Reserve now for free Riverwalk event in South Marysburgh on Sep 5, 2015

Here’s a fun event, sponsored by several County businesses, from 3 to 5 pm on Saturday, September 5, 2015 at MillsFalls B&B, 745 Crowes Road, South Marysburgh.

You’ll enjoy an afternoon of nature (with interpretive guides), soft music, wine and nibblies, plus the opportunity to visit with County friends.

The event and refreshments are free, but a donation to PECFN to save Ostrander Point will be greatly appreciated.

Advance registration is required, and attendance is limited, so sign up early by clicking here .

Premier Wynne has been invited, to allow her to demonstrate her solidarity with rural Ontario … wonder if she’ll come?

PECFN continues its efforts to Save Ostrander Point. The Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) hearing will resume at the Demorestville Town Hall on September 2,3,4.

This new hearing is a result of the Appeal Court of Ontario directing the ERT to deal with the issue of remedy to Gilead’s planned destruction of the habitat resulting from the access roads and industrial wind turbines.

If you’re unable to attend Riverwalk, you can still make a donation to the Ostrander Point Appeal Fund here .

Barn owls are no longer an issue for the proposed Port Ryerse Wind Farm.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has determined that the wind farm site is not part of the owls’ regular habitat.
Developer Boralex Inc. will not need a special permit to build four industrial wind turbines east of Port Ryerse.

Continue reading GOVT. SAYS WIND FARM NOT PART OF BARN OWLS REGULAR HABITAT →

NEWS RELEASE

Ontario Communities Reject Wind Power Proposals

Essex council is making it clear it doesn’t want to see any more wind turbines in the town, rejecting a community benefit agreement for the Blue Sky Wind Project.

“We are not interested in any more windmills in our municipality,” says Ward 3 Councillor Bill Caixeiro to loud and long applause in council chambers Monday night.

Councillors even charged the company behind the project, GDF Suez, had paid for letters of support to be sent to council.

“There was no payment made for any letters of support,” says Bonnie Hiltz, government relations for GDF Suez. “They, I believe, were referring to letters of support for landowners who have voluntarily come forward to participate in the project.”

Hiltz is disappointed in council’s strong negativity towards the project.

“This is the very, very early stage of the project and so we’ve heard from residents that they want to be engaged and help inform the project as it evolves. That’s what we’re doing here, that’s what we’re doing with our public meetings,” says Hiltz.

Public meetings are scheduled for Tecumseh and Essex this week.

Essex residents like Anna Markett feel the company is trying to bully people into backing the project, “We’ve been hounded for the last three or four months.”

The Blue Sky Wind Project would have turbines mostly in Essex and into Tecumseh Township as well.

http://www.windconcernsontario.ca/

Canadian province of Nova Scotia cancels a successful project which rewarded people for generating renewable energy, reports Climate News Network

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia, on the country’s Atlantic seaboard, has ended a programme which gave citizens an incentive to produce renewable energy.

The decision, which will initially mean lower prices for energy users, is at odds with widespread warnings that renewable energy must rapidly replace fossil fuels.

One Nova Scotian told the Climate News Network the government’s decision was a backwards step: “They have not only cut the legs out from under independent energy developers … they have stolen citizens’ right to access ownership of energy.”

The scheme is the Nova Scotia community feed-in tariff (Comfit), which was designed to encourage community-based, local renewable energy projects by guaranteeing a rate per kilowatt-hour for the energy the project fed into the province’s electrical grid.

On 6 August the provincial government announced: “This is the right time to bring Comfit to a close; it has achieved its objectives. We are now at a point where the programme could begin to have a negative impact on power rates. Nova Scotians have told us they want stability and affordability when it comes to power rates, and industry wants clarity on the future of the Comfit programme.”

The announcement went on: “No new generation is needed to meet electricity demand, and adding capacity would negatively impact rates as Nova Scotians pay more for energy with small-scale, community-based projects than from other sources.”

Andy MacCallum of Natural Forces, a company which develops renewable energy in eastern Canada, told the Network: “We’re disappointed. Comfit was the previous provincial government’s programme: it’s a political decision: if the project continued then the opposition could accuse this government of forcing energy prices up in the short-term.

“But the scheme benefitted small communities, pulling in tens of millions of dollars in investments which without it would not have come here. The losers will be ordinary Nova Scotians.”

