Government still promising health-hazard investigation
With concerns still being raised about the potential impact of turbines on well water, the provincial government is planning to follow through with a health-hazard investigation, says an area MPP and minister.
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton, left, delivered a bottle of dirty water from a water well located in the North Kent 1 Wind project area, to Minister of Environment and Climate Change Chris Ballard during question period at Queen’s Park in Toronto, Ont., on Tuesday, November 21, 2017. Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Growth watched the exchange. (File/Handout)
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP and Infrastructure Minister Monte McNaughton said the Progressive Conservatives will “absolutely” honour their election pledge.
“(We) moved extremely quickly to fulfill our promises for the people of Ontario,” he said on Tuesday. “One of those was to cancel the Otter Creek wind project and 758 other renewable projects across the province.”
Water Wells First, a grassroots group, began raising concerns two years ago about the potential impact the construction of the North Kent Wind farm would have on water wells due to Kettle Point black shale geology and the shallow aquifer in the area.
Since then, more than 20 water wells have reported significant amounts of sediments that have clogged up the flow of water during construction and after operation of the wind farm began.
The group says this particular shale is known to contain metals such as uranium, arsenic and lead that are harmful to human health.
“ONE LETTER issued to me in response to the two letters I had written to the Ministry of environment in Ontario, required immense resources in another attempt to shut me down.
A recent (partially released) FOI showed: TWENTY-ONE (21) employees at the ministry of environment and the attorney generals office were involved to create a single response to a resident of Ontario.
The email chain began in October of 2017 and I received a response March 1, 2018.
This is a brilliant example of the duplication and redundancy required when no one is responsible for anything and everyone just passes the buck or in this case the piece of paper.
Plausible deniability and not assuming responsibility has always been their game.
Tell Premier Ford to cut duplication, redundancy and administration.”
Next Era has taken the money not once but thrice. It used your money to help build the wind projects in Ontario, it took your money for electricity generated and curtailed. It sold the projects to the Federal Government and continues to generate income with service contracts for some of the projects. You paid, are played and continue to pay.
About Cordelio Power
Headquartered in Toronto, Cordelio Power owns and manages a 396MW power generation portfolio, including four operating wind projects and two operating solar projects in Ontario. The company was launched in June 2018 to complete the purchase of this portfolio from NextEra Energy Partners. It is focused on working with all stakeholders to operate its projects in an efficient, safe and environmentally-responsible manner. Cordelio Power is owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Projects now owned by your pension plan:
Bluewater Wind Energy Centre | Conestogo Wind Energy Centre | Jericho Wind Energy Centre | Summerhaven Wind Energy Centre
Moore Solar Energy Centre | Sombra Solar Energy Centre
Nation Rise project will create noise, health problems: WCO president to Tribunal
(C) ONTARIO FARMER
July 31, 2018
Report by Tom van Dusen
Finch, Ontario — Sitting demurely and speaking quietly, on July 24 the volunteer president of Wind Concerns Ontario blasted the provincial government approach to monitoring industrial wind turbines, accusing it of ignoring complaints about noise, health and other issues, or deferring them with no subsequent action.
Jane Wilson made her comments while presenting as a witness during an Environmental Review Tribunal hearing into the Nation Rise wind power project planned for Stormont County. The hearing is scheduled to continue through August 2.
Currently engaged in the approval process, the project is sponsored by EDP Renewables Canada and calls for installation of some 33 turbines in North Stormont farm country delivering a total of 100 megawatts of power that, opponents observe, the province doesn’t need.
Headed by local resident Margaret Benke, opponents were hopeful the new Doug Ford government would cancel Nation Rise just as it did the White Pines wind project in Prince Edward County. But that didn’t happen and opponents’ legal fees and other expenses are up to $20,000. Benke noted that, with Ford in place, Nation Rise isn’t likely to proceed and yet opposing residents are still on the hook for costs.
Government not enforcing the law
A registered nurse, Wilson said Wind Concerns represents a coalition of more than 30 community groups across Ontario.
