“Two families are taking legal action related to a plume of construction dust from a Niagara Region Wind Farm construction site in 2015 that they say has left them with physical and mental health issues, as well as property damage and monetary losses.”
Dust spreading from the construction site in 2015 of one of the 77 Enercon wind turbines that make up the Niagara Region Wind Farm. Photo: Stefanos Karatopis
Local families take legal action after turbine construction incident
Claims relate to construction dust in summer of 2015
Two families are taking legal action related to a plume of construction dust from a Niagara Region Wind Farm construction site in 2015 that they say has left them with physical and mental health issues, as well as property damage and monetary losses.
Raymond Sherman and Alexandra Karatopis Sherman, along with their three children, and Stefanos Karatopis — the brother of Alexandra — are named as plaintiffs in court documents that were originally filed last summer, about two years after the July 23, 2015 incident. A list of 25 defendants, including 10 individuals whose identities are unknown, are named in the notice, ranging from stakeholders in the Niagara Region Wind Farm, to construction companies and employees to the Township of West Lincoln and Region of Niagara.
In court documents, the plaintiffs allege workers at the wind farm on Regional Road 20 in West Lincoln were discharging a construction dust which made its way into the house. While the parents were not home, the Sherman children were and the documents allege they had difficulty breathing and their eyes were burning.
“As the community proved at the ERT hearing, this project should not have been approved in the first place,” he said. “It’s outrageous the government could be so negligent, making it necessary for the citizens to protect the public, then hide behind flawed legislation that robs the tribunal appointed by them in overlooking their bad decisions to award costs to the citizens who successfully proved the government compromised people’s safety.”
Clearview Township councillor Kevin Elwood. – Metroland file photo
ERT rules no cost relief to challenge Clearview wind turbine decision
Local taxpayers will be on the hook for the successful challenge to a plan to erect eight turbines in Clearview Township.
The same goes for Kevin and Gail Elwood, John Wiggins, and the residents’ group Preserve Clearview, after the Environmental Review Tribunal dismissed an application for costs related to their appeal of a decision to grant WPD a renewable energy application for the Fairview Wind Project.
The tribunal ultimately ruled last August to revoke that approval on the basis the planned 500-foot-tall turbines presented a serious risk to human health because of the proximity of the project to the Collingwood Regional Airport and the Clearview Aerodromeowned by the Elwoods.
Update on Huron County Wind Turbine Study about Noise, Vibration and Light Recruitment continues for the Huron County Wind Turbine Study about Noise, Vibration, and Light.
Launched in October of 2017, recruitment for participants will continue until the end of October 2018.
Interested Huron County residents, who live within 10 km of a wind turbine, can find all the materials needed to participate in the study at any branch of the Huron County library. Library branches can also return participants’ completed materials to the Health Unit.
Huron County residents who live within 10 km of a wind turbine are eligible to participate. The Health Unit wants to hear from those who do and do not have difficulties with wind turbines so we can look at differences between the two groups.
Participation involves returning a completed consent form, doing the Registration Survey, and completing the Observation Diary. We are asking participants to complete the Observation Diary at least one week every month during the 12-month data collection period. A map showing what households are eligible can be found at any branch of the Huron County Library and on the Huron County Health Unit website.
For more information, please visit huronhealthunit.ca or contact the Huron County Health Unit at 519-482-3416 or 1-877-837-6143.
Sir: Our illustrious mayor spoke on a local radio station recently responding to the opinion poll, in which the number one local concern was wind turbines and water wells concerns. His conclusion, in essence, was that they were not involved except for taking $1,575,000 in taxes from the 450 turbines with an average tax rate of about $3500 each per year.
I wonder how much taxes would be for an industrial plant that would have been built and cost approximately $2 million to build. Did the mayor, council and administration ever think that there might be a cost to this extra income? Did they ever consider using this money to do a thorough investigation of the effect on the aquifer? Did they ever go to see the difficulties experienced by those families living off water tanks, especially in the recent freezing weather?
Apparently, mayor, council and administration for Chatham-Kent are willing to trade rural water wells for that price. The people losing their wells must prove that there is a problem and then the municipality may look at a solution.
The mayor says that they take concerns seriously. That is the exact same B.S. statement made by Premier Wynne when she was in Chatham a couple of months ago and the mayor was looking over her shoulder. No one in government, provincially or municipally, has done anything constructive for years; when the first complaints were lodged in Dover Township in about 2009 and again in 2012.
What is wrong with this story?
If a bank is robbed, does the bank have to find the criminal and prove his guilt? Isn’t that what police do? If you are in a car accident caused by another person, do you have to pursue and prove the guilt of the offender? Isn’t that what police do? For every injustice, there is a third party whose duty it is to find the perpetrator and proof for the case against them. Since these third parties are no longer doing their jobs, are we reverting to the law of the old west?
In the case of the harm done to water wells and the standard of living for those with now contaminated wells, these agencies are not acting in the offended parties’ interests. There are many directions that fingers can point.
The provincial government, with its Green Energy Act, which is being used as an excuse by everyone as a document that overrules every other law in the land. This is not true as the health and safety of the citizens of this province still rule supreme, if our Ministry of Health, and local public health unit would get off their backsides and study health effects of the Kettle Point Black Shale that infiltrated our water wells.
I believe that somewhere in their health education process they were made aware that lead, mercury, arsenic and uranium are not to be used as vitamins. Why have they never run any comprehensive tests to find out what is in the water now and what are the health effects of those contaminants?
