Grimsby Lincoln News

VERMILION CO., IL. (ECWd) –

Many farmers received their insurance renewal notices, and should have noticed by now that they might need to  think twice about letting wind turbine installations on their property.  Noise is now excluded from coverage. Whether or not this new exclusion has anything to do with wind turbines is something we do not know yet, but noise is most certainly excluded now.

*We did contact the insurance company in question and asked them to comment on why they are now excluding noise from their coverages. They have not returned our call as of the date of this publication.

Thank you to the anonymous source who sent us this note!

“FYI–I have attached information that we received regarding our Farm Umbrella Liability Insurance Policy with County Mutual Insurance Company. (note that I folded the first page letter so that our name and personal insurance policy number is not shown)  Thought you might be interested in the new exclusions regarding noise, odor, or dust.” Document below.

Do you host wind turbines that make noise that causes sleep deprivation and health problems, potentially causing your neighbor to abandon their home?  You may be liable.  There is no longer, at least with this company, any standard insurance for that, I checked out if the standard packages of One Sure Insurance covered this, alas it seems that companies are all getting on the same page with this. If you have a wind turbine on your property it might be wise to check the terms of your insurance as well as your wind turbine lease to see if the wind industry will cover you in the event a neighbor decides to sue because you are letting a wind company operate a human health hazard which interferes with their private peace and enjoyment of their land……effectively robbing their health and safety.

Ever play that old game?  I remember it was “Rich Farmer, Poor Farmer.” Ignorance and greed may have resulted in a short term financial gain for those hosting turbines, but it is time for all landowners to become educated and realize that your property rights stop at your property line.  Once noise and infrasound from a turbine erected on your land crosses your property line, you still own that damaging noise and infrasound, and you could be be on the hook to pay for its damage to your neighbors.

read more: Edgar County Watch Dogs, 2015, 02

By J.P. Michaud

April 2, 2008

It isn’t the south against the north. It isn’t Christians versus Muslims. It isn’t even the rich versus the poor. It is a civil war arising from the land use conflicts inherent in alternative energy generation initiatives and it thrives on a certain disconnect between urban and rural elements of our society.

While rural communities possess the required land resources, large urban centers have the hunger for the power and the political influence needed to acquire it, along with little empathy for the pastoral quality of life that defines and motivates rural living.
Politicians of almost every stripe are currently stampeding over each other to masquerade as protectors of the environment by promoting and embracing ‘renewable energy’…

For vehicles, that means biofuels, for electricity, it means either wind or solar, regardless of the fact than none of these options can possibly make a meaningful contribution in their present forms. All demand that vast tracts of land be pressed into service in order to produce relatively slender yields of energy. In the rush to promote these alternative energy sources, federal and state governments have provided generous tax breaks and lucrative capital depreciation incentives to big business to encourage development.
In doing so, they have laid the foundation for a civil war that is currently ravaging dozens of rural communities nationwide, albeit without much attention from the national media. Continue reading Below Media Radar: The Next American Civil War →

Upcoming Happenings

Monday, March 2: Next Era’s Open House re their Bat Study in their Summerhaven wind project area in Haldimand. Open House is from 5 – 8 pm at Fisherville Lions Community Centre, 18 Main St. West, Fisherville.

Tuesday, March 3: The folks who appealed the Port Ryerse wind project should find out today through a conference call about the info that MNR gathered about the presence of Barn Owls in Port Ryerse area. The ERT appeal hearing was delayed 5 months to allow MNR to assess if the owls were living there or just passing through. The ERT panel judges will also likely discuss whether the ERT hearing will begin on March 31 as planned or another date acceptable to all parties.

Wednesday, March 4: Lake Erie Connector 3rd Open House re the two 500 MW electricity cables being planned under the lakebed from Nanticoke to Erie County, Pennsylvania. Open House location is Nanticoke Hall, 38 Rainham Rd., Nanticoke from 3:00 – 7:00 pm. The cables will take electricity both directions so we’ll even be importing some “dirty” electricity from the heavy coal-burning states in the future.

See attached notice above.  (Lake Erie connector open house 3)

Agenda for Tuesday’s Council meeting is below.  Council will be asked to contribute to the Charter Challenge as a number of other municipalities have.

Let’s try to get the seats filled.  Thanks.

Click to access 02-17-15%20Council%20%28including%20Admin%20%26%20PW%29%20Agenda.pdf

An expert witness called by The United Citizens of Livingston County testified the majority of Tuesday evening during the ongoing Livingston County Zoning Board of Appeals hearing at the Walton Centre.

Michael McCann, of McCann Appraisal, LLC, a Chicago-based company, testified about property values and how they are negatively affected when wind turbines are installed.

He said he has 33 years experience in appraising many types of commercial real estate, land and special use properties. He also has extensive litigation experience, qualified as an expert witness in over 20 states, and has testified at federal and state trials, zoning hearings, utility siting boards and arbitration. He has also done work for other wind farm projects throughout the United States.

McCann presented a slide show with many maps and figures. He also illustrated reasons for people to sell property with a turbine on or near it include health impacts.

He said it’s a “conspiracy theory” among neighbors when it comes to those health impacts, but he affirmed those events do occur.

He also listed issues he called “more physical in nature.” These included trespass or intrusion, excessive noise, vibrations, odor, contaminants and flicker.

READ MORE:  Pontiac Daily Leader, By Cynthia Grau Posted Feb. 11, 2015

view by-law here: 2014-62 plymptom-wyoming by law

Suncor Energy and the Town of Plympton-Wyoming are at odds again over a wind turbine bylaw.

Jody Hood, a manager of development and engineering with Suncor Energy, raised concerns at a recent town council meeting over a bylaw passed in 2014 to regulate wind turbine noise.

Some 27 of the 46 wind turbines Suncor plans to build as part of its Cedar Point