Report on Environmental Review Tribunal Hearing on White Pines Wind Project‏‎

November 23

by

Paula Peel, APPEC

Day Eleven of the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) on the White Pines wind project was scheduled to deal with WPD’s witness Robert O’Neill.

However, the hearing began with a request from Eric Gillespie, APPEC’s legal counsel, for full disclosure from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) of the balance of the documents relating to Blanding’s turtles.  Mr. Gillespie advised the ERT that the MNRF has handed over only seven documents although it is clear there are many more.  The Tribunal declined to make a ruling at this time.

Gillespie subsequently provided notice of a motion made on behalf of the appellants that ERT co-chairs Marcia Valiante and Hugh Wilkins recuse themselves from these proceedings.  The Tribunal agreed to receive written submissions on this matter and will make a ruling as soon as possible.  There were no objections to the ERT continuing to hear evidence over the next two days.
The hearing then focused on Robert O’Neill, a sound engineer with Epsilon Association, whom the Tribunal qualified as an acoustician with expertise in wind turbine frequency noise.  During the past ten years he has conducted studies at about 20 operational wind projects. Continue reading Day Eleven: Report on ERT on White Pines Wind Project. Tribunal Chairs facing motion to be recused from hearing →

Report on Environmental Review Tribunal Hearing on White Pines Wind Project

November 20, 2015

by

 Paula Peel, Alliance to Protect Prince Edward County (APPEC)

APPEC’s health appeal continued on Day 10 with expert witness Dr. Paul Schomer testifying before the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) on the White Pines wind project.  The remainder of the day was spent making adjustments to the schedule following WPD’s abrupt announcement that it was dropping an appeal of the disallowance of two turbines (T7 and T11) by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC).

Dr. Schomer, a former Standards Director of the Acoustical Society of America with 48 years’ experience in noise measurement, was qualified by the ERT as an expert in acoustics.  He told the Tribunal that all residents in the White Pines project area will be affected by audible and inaudible sound and a number of residents will be seriously affected.  The effects reported by people living near wind projects are similar in nature to the effects experienced by participants in a 1985 University of Toronto study on infrasound.  At lower levels and at higher levels of pure tone some participants experienced nausea and dizziness.  However, when overtones were added at higher levels, participants experienced headaches and fatigue.

Dr. Schomer considers that internationally-accepted noise standards and protocols are being flouted in Ontario.  For example, A-weighting is not supposed to be relied on when sounds have low-frequency content such as those emitted by industrial wind turbines.  Canada is one of the countries that voted for this rule.  He also calls for changes in current Ontario regulations to adjust up to 10 db(A) for wind turbine noise in rural areas.  Other suggested adjustments include up to 3 db(A) for weather conditions and 3 to 4 db(A) for locations downwind of turbines.   Dr. Schomer is highly critical of WPD’s current predicted average sound as it merely indicates that 50% of the time 50% of the residents will be exposed to sound above or below the limit.  The wind industry should be held to a higher level of accountability: db(A) limits should be met 95% of the time.

Dr. Schomer pointed to a very important figure in the Health Canada Report.  Only 1% of people are shown to be highly annoyed at 30 – 35 db(A) sound levels.  However, at 35 – 40 db(A) the number jumps to 40%.  Dr. Schomer sees this as evidence of a community response to wind turbine noise, and that what Health Canada says, what independent acoustic experts say, and what communities say should carry weight in Ontario.

Through experience Dr. Schomer has found that when community responses disagree with the physics, the physics is usually wrong.  This has been confirmed by his involvement in six studies of wind farms, including the 8-turbine Shirley Wind Farm in Wisconsin where three families abandoned their homes and about 60 other people reported adverse health effects.

Report on Environmental Review Tribunal Hearing on White Pines Wind Project
November 19, 2015
by
Henri Garand and Paula Peel, APPEC

On Day Nine, APPEC expert witnesses Richard James and Steven Cooper provided acoustical evidence to the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) on the White Pines wind project.

The Tribunal qualified Mr. James as an acoustician on the basis of 40 years’ work experience and testimony at hearings in several American states and six ERTs.

James criticized WPD’s sound propagation modeling. The computer model is based on a single turbine as opposed to a set of turbines, and though specifically limited to one kilometre, it is used for calculations at greater distances. This leads to concerns about understating and under-predicting sound levels and under-representing the worse possible impact. Adjusting for model uncertainty and other factors, James expected a significant increase of 4.2 dB(A) beyond regulations.

