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Ontario & Wind companies face legal action over contaminated wells
So it begins and to be continued. Christine Burke started legal action challenging the Ontario Government, Ministry employees and the Wind companies. October 30, 2019 @ 10am is the next scheduled court date.
SAVE THE DATE come out and show your support. Car pooling is encouraged.
Next Court Date: October 30, 2019 @ 10am
(Dates and times subject to change on short notice)
Location: Blenheim court house, 21633 Communications Rd, RR#5, Blenheim
“The accusations – largely concerning the potential for contamination of private water wells by black shale and hazardous metals in the North Kent area – were submitted by Dover resident Christine Burke. The private prosecution charges – filed under section 14 of the Environmental Protection Act – name Ontario Environment minister Jeff Yurek, the Ministry of the Environment and several wind turbine companies with projects in the area.”
Wind case put over to Oct. 30|by: Trevor Terfolth|Chatham Daily News| August 14, 2019
Court adjourned until October for wind turbine, Environmental Protection Act charges|CBC News|August 14, 2019
Lawyers to review 2,000 pages of documents in CK water contamination case|
“When the pile driving and construction of the wind turbines started on our shallow aquifer our drinking water slowly turned black and is now unsafe to consume, cook with or even bathe in,” she says in court documents. “This issue continues today and we are not the only family affected by this devastation.”
Engie Canada, Pattern Energy Group and Samsung Renewable Energy are all also charged in relation to their work building the East Lake St. Clair Wind Farm and North Kent 1 Wind Farm.”
Ontario minister, wind companies charged under environmental protection act|| Published July 26, 2019- The Star
Wind Turbines Can Cause Sickness
Wind Turbines Can Cause Sickness, Say Public Health Officials
WHO-HD CHANNEL 13 NEWS|August 12, 2019
WINTERSET, Iowa — The Madison County Board of Public Health is going on record to say that there are legitimate negative health effects caused by wind turbines.
Board Chair Dr. Kevin de Regnier said the board identified two concerns after a review of scientific literature and months of hearings and meetings with residents and MidAmerican Energy.
The two health concerns identified are:
- “Flicker” caused by the sun reflecting off turbine blades creates a strobe effect that can cause headaches and nausea.
- “Infrasound” is a soundwave just below what the ear can actually detect. It is created by the turbines disturbing wind flow. It, too, can cause headaches and nausea.
“Resolved that the Madison County Board of Health determines that there is the potential for negative health affects associated with commercial wind turbines and that current setbacks are inadequate to protect the public health,” said Madison County Public Health in a statement to Channel 13.
The board recommends that any future wind turbine projects be 1.5 miles from any residence…..
Minister Responds to Wind Turbine Charges
Minister responds to being named in wind turbine charges
Chatham Daily News|by: Jake Romphf|August 9, 2019
Ontario’s Environment Minister Jeff Yurek has responded to being named in charges regarding the Ontario Court of Justice determining there are reasonable grounds to believe environmental offenses were committed at several wind turbine projects in Chatham-Kent.
Ontario’s environment minister, Jeff Yurek, has responded to being named in recent charges regarding environmental offences allegedly committed at several wind turbine projects in Chatham-Kent.
The private prosecution charges are under section 14 of the Environmental Protection Act and were submitted by Christine Burke, a Chatham-Kent resident, according to the court summons document. The Ontario Court of Justice determined there were reasonable grounds to believe that environmental offences had been committed.
Yurek is accused in one document of failing to take reasonable care to prevent the installation and operation of the turbines at the East Lake St. Clair Wind Farm, run by Engie Canada, and at the North Kent 1 Wind Farm, run by Pattern Energy Group and Samsung Renewable Energy, from discharging, or causing or permitting the discharge of contaminants.
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment is accused in another document.
When the charges were originally announced in late July, a spokesperson from Yurek’s office said “as the matter is before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment.”
However, Yurek submitted a statement on the matter to Chatham Daily News this week, noting it wasn’t his government that approved the wind projects at the centre of the charges.
“While the resident chose to name me in the charges as the current minister responsible on this file, it is my hope that the future media coverage will accurately reflect that these decision (were) made under the previous Liberal government,” Yurek said.
Yurek said the previous Liberal government “forced wind projects into the backyards of unwilling communities in municipalities across Ontario.”
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent, which is not named in the action, holds a 15 per cent equity interest in North Kent Wind through its affiliate, Entegrus Renewable Energy Inc.
“The municipality offered to pay for testing, water testing, for residents. … (We’ve) tried to engage the Ministry of the Environment, who have jurisdiction over the wind turbines and environmental matters,” John Norton, the municipality’s general manage of community development and chief legal officer, previously told the Chatham Daily News.
Yurek said he’s “taking the public’s concerns about the wind projects very seriously and will continue to stand with the families living in Chatham-Kent.”
In July, the province announced an independent panel will conduct a health-hazard review of the area’s private water wells after residents voiced concerns over sediment in their water. That review will focus on the water’s quality and not the source of the sediment.