READ MORE HERE

Wind turbines are to be removed from all but one school in the Highlands because of safety concerns.

The U-turn follows a protest over several years by campaigners angry about the lack of a buffer zone between the machines and pupils and staff.

Single turbines at four Caithness primary schools – Bower, Castletown, Crossroads and South – have already been removed.

Eight others, elsewhere in the region, will follow.

It is understood that the council is keen to relocate them to other properties it owns.

A council spokeswoman said: “We have recently undertaken a revised risk assessment in accordance with Health and Safety Executive requirements.

“We have taken all reasonable and practical measures to minimise the risks associated with having turbines in school grounds.

“However, we have determined that we cannot actively manage the perceived risks from turbines on school grounds and have decided to remove the turbines and relocate them.”

read more: The Press and Journal, 6 August 2015 by Iain Ramage

Final Report Australian Senate Committee on Wind Turbines, August 3, 2015

Pg. 17 (39 of 350 in pdf)

The need for civility in public debate

“As the committee noted in its interim report (paragraph 1.13), it is disappointed that renewable energy advocates, wind farm developers and operators, public officials and academics continue to denigrate those who claim that wind turbines have caused their ill health.”

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Wind_Turbines/Wind_Turbines/Final_Report

Wind Neighbors Support Health Commission Bill H2032

The State House hearing on H2032 wrapped up late in the day with Sharon Eddy’s testimony about Wind I in Falmouth (7/28/15).

My first encounter with Wind I was at 11 pm immediately after startup.  I was typing a letter on my computer when I felt a direct push on my chest. It knocked whatever I was thinking out of my head and I remember thinking, “What the heck just happened?” That was the beginning of a long, long nightmare.

A month later, my learning disabled son, whose IQ is 73, came to visit during the day. He went out onto our back deck and said, “Mom, I just felt something on my body.” Then he said, “I don’t want to sound dumb, but is that thing turning?”

Read more of Sharon Eddy’s statement, including her letter to the Falmouth Board of Health and entries from her health log. She concluded, “I’ve always believed in science and collection of data and findings to back a theory or inquiry…only then can we learn.”

Eddy described her expeience at the packed hearing: “It was very hot and no room to sit. I was over 2 hours sitting on the floor next to others. Got home at 9 pm as didn’t get out of session until after 5:30 then stuck in Boston traffic for 3 hrs. I was last to testify at 5:20.”

http://windwisema.org/2015/08/02/wind-neighbors-support-health-commission-bill-h2032/

REDA- Radiation Emitting Devices Act and Wind Turbines- Letter from Honourable Ben Lobb MP

Ben Lobb, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health.

June 2015 newsletter (extract):

NEWS FROM OTTAWA

Some people in the riding of Huron-Bruce have reached out to me many times because of concerns about the operation of industrial wind projects in proximity to their homes.

These concerns are validated through peer reviewed research published internationally. As the Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA) I take these reports very seriously.

According to David Michaud PhD, principal investigator for the Health Canada wind turbine noise and health study 2014, the Radiation Emitting Devices Act (REDA) has authority over wind turbine emissions in the form of electromagnetic waves or acoustical waves.

Upon investigation I believe the REDA has a system in place to make sure those with wind turbine health and noise complaints are heard at the federal level. Continue reading Make Wind Turbine Health and Noise Complaints heard at the Federal Level. →

Appendix A- Witness Statement Linda J Rogers ERT Case No. 14-096 Dec.12.14 (1)

Witness Statement:

Appendix A Linda J Rogers Dec.12, 2014
Environmental Review Tribunal Case No. 14-09652
Section I – The Smithville Phase IV Bedrock Remediation Program
The Smithville Phase IV Bedrock Remediation Program (2002)

