We are committed to ensuring that the long-term well-being of any siting area will be fostered through its participation in the project.
Early in the site selection process, we encourage communities to consider this project in the context of their long-term interests. Such a broad approach helps to highlight the resources (social, economic and environmental) of the community and pave the way for thinking about how the project may affect them in a variety of ways.
Ultimately, the vision for the community, and the extent to which the project contributes to this vision in an acceptable way, is a matter for each community to discuss and assess.
In order to ensure that a broad range of factors are considered, we published a community well-being framework to help begin conversations with communities. The framework encourages exploration of the project through five different "lenses".
- People or Human Assets: How might the implementation of the project affect people?
- Economics or Economic Assets: How might the implementation of the project affect economic activity and financial health of the area?
- Infrastructure or Physical Assets: How might the implementation of the project affect infrastructure and the physical structures that the community has established?
- Society and Culture or Social Assets: How might the implementation of the project affect the sense of belonging within the community and among residents, and the services and network of activities created to serve the needs of community members?
- Natural Environment or Natural Assets: How might the implementation of the project affect the natural environment and the community’s relationship with it?
In order to identify what processes and supports we would need to put in place in order to ensure that the project helps foster well-being, we evaluate and work with potentially interested communities, and their surrounding communities, to address these factors. A plan to foster the well-being of the community through the implementation of the project will be developed with the community and area.