PECFN lawyer accuses MNRF official of coaching developer, witholding documents

The optics have always been bad— provincial government officials aligned with a large wind developer in a no-holds-barred fight against the handful of volunteers who make up the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists (PECFN).

It became much worse when, under crossexamination, a species at risk expert testified that he had warned senior officials in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) that the project posed a deadly risk to the Blanding’s turtle.

Now the Ostrander Tribunal has revealed a very close working relationship between MNRF officials and the developer. PECFN’s lawyer says the regulator, responsible for protecting species at risk, is withholding documents and emails the Tribunal ordered turned over.

All in all, it was another rough week for Ontario’s MNRF and Minstry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC).

The proceedings, now deep into extra innings, showed no sign of wrapping up soon. Despite the tedium, lawyers pulled at the tangled web strand by strand. The crowd following these proceedings remained vigilant throughout the week. By Friday afternoon, 30 people remained in the gallery at the town hall in Demorestville.

The Tribunal, now it’s second incarnation at reviewing Gilead Power Company’s Renewable Energy Approval (REA) for its Ostrander Point project, had stretched another full week after being postponed from September as the MNRF gathered data ordered by Tribunal adjudicators Robert Wright and Heather Gibbs. These documents include emails, memos and correspondence that might shed light onto the Ministry’s internal deliberation over the decision to grant the developer a “harm, harass and kill” permit—specifically how ministry officials arrived at the decision to overide their own species-at-risk expert’s opinion.

read more: http://wellingtontimes.ca/?p=15161

Ontario’s approach to electricity policy has driven up prices for businesses and residents, undermining competitiveness. This is just one example of how misguided policy choices have contributed to Ontario’s economic weakness in recent years.

Once the engine of Canada’s economy, Ontario is now mired in a prolonged period of weak performance. In 2003, Ontario’s real GDP growth fell below the national average and consistently lagged behind the rest of Canada over the next decade. Consequently, real disposable household incomes in Ontario, which were fully 10 per cent higher than the national average in 2000, fell below the Canadian average for the first time on record in 2012 and 2013.

Investor confidence is understandably shaken, with the result being weak private-sector investment in the province. In fact, in 2013 (the last year for which we have data), private-sector investment still had not recovered to pre-recession levels.

The province’s relative decline cannot be entirely blamed, as some do, on external forces such as the resource boom elsewhere in Canada. Instead, a range of poor policy choices have undermined Ontario’s competitiveness. One of the clearest examples of this pattern can be found by examining the province’s policy on renewable electricity generation.

read more: National Post | November 2, 2015

Research

Announcement (Nov 3, 2015).  I am pleased to announce that University of Waterloo has approved funding for my research in Infra sound.  A research summary is provided here (PDF).

Note: Research funding is available for undergraduate research assistants (URA, both part time full time).  Areas of interest: Embeded computing, Computer Audio, and/or Electronics.  Feel free to contact me for details.

Research interests

• Computational vision (high-level vision, motion understanding, event recognition)
• Computational hearing (acoustics, speech, music, signal processing)
  
• Perception and Learning
• Artificial Intelligence
• Industrial Wind Turbine Noise (audible and infra sound)
  

Publications

Latest work: J. Vanderkooy and R. Mann. “Measuring Wind Turbine Coherent Infrasound”. Wind Turbine Noise 2015, INCE/EUROPE, Monday 20th April to Thursday 23rd April 2015. Glasgow, Scotland.

https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~mannr/

Report on the ERT Hearing on the White Pines Wind 

November 2, 2015

​by Henri Garand​, APPEC

If Day One is any indication, the White Pines appeal will be as contentious as Ostrander Point’s.   Even before opening statements the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) consisting of co-chairs Marcia Valiante and Hugh Wilkins, heard motions that may require an adjournment of the proceedings.

Eric Gillespie, counsel for APPEC, asked the ERT to summon two staff members of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) and to order production of all materials related to White Pines permits approved under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The request derived from similar disclosures and witnesses in the Ostrander Point appeal that have raised doubts about the integrity of the MNRF’s process for assessing risk to endangered species like the Blanding’s turtle.

Gillespie believes that testimony is relevant and necessary from Joe Crowley, the MNRF’s expert on reptiles and turtles, and Kathleen Pitt, the MNRF manager who oversaw permitting for White Pines.  He argued that an appellant has a right to all the related documents on the basic principles of  justness and fairness. Continue reading Day One – Report on Environmental Review Tribunal Hearing on White Pines Wind Project →

Six years ago the government spent close to a million dollars putting up a wind turbine to power a commuter station west of Toronto.

Even when they announced it, they admitted the train station would still need regular electricity.

But it was a “green” symbol, right? That’s what really mattered to all the politicians and lobbyists.