Report states:
Background: The small municipality of Smithville (now West Lincoln) gained notoriety in 1985 when PCBs and other contaminants were discovered leaking from a waste transfer facility into the environment… The intended use of the site was to receive and transfer PCB wastes. CWML operated the facility from 1978, when the MOE granted a Certificate of Approval, until 1985, when PCBs were discovered leaking into the environment. During its operational life the facility handled several hundred thousand litres of liquid wastes. Approximately half of the wastes received were reported to have been PCB waste. In 1989, the MOE assumed ownership of the former CWML site and continues, to this day, to be responsible for the site (Report 10, p. 1).
Objectives of the Phase IV Program: The Phase IV Bedrock Remediation Program (the “Program”) was established in 1993 with the goal of protecting public health and safety and the environment and allowing the intended beneficial use of the affected lands. The main stakeholders in the remediation of the Smithville site are the MOE (regulator and site owner), the Corporation of the Township of West Lincoln (the municipality in which the site is located) and the public-at-large (Ibid, pp. 1 – 2).
Source: The lateral extent of the source of contamination was identified as an oval-shaped area approximately 200m by 240m roughly centered on the lagoon area of the former CWWL site…In terms of vertical extent, the bulk of the Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPL) is found in a layer of rock about 7m thick, known as the Upper Eramosa. The Upper Eramosa extends from about 6 m to 13 m below ground surface at the site… Some DNAPL may have penetrated into the Lower Eramosa and upper Vinemount between 13m and 25m below ground surface. Monitoring results indicate that no significant amount of DNAPL contamination has penetrated below the lower Vinemount, at a depth of about 25m below ground surface.
The DNAPL consists primarily of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) (47%), Trichlorobenzene (TCB) and Trichloroethylene (TCE). It is estimated that between 20,000 and 40,000 litres of liquid waste leaked into the environment between 1978 and 1985 (Report 5_1 pp. viii – ix).
Challenges: …[F]ew technologies are available for treating recalcitrant contaminants in complex geologic formations. This conclusion is summarized graphically in Figure 4… (taken from Innovations in Ground Water and Soil Cleanup, National Academy Press, 1997). (Report 4 – Alternatives Report, pp. 57- 58, See Figure 4 below). [Highlights added to tables for ease of viewing].
Sites such as Smithville, with PCB contaminants in fractured rock settings…, are the most difficult to deal with (Report 10, p.3, Refer to Figure 3 Treatability of Contaminated Sites – adapted from National Academy Press, 1997: see table 1 of graphic below].

read more: Appendix A- Witness Statement Linda J Rogers ERT Case No. 14-096 Dec.12.14 (1)

Ministry has no concerns over vibrations

While the ministry has no concerns about contamination, it is requiring the monitoring of residential wells.

“As a condition of the ministry’s approval of the wind farm, the company must undertake both a pre and post construction monitoring program for nearby residential wells,” Jordan said.

WEST LINCOLN — Wind turbines will not disrupt PCBs stored in bedrock near the Smithville Industrial Park says the Ministry of Environment.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were stored in tanks at an industrial waste transfer facility in Smithville from 1979 to 1985. During that time, the industrial chemicals leached into an on-site lagoon, contaminating groundwater. PCBs do not break down and while surface soils were destroyed, they chemical compounds still exist in the bedrock. The government has spent millions to control the site and continues to monitor it three decades later.

Residents raised concerns about the proximity of the wind farm to the contamination site during the renewable energy approvals process and have again been raising concerns. The subject came up at the May West Lincoln planning and development meeting and staff were directed to look into whether the ministry had considered impacts on the contamination site when granting approval to Niagara Region Wind Corp.

The answer to those questions, which were reported back to council last week, was yes, they did, and no, they were not concerned.

“No impacts on the containment of this contaminant source are anticipated a result of this project,” the ministry informed planning director Brian Treble.

Ministry spokesperson Kate Jordan told The News the application met noise requirements, minimum setbacks and other approval requirements. She also noted the company, Enercon Canada Inc. which recently acquired the project, has committed to implementing appropriate construction protocols as well as a complaint resolution process. While the ministry has no concerns about contamination, it is requiring the monitoring of residential wells.

“As a condition of the ministry’s approval of the wind farm, the company must undertake both a pre and post construction monitoring program for nearby residential wells,” Jordan said.

The government approved the 77-turbine wind farm in November and construction is set to begin soon. At last week’s council meeting, Treble updated council on the status of the project. The township has issued 11 building permits and is in the process of reviewing eight others. Another 22 applications were submitted July 8.

Turbine builder Enercon recently announced it had acquired a majority stake in the project. The company also unveiled the launching of its newest manufacturing facility in Port Weller. The facility will produce Enercon’s patented pre-case concrete segments for wind turbine towers.

German-based Enercon also has a converter and control panel factory in Beamsville

Grimsby Lincoln News By Amanda Moore, July 27 2015