's siting analysis for A-OTHR is driven by a set of complex and inflexible requirements. These include parcel size, latitude, orientation, distance separation between parcels, environmental conditions and constraints, and adjacent land use.

Potential sites must be:

• located in a remote, flat, and dry area
• have limited environmental constraints
• a suitable distance from radio noise sources
• close to electrical power sources

For these reasons, suitable permanent sites for A-OTHR are relatively limited and our analysis continues. We look forward to sharing additional siting information when it becomes available.

The government also released this graphic to illustrate how the radar system works.

 

[lenaitch]

While protection of quality farmland is an important matter of public policy, I was just through the area the past couple of days; the first time in a couple of years. Every town in the area, Collingwood, Angus, Stayner, are all growing out, gobbling up farmland. One would think those farmers probably wanted to stay on the land just as much. When the government comes along, it most often does so publicly. When a developer comes along, it does so in secret with a bag of money and lawyers.