Green Energy & false promises
“It was kind of crushing to discover that the things I believed in weren’t real, first of all, and then to discover not only are the solar panels and wind turbines not going to save us … but (also) that there is this whole dark side of the corporate money … It dawned on me that these technologies were just another profit center.”
New Michael Moore-backed doc tackles alternative energy
by: LINDSEY BAHR, Associated Press|Posted:
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “What if alternative energy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be? That’s the provocative question explored in the documentary “Planet of the Humans,” which is backed and promoted by filmmaker Michael Moore and directed by one of his longtime collaborators. It premiered last week at his Traverse City Film Festival.
The film, which does not yet have distribution, is a low-budget but piercing examination of what the filmmakers say are the false promises of the environmental movement and why we’re still “addicted” to fossil fuels. Director Jeff Gibbs takes on electric cars, solar panels, windmills, biomass, biofuel, leading environmentalist groups like the Sierra Club, and even figures from Al Gore and Van Jones, who served as Barack Obama’s special adviser for green jobs, to 350.org leader Bill McKibben, a leading environmentalist and advocate for grassroots climate change movements.
Gibbs, who produced Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine” and “Fahrenheit 9/11,” didn’t set out to take on the environmental movement. He said he wanted to know why things weren’t getting better. But when he started pulling on the thread, he and Moore said they were shocked to find how inextricably entangled alternative energy is with coal and natural gas, since they say everything from wind turbines to electric car charging stations are tethered to the grid, and even how the Koch brothers are tied to solar panel production through their glass production business.
“It turned out the wakeup call was about our own side,” Gibbs said in a phone interview. “It was kind of crushing to discover that the things I believed in weren’t real, first of all, and then to discover not only are the solar panels and wind turbines not going to save us … but (also) that there is this whole dark side of the corporate money … It dawned on me that these technologies were just another profit center.”
Both know the film is going to be a “tough pill to swallow.” It was a difficult eye-opener for them as well……
Although the findings will be disheartening, both Gibbs and Moore say they hope that it inspires people to reset and start thinking differently.”
“Now we can begin to come up with the right solutions that might make a difference … The film doesn’t have the answers but it will get us asking a better set of questions,” Gibbs said. “I really do trust that when millions of people are discussing an issue, answers will emerge … This is what we do as humans, we solve problems, but we’ve got to have the right questions.”
Please Support Christine~ Court Challenge to Protect Ontario
“When the pile driving and construction of the wind turbines started on our shallow aquifer our drinking water slowly turned black and is now unsafe to consume, cook with or even bathe in,” she says in court documents. “This issue continues today and we are not the only family affected by this devastation.”
SUPPORT Christine Burke in her legal challenge to protect Ontario and our well water
Many Ontario people want their well water protected from the impacts of industrial wind turbines. It is well known that the present MECP guidelines are grossly inadequate and do NOT require sediment or micro particle size and composition testing.
Christine Burke has taken a necessary step to challenge the Ontario Government, Ministry employees and the Wind companies.
We encourage ALL Ontario residents to come and support Christine,
Wednesday August 14, 2019 at 9:00am for an outside presence, with court starting @ 10:00am.
Address: Blenheim court house, 21633 Communications Rd, RR#5, Blenheim,
519 352-8484
We must be conscious that the time and date could change and we will do our best to keep you notified.
Come and show your support for this very brave, courageous woman.
Carpooling is encouraged
Ontario being charged under Environmental Protection Act
Province, wind turbine companies charged under Environmental Protection Act
There are reasonable and probable grounds to believe environmental offences have been committed
CBC News | Province, wind turbine companies charged under Environmental Protection Act
The Ontario Court of Justice has determined there are “reasonable and probable grounds” to believe environmental offences have been committed by Ontario’s Minister of the Environment, ministry staff and three industrial wind companies in Chatham-Kent.
According to court documents, the charges come from the Environmental Protection Act.
Eric Gillespie, a Toronto-based lawyer, represents complainants who have been experiencing problems with their water wells.
“When somebody believes there has been an offence committed, they can go directly to the courts,” said Gillespie. “One local resident went last week before a justice of the peace, who heard information and formed the opinion that there were grounds to believe offences had been committed.”
One witness called to court is Christine Burke, who spoke to CBC in February 2018 about the problems with her water well.
Burke was not permitted to speak to CBC now that she’s named as a witness in the court proceedings.
As a result, the summons to appear in court were issued to the Ministry of Environment, the minister of the environment and the three companies.
According to court documents and Gillespie, the charges are for ongoing actions since 2017.
In one, Jeff Yurek, minister of the environment, is named as failing to “take all reasonable care to prevent the installation and operation of the wind turbines at East Lake St. Clair Wind Farm, run by Engie Canada and at the North Kent 1 Wind Farm run by Pattern Energy Group and Samsung Renewable Energy from discharging or causing or permitting the discharge of contaminants.”
Those contaminants include black shale and potentially hazardous metals….