Well, it’s 2015 now, and they literally tore it down.

The wind turbine was producing 91% less energy than expected.

If this were a private company, in charge of moving people around, someone would be fired. But it’s a government company.

So I checked the Ontario government’s “Sunshine” list, and guess who’s on it?

Meanwhile, the average Ontario household will see their electricity bills rise next year — to pay for more wind turbines!

follow link  to watch video report:  EZRA LEVANT

Altamont Winds told the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service in an email Oct. 23 that it is ceasing operations as of Sunday.

The decision was applauded by environmental groups, which for years have been fighting to build awareness around the large numbers of golden eagles, raptors, burrowing owls and other birds that are killed by turbines.

“It’s a really big deal,” said Michael Lynes, director of public policy for Audubon California. “(Altamont Winds) is the second-largest operator in the Altamont, and they were doggedly continuing to use those old turbines that we know have a disproportionately high rate of mortality.”

Altamont Winds did not return calls for comment.

A turkey vulture flies among dormant wind turbines in the Altamont area of Contra Costa County on May 8, 2015. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

Altamont Winds Vice President Bill Damon wrote in the email to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service that “the reduction of avian impacts” was the primary reason for the company to discontinue its Altamont operations.

The shutdown was a surprise, as Altamont had earlier this year received an extension to operate until 2018, which frustrated environmentalists.

read more:  By Dan Lawton dlawton@bayareanewsgroup.com POSTED: 10/30/2015

October 30, 2015

Ostrander Point ERT in Demorestville Day 3

The ERT re-convened at 10 am today at Demorestville Town Hall.  After much procedural wrangling about the documents that were disclosed by Karen Bellamy finally Ms. Bellamy’s cross examination was begun in the late morning. There was a discussion about how to deal with the vast amount of material that had been disclosed.  Normally each item would be entered as an exhibit as it was discussed with the witness, but this was deemed to be a cumbersome method in this case.  It was decided to get started and see how things went.  Mr. Wright was quite insistent that it was necessary to get on with the cross examination. Eric Gillespie started through the 1500 documents that were disclosed.  Most of the information that Eric was taking Ms. Bellamy to was about the process of how the Endangered Species Act was to be implemented and the plans for the Impact Management Plan.  It became obvious that the approach of going through 1500 documents one by one was not a productive exercise.  Eric suggested – with the agreement of Ms. Davis and Ms. Kromkamp that the documents could be grouped into categories and that a representative document or two from each category would provide the information he wanted to relay to the Tribunal.  Over the lunch break we went through the three volumes of documents and categorized them into groups such as: articles that could be removed from the record; articles that had been previously referred to, and a broad category of newspaper articles, power points, draft ESA permits and EBR postings and a group of unclassified emails.

The gist of Eric Gillespie’s argument was that the documents showed clear indications that Ms. Bellamy’s role was to coordinate and promote the Ostrander Point development.  The written notes that were released through a freedom of information request included a communication between Ms. Bellamy and Mike Lord of Gilead regarding a CBC interview that took place in 2011.  It was revealed that the “House Notes” about Ostrander Point that were delivered to assistant deputy ministers and deputy ministers were reviewed and approved by her.  There were 31 newspaper articles in the released documents that showed that she was regularly receiving media stories about Ostrander Point.

The final argument was about which documents would be entered into the record as exhibits for the Tribunal to consider when making their decision on the case.  Ms Kromkamp continued to assert that none of the documents were relevant to the remedy case.  Eric Gillespie’s argument was that although some documents were not relevant most of them were and these documents went to the determination of credibility of Ms. Bellamy as a fact witness.  In his final submission’s he pointed out the lack of information about the Blanding’s Turtle in any of the documents.  The organization of documents that Eric Gillespie proposed was accepted because it allowed for the tribunal to have context of the arguments presented.  All the documents he proposed that the Tribunal accept as exhibits were accepted.

Two witnesses remain to be heard.  There will be a teleconference on Wednesday Nov 4 to determine further timing for the Ostrander Point Environmental Review Tribunal hearings.

Click to access untitled-attachment-00004.pdf

Date/Time: September 21, 2015 / 5:30 – 8:30pm Place: Wellandport Community Centre – 5042 Canborough Road Attendees: CLC Members: Jordan Fois, Community Member Gerry Veluhuszen, Community Member John Sikkens, Community Member Brian Staff, Community Member Kris Franklin, Haldimand County FWRN LP: Adam Rosso, Boralex, Director of Development Bill Somerville, Enercon, Director of Construction Stantec: Krista Walkey, CLC Chair & Facilitator Jennifer Mondell, Planner Absentees: Irene Kerkhovent, Community Member Drew Cherry, GRCA Distribution: All Attendees, Absentees & FWRN Website

follow link to read meeting notes: Untitled attachment 00004