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is certainly the ministry that is supposed to protect the citizens of this province from anything that environmentally has a negative effect on the enjoyment and use of property, be that by health effects or any other source of irritation. The trouble with the MOECC is that it is the same ministry that issued the permits to build wind farms and are certainly not going to admit that they did not do “due diligence” before issuing these permits. Were there any studies done on possible problems with the style of foundations used in an aquifer sensitive area?
Then we get to our local mayor, council and administration. What have they done other than become shareholders in wind farms? Do they value the rural wells of Chatham-Kent at $1.5 million per year? Are they going to use this money to replace the water supply that has been lost by several known residents in the former Dover and Chatham Townships?
Are there other townships that lost their wells as well, even before the wind companies went to the pile driving method from spread foot of securing foundations? Was our local government blinded by the visions of a cash windfall without any expense?
I still have three questions that I would like to have answered:
~How much money was paid by the wind industry to individuals, political parties and the Ontario government for the privilege of building turbines in Ontario without interference? ~How much money was paid by the wind industry to individuals, and the municipality to become friendly hosts for turbine construction? ~How much money would it take to stop construction and operation of turbines until their negative impact on environment issues, especially water, are properly assessed by an independent party, since our politicians, local and provincial, obviously have not done “due diligence” prior to signing agreements?
Where can these questions be answered? Are elected representatives not supposed to answer to their constituents?
I read in Monday’s Chatham Daily News online that the provincial environment ministry states that the turbine construction has not had a negative affect on water wells. This is despite the fact that residents were encouraged to have baseline water tests to compare with post-construction water quality. There are many wells that have had a long history of good water quality that were negatively affected at the time of or shortly after construction of the turbines as shown by water analysis post construction. This has become too common to be a coincidence.
It seems that the ministry is relying on the “science” that existed prior to this project to make their conclusion that there could be no effect on water wells. Perhaps they should look at the reality that exists today and do the work to figure out why there is a clear effect on many wells. They have that responsibility – it is clearly stated in the terms of reference of this project that any negative affect on water wells must be dealt with.
It is time for the ministry to fulfill their responsibility and hold the wind company to those terms.
Until that time they investigate fully why there is damage to residents’ water source and work towards a solution that serves local residents, the information they are spreading reminds me of the droppings of male cattle.
Grassroots organization Water Wells First is calling for a health hazard investigation at the North Kent Wind turbine site.
Water tank at Brooks residence / Photo: Robyn Brady – Feb 5, 2018
In a recent report, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change says that well water contamination in the North Kent area was not caused by turbine construction.
Spokesperson for Water Wells First Kevin Jakubec says this sets two precedents.
“The Ministry’s action on Thursday in releasing its findings for a few farms who had wells polluted during the pile-driving construction for North Kent One sets two very important precedents in Ontario’s history,” says Jakubec. “It sets a dangerous precedent for the protection of the environment, and the protection of our source water – groundwater – and equally, it sets a dangerous precedent for public health.”
Families whose wells are affected were provided with water tanks, but now that the MOECC has said the developers are not at fault, those tanks will be taken away.
Jessica Brooks, who lives outside Dresden, says she’s not sure what to do now.
“We really don’t know. We have to start pricing out [a water tank]. We’ll contact the water company we’re currently working with to see how much it costs to keep that tank. I’m sure we can’t afford it,” says Jessica.
The MOECC’s report, which Brooks and several other affected residents received recently, was presented to the media at a press conference this afternoon.
“I think honestly, I was surprised at how shocked and devastated I was. I think part of me was hoping my government would step up and do the right thing,” says Brooks.
Editor Note: Steven Cooper has advanced our understanding of how people react to real recorded pressure pulsations from industrial wind turbines. In the last six months he has presented eight papers at Acoustic Meetings in Zurich, Boston and New Orleans. With this interview, he breaks down some of the salient points of his research discoveries. Cooper’s work is expanding our knowledge about “soundscapes” near projects, which could result in new legal requirements for manufacturers and developers.
“In general, wind farm applications claim that turbines do not generate any low-frequency, tonal, or impulsive characteristics, which is a matter disputed by residential receivers. The consequence of the pulsating signal generated by turbines (whether audible or inaudible) could potentially require a further adjustment to any perception or impact generated by wind turbines.”
“On discussing the resident’s observations (with the residents) for the first two weeks I found the use of describing the impacts in terms of Noise, Vibration, and Sensation was accepted by the residents as a better concept.”
Port Ryerse Wind in Norfolk County developed by Borlex reports it has exceeded maximum sound power levels. Details can be found in its emission audit report.
Construction dust from a wind turbine project in Niagara is behind a $10 million lawsuit that is making its way through the court system.
St.Ann’s resident Stefanos Karatopis says he was visiting his sister back in 2015 when cement dust from a nearby Wind Farm project blew into the home sending 5 people to hospital.
Karatopis, who is also a member of the Niagara Land Owners Association says the dust was so bad it was hard to return home.
Lawyer Akradi Bouchelev represents Karatopis and says the dust contains very harmful chemicals that can impact a person’s health.
The $10 million dollar personal injury and damage claim has been filed against the Wind Farm, construction companies involved, the Niagara Region, and West Lincoln.
Bouchele says some have filed a statement of defence and some have asked for a delay.
He says the next stage is the examination of discovery.
Dust is seen spreading from the construction site of one of 77 wind turbines that make up the Niagara Region Wind Farm. – submitted photo
A young boy is seen covering his nose and mouth as he exits his home July 23. A plume of concrete dust travelled from a nearby construction site, sending five to hospital. – submitted photo
Mothers Against Wind Turbines Inc. 