While the model suggests compliance with Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) guidelines, James believes that the project will put 23 non-participating noise receptors in excess of 40 dB(A). Many more residences would fall outside MOECC guidelines because the summer/winter profile is flawed by not correcting for wind shear. Furthermore, since MM92 wind turbines have been the subject of a number of lawsuits, Mr. James contends that WPD’s modeling calculations are fundamentally too low.

https://ccsage.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/day-9-of-the-white-pines-ert/

Report on Environmental Review Tribunal Hearing on White Pines Wind Project‏‎
November 18
by
Paula Peel, APPEC

APPEC’s health case proceeded on Day 8 with two experts providing evidence to the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) on the White Pines wind project: Dr. Alum Evans and Dr. Robert McMurtry.

Dr. Evans, Professor Emeritus at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has studied cardiovascular disease for 30 years. Dr. Evans told the Tribunal that his involvement in wind turbines is tangential to his interest in noise, sleep disturbance, and cardiovascular disease. But he has also met many people severely impacted by wind turbine noise.

Citing published studies, Dr. Evans explained that the major adverse health effects of wind turbines seem to be due to sleep disturbance and sleep deprivation, mainly from loud noise and low-frequency noise (LFN), particularly infrasound. Dr. Evans finds the “impulsive, intrusive and incessant nature” of wind turbine noise a particularly troublesome feature that is highly discernible in rural areas. LFN, which is inaudible, is propagated over long distances and penetrates buildings where it can be amplified by insulation and closed windows. Dr. Evans noted that sleep deprivation is associated with increased likelihood of developing a range of chronic diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, cancer, coronary heart disease, and heart failure. His recent systematic literature review found 18 published studies establishing an association between wind turbine noise and human distress.

While agreeing with James Wilson, counsel for WPD, that “human distress” is not a medical term Dr. Evans said that human distress needs to be taken seriously nonetheless. He also agreed with Wilson that the results of observational studies do not constitute “proof”. But what is important about these studies is the strength of the associations, which are certainly enough to point to the Precautionary Principle.

read more:  https://ccsage.wordpress.com/2015/11/19/day-8-of-the-white-pines-ert/

Schools need to be informed and involved concerning long term negative health impacts.

The following is written by Luann Therrien. November 2015.

As many already know our family resided less than 3/4 of a mile to the nearest Industrial Wind Turbine, 5 were within one mile, all 16 were within two miles. We lived near the project for three years. Abandoned our home of 18 years on December 22, 2014.

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While State officials will not admit to any adverse health impacts from residing in too close proximity of an Industrial Wind Power Plant, they will agree that sleep deprivation has serious impacts on an individual’s health. The sounds being emitted by wind turbines causes annoyance and sleep deprivation and we are still realizing more impacts these sounds have on a body.

We were exposed to various sounds being emitted from the power plant consisting of audible and inaudible sounds (infrasound).

Realize individuals residing around projects may not have the proper information to have any idea of what the symptoms may consist of. This information is also valuable to schools who have students in attendance who live in these areas. The impacts are serious and there fore needs to be taken seriously by everyone including the education system.

Before I continue, feel the need to make clear that through the entire Industrial Wind Power Plant proposal and construction process, we did NOT oppose the project. It was not until after the completion of the project and it went online did we understand we would hear the turbines. Took around six months for us to realize the sounds were impacting us, and almost a year to begin comprehending how severly it was impacting us.

That eye opening day consisted of;
My son did something that made me laugh out loud, a real laugh. In that moment I was shocked to realize that I hadn’t done so in a very long time.
My personality had been changed, am still not the person I used to be. Went from being accused of laughing too much to being prescribed Prozac and Trazadone. This therapy continues. Sought out the aid of a Psychiatrist who has diagnosed my husband and I with PTSD.

Along with evaluations preformed at our children’s schools, we will be setting up appointments with our psychiatrist for our now almost 6 and 4 year olds as they exhibit behaviors that are a concern.

You will find an abundance of information online on the subject of “Wind Turbine Syndrome”. Some you read will state that there are no adverse health impacts in conjunction with Industrial Wind Power. Please keep in mind these studies are typically bought and paid for by the wind industry who profit from the installations. Any studies proclaiming the opposit, are preformed by concerned citizens, Doctors and so on who realize the seriousness the impacts will have on some individuals.

Below you will find a link to our Facebook Group “Victims of Industrial Wind” along with links speaking of the adverse health impacts.

Please involve you schools.

Feel free to contact me,
Luann Therrien
lmttherrien@gmail.com.