Talk about Infra & Low Frequency Noise
A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR PROFESSOR ALVES-PEREIRA TALK ABOUT INFRA AND LOW FREQUENCY NOISE
Save the Date for an Invited Talk
Host: Richard Mann http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~mannr
Speaker: Mariana Alves-Pereira
Title:
Infrasound & Low Frequency Noise: Physics, Cells, Health and History
Date: Thursday September 12, 2019
Time: 1 pm Location: University of Waterloo Room: DC 1302 (Davis Center)
Speaker Bio:
Mariana Alves-Pereira holds a B.Sc. in Physics (State University of New York at Stony Brook), a M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering (Drexel University) and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences (New University of Lisbon). She joined the multidisciplinary research team investigating the biological response to infrasound and low frequency noise in 1988, and has been the team’s Assistant Coordinator since 1999. Recipient of three scientific awards, and author and co-author of over 50 scientific publications (including peer-reviewed and conference presentations), Dr. Alves-Pereira is currently Associate Professor at Lusófona University teaching Biophysics and Biomaterials in health science programs (nursing and radiology), as well as Physics and Hygiene in workplace safety & health programs.
Dr. Mariana Alves-Pereira can be reached at: m.alvespereira@gmail.com
Concerns raised about Nation Rise Wind Farm construction
Sarnia The Observer|Nick Dunne|July 23, 2019
CRYSLER — A North Stormont woman is concerned about potentially harmful dust clouds blown onto her property and those around her as access roads are being built for the Nation Rise Wind Farm.
Laurie Harkin-Chiasson was shocked to learn the dust billowing from the construction contained Portland 10 cement powder, which can cause skin and respiratory irritation and serious eye damage. Harkin-Chiasson said she and her neighbours weren’t notified of the construction on July 11, when she warned her neighbour who was walking with her infant in a stroller as the clouds came through, nor were they notified on July 15 when construction resumed nearby her home.
“I’ve taken it upon myself to stand up for my community,” she said.
The clouds came from a soil-stabilization procedure being done to build the access roads to the 29 wind turbines. The procedure involves removing the topsoil and blending the soil below with cement, before covering the surface gravel to secure the floor for paving.
“I could feel it in the back of my throat,” said Harkin-Chiasson.
The safety data sheet (SDS) from Lafarge, a cement and concrete company, said long- and short-term exposure to the dust of Portland 10 cement can cause severe skin burns, eye damage and may cause respiratory irritation. It may also cause acute silicosis, which “results from short-term exposure to very large amounts of respirable crystalline silica,” according to the SDS sheet.
Harkin-Chiasson has taken the matter to EDP Renewables, the company that owns the wind farm, along with North Stormont council, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Labour.
According to Harkin-Chiasson, it took two calls to the ministry before the EDP began sending notices.
She was particularly angered when she was told through the ministry the company had offered to wash the cars of those affected by the dust.
“Our community’s health and safety is at risk. I was so insulted,” Harkin-Chiasson said.
Health Hazard Investigation of impacted Water Wells
Well water in Chatham Kent has been reported contaminated with black shale sediment during construction and operations of the North Kent Wind* project. Ontario’s current government made an election promise to investigate. (*Post corrected July 21, 2019- Chatham Kent, Niagara region and others have also experienced water quality issues with wind projects)
Pressure applied at Queen’s Park for C-K Water Well Probe
Please see July 19, 2019 announcement made by MPP Monte McNaughton copied below.
It has not escaped notice no mention is made by the Province with the association of changes in water quality with the wind project.
July 19, 2019
Ontario Conducting Health Hazard Investigation
Province Creates Independent Panel of Scientists to Investigate Water Wells, Fulfilling Commitment
Chatham Kent — Ontario’s government for the people has formed an expert independent panel to investigate well water in Chatham Kent, MPP McNaughton announced today.
The five-member independent panel will determine if the water from private wells in Chatham-Kent is safe for consumption.
“Our government made a promise to strike this panel,” said McNaughton. “Today we are fulfilling that promise.”
The five-member independent panel will consist of four experienced toxicologists and one local geologist. All members are independent from government and are experienced toxicology professionals that have served on advisory committees.
The panel is empowered to take a fresh look at new samples collected from certain water wells in Chatham-Kent where residents have raised questions about water quality. Samples from up to 189 private wells will be taken by a third-party business and tested by a commercial laboratory.
The announcement fulfills a government commitment.
“Barely one year after this promise was made, we are fulfilling it,” said McNaughton. “And we’re doing it in a way that will inspire confidence from the people of this community. People can trust the results this independent panel delivers.”
BACKGROUND
The five independent experts comprising the panel are:
Dr. Keith Benn, PhD – A local geologist and past professor of geology at University of Ottawa.
Dr. Glenn Ferguson, PhD, QPRA – An environmental health scientist with 25 years experience in toxicology, epidemiology, and human health risk assessment.
Dr. Shelley A. Harris, PhD – An epidemiologist and associate professor at University of Toronto who specializes in exposure measurement.
Dr. Ron Brecher, PhD – A specialist in toxicology, risk assessment and risk communication.
Mark Chappel, MSc, DABT – A toxicologist with significant experience in supervising and managing comprehensive toxicity studies.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
John Fraser
Mothers Against Wind Turbines Inc. 