She emphasized that the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change–renamed Environment, Conservation and Parks — has pledged to protect the environment and human health from any turbine side effects.
She cited former Environment Minister Glen Murray congratulating his officials for responding quickly to complaints and enforcing the law. However, Wilson’s review of incident reports obtained through Access to Information indicated the ministry doesn’t respond to all complaints and “does not, therefore, enforce the law.”
No answer to that
Total number of incident reports filed with the ministry between 2006 and 2016 was 4,574, Wilson told Maureen Cartier-Whitney, chair of the one-person panel. Records showed that in more than 50 per cent of formal complaints, there was no ministry response. Another 30 per cent were deferred. “In fact, only one percent received priority response.”
While he asked for some clarification, Paul McCulloch of the ministry’s Legal Services Branch, didn’t dispute Wilson’s basic facts. Representing EDP, lawyer . Grant Worden also offered no challenges to Wilson.
The repetitive nature of various complaints suggests, Wilson continue, that wind power developers are failing to live up to the terms of their approvals by allowing conditions triggering adverse effects including on health, to continue.
“Documented health effects include headache, sleep deprivation, annoyance, and ringing or pressure sensation in the head and ears. Most disturbing was the fact that these health effects were reported many times, and also among children.”
Wilson indicated that 39 per cent of 2006-2016 incident reports referred explicitly to sleep disturbance which is generally blamed for a myriad of diseases and disorders.
“Given the thousands of unresolved noise complaints in Ontario, and given Health Canada results of adverse health effects at distances of 550 metres to 1 km, it is reasonable to question whether the Nation Rise power project will not also engender community reports of excessive noise and adverse effects.”
contact@windconcernsontario.ca
To help support the appeal, which is bringing forward issues never presented to the ERT before, please send a cheque to Concerned Citizens of North Stormont, c/o Wind Concerns Ontario, PO Box 509, 250 Wellington main Street, Wellington ON K0K 3L0
Nation Rise project: significant concerns over health, environmental damage
Residents may see be seeing turbine sections leaving the County aftetr Bill 2, Urgent Priorities Act received Royal Assent in the Ontario Legislature Wednesday. – Irv Collier photo
With Royal Assent received Wednesday for Bill 2, Urgent Priorities Act 2018, wpd’s nine industrial wind turbine project in Prince Edward County is terminated.
“If members opposite wonder why I don’t fear contractual chill, it’s because the proponent in this case has never honoured its agreements with the government of Ontario,” said Todd Smith, Bay of Quinte MPP and Minister of Government Affairs, in the legislature. “This project deserves to die. It deserves to die exactly as it should die today – publicly and in front of the whole province.”
Smith told thte legislature the company has been building non-stop since the middle of June, even after the government announced its intentions to legislatively terminate the project on July 10.
“They’ve had construction crews working over the weekend and trucks heading into the county at all hours to try and complete construction before this Legislature can conclude its work on Bill 2…. And they are nine white elephants. They will do nothing to help this province fight climate change—absolutely nothing. Their total capacity now, after previously being 60 megawatts, is down to about 18 megawatts of power.”
He also noted recent ministry charges over violations. “Finally, it was just a couple of weeks ago that the major multinational corporation developing the project was charged not once, not twice, but three times by the province’s Ministry of Environment for multiple violations. That’s because, under the renewable energy approval, to protect endangered species in the area, they’re not supposed to be constructing after May 1.”
The act, retroactive to July 10, terminates permits and revokes approvals, including the Feed-in-Tarriff contract and Renewable Energy Approval issued in July 2015. It requires decommissioning and to “maintain the lands in a clean and safe condition”.
Smith said it’s been seven long years, but he’s glad to be able to have accomplished this feat.
“It certainly seemed like the deck was stacked against us at times,” he said. “Apparently, construction has now stopped. The legislation requires the company to dismantle and return the property to its original state.”