Thank you,

Here are just a few links, please investigate and involve your schools

Victim’s of Industrial Wind,
https://m.facebook.com/groups/740453565984169?ref=bookmarks

http://waubrafoundation.org.au/health/symptoms/

http://hearinghealthmatters.org/…/wind-turbine-health-prob…/

http://docs.wind-watch.org/120727-Evidence-of-Adverse-Healt…

Settlers Landing ERT15037o3 (1

Click to access settlers-landing-ert15037o3-1.pdf

Report on the ERT Hearing on the White Pines Wind Project – Nov. 12, 2015
By Henri Garand and Paula Peel, APPEC

The Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) of the White Pines wind project devoted Day Five to hearing six members of the public previously awarded status as Presenters rather than expert witnesses.

Christopher Currie also sought to be qualified as an expert witness because he would be commenting, as a professional land use planner, on WPD’s application reports. But the Tribunal denied the request because Currie’s focus was on water bodies and he has no credentials in hydrology or related subjects.

As a Presenter, nonetheless, Currie gave a detailed review of the deficiencies in WPD’s assessment of water bodies on the project site. He pointed out that two fisheries biologists, not hydrologists, had carried out all the field work from June to mid-October, never during the wet season of November through April, and had used assessment standards inappropriate for alvar.  Due to these and other numerous flaws in methodology, the final report was incomplete and unreliable. Excavation, drilling, and hydrofracking for wind turbine bases would cause serious environmental harm to animals and plants by permanently altering the South Shore watershed.

Cheryl Anderson, president of Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory (PEPtBO), described how White Pines would jeopardize the millions of birds which migrate each year through the Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird Area (PECSSIBA). Soaring birds like eagles, hawks and vultures are especially vulnerable, and a dozen species at risk breed in the project area.  Moreover, PECSSIBA, which is globally significant for waterfowl and nationally significant for endangered bird species, meets all Environment Canada criteria for a location unsuitable for wind development. In light of high mortality at the nearby Wolfe Island wind project, Anderson called on the ERT to apply the Precautionary Principle.

read more: https://appec.wordpress.com/2015/11/13/white-pines-wind-project-ert-hearing-november-12-2015/

A new report on Ontario’s daily electricity sector demonstrates the shortcoming of reporting of the sector’s costs that contributes to the poverty of intellect in much too common communication on the sector.

The new report is from me, and it is to provide consumers, and other critics, with a more intelligent summary than the little noticed “Daily Market Summary” produced by the province’s system operator (IESO). I hope some readers will work through the additional numbers as they can demonstrate the broad themes driving pricing in Ontario – and if some that do the work join a chorus calling for some transparency and meaningful reporting from the IESO,  my work in creating the reporting will be somewhat justified.

If one were to have no other information than the IESO Daily Market Summary reports for November 10th, and 12th, they’d think a little less demand – 187 megawatt-hours (MWh) – resulted in the price dropping $27.59/MWh to essentially free.

Ontario’s demand for electricity did not change. The IESO’s “demand” is not Ontario’s consumption, but the demand for supply from generators in the IESO’s market.

read more:  Tuesday, November 17, 2015, Cold Air

Report on Environmental Review Tribunal Hearing on the White Pines Wind Project
November 16, 2015
by
Henri Garand, APPEC

On Day Six, the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) of the White Pines wind project considered a procedural motion to exclude two environmental witnesses, heard testimony from four health case witnesses, and then ruled on the proposed schedule of expert witnesses.

Eric Gillespie, counsel for appellant APPEC, proposes to call Dr. Michael Hutchinson, a director of the American Bird Conservancy, and William Evans, a nocturnal bird migration monitoring expert, in reply to two witness statements provided by wind developer/approval holder WPD. James Wilson, WPD counsel, claimed these witnesses would either repeat evidence given by another APPEC witness or introduce new facts outside “proper reply.” Gillespie argued that APPEC, bearing the onus of proof, has the right to reply to WPD’s experts, and the expertise of the reply witnesses does not duplicate that of primary witness Dr. Shawn Smallwood, an ecologist.

The Tribunal reserved its decision until the next day.

read more: https://ccsage.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/day-6-of-the-white-pines-ert/

Richard Mann

Research

For Media release (Nov 16, 2015).  My research on infra sound and wind turbines. here (PDF).

Announcement (Nov 3, 2015).  I am pleased to announce that on Oct 25, 2015, University of Waterloo (Office of Research and School of Computer Science) has approved funding for my research in Infra sound.  Research details are provided here (PDF).

Note: Accepting applications for undergraduate research assistants (part time (starting W16) and full/time co-op (starting S16) ).  Areas of interest: Embedded computing, Computer Audio, and/or Electronics.  Feel free to contact me for details. Continue reading University of Waterloo Study on Infrasound- Press Release →