Parry Sound Fire 33 started at site of Henvely Wind project. Work continued despite extreme fire hazard conditions.
“Despite “extreme fire hazard” conditions and a region-wide fire ban, a number of workers say crews continued to blast rock and use heavy machinery that had set off several small fires earlier last week. The workers asked CBC News to withhold their names out of fear of losing their jobs.
But on Wednesday, things got out of control.”
CBC INVESTIGATES
Massive Ontario forest fire sparked by wind farm construction during extreme fire ban, workers allege
Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is investigating whether construction crews building a major wind-turbine project on the eastern shores of Georgian Bay amidst tinder-dry conditions caused a forest fire that is now devouring more than 5,600 hectares of land.
The fire started last Wednesday on Henvey Inlet First Nation at the site of the province’s largest wind project, where crews are blasting rock and clearing land to erect dozens of wind turbines.
Despite “extreme fire hazard” conditions and a region-wide fire ban, a number of workers say crews continued to blast rock and use heavy machinery that had set off several small fires earlier last week. The workers asked CBC News to withhold their names out of fear of losing their jobs.
But on Wednesday, things got out of control.
“We heard on two-way radios that there was an Argo [an all-terrain vehicle] that broke down in the bush where the fire began,” one worker said.
“During the week, as we proceeded through work, there were fires that started up from our machines … little fires,” he said. “But this one started and it was too big for [workers] to control. And it got out of hand and it turned into devastation.”
…………..
“I think that the job should be shut down,” he said. “I think those that knew the consequence of this [and] just kept going and ignored the problem at hand … should be held responsible for this.”
CBC News obtained this photo taken Wednesday of the Henvey Inlet construction site where workers say the fire began after a machine got stuck in bone-dry bush. (Name withheld by request)
“Tens of billions in tax subsidies have failed to make “green” energy the steady source of power promised. And now, for instance, Germany’s subsidies for wind power are coming to an end, so as many as 20% of German wind turbines will have to be decommissioned each year with nowhere to dispose of the 30-metre concrete bases or the huge turbine blades.”
Niagara Wind- Enercon Industrial Wind Turbine Construction 2015
GUNTER: Why on earth is Trudeau still so committed to the failing carbon tax?
With the new Ontario government of Premier Doug Ford announcing it will fight the federal Liberal government’s national carbon tax, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s flagship “green” initiative is in far more jeopardy than might be obvious.
Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff, Ian Brodie, has pronounced the carbon tax “politically dead,” while former Liberal whisperer Warren Kinsella tweeted the tax is “dead, pretty much.”
Protecting York University students and repealing cap-and-trade carbon tax to top new government’s agenda
TORONTO — Upon the resumption of the legislature, the people of Ontario can expect to see urgent action to protect York University students from the ongoing labour dispute and repeal Ontario’s cap-and-trade carbon tax law from the books, Minister of Government and Consumer Services and Government House Leader Todd Smith announced today.
“We have decided to recall the house because it is clear there are areas of public interest that require urgent attention,” said Smith. “The people of Ontario cannot afford to wait, and they won’t have to.”
Smith singled out three priority areas where the government intends to introduce urgent legislation that will:
Protect the students at York University and their families by ensuring that the ongoing labour dispute is quickly and fairly resolved
Strike Ontario’s cap-and-trade carbon tax law from the books so that a future government would not impose another cap-and-trade carbon tax under the law
Cancel the White Pines Wind Project, effective today, which received notice to proceed during the election period before the government had a chance to make any decision on the project for the benefit of the people of Prince Edward County
“These three priorities send a clear and serious message about what you can expect from our government,” said Smith. “We are prepared to act. And we will always put the best interests of the people first.”
Next Era has taken the money not once but thrice. It used your money to help build the wind projects in Ontario, it took your money for electricity generated and curtailed. It sold the projects to the Federal Government and continues to generate income with service contracts for some of the projects. You paid, are played and continue to pay.
Mothers Against Wind Turbines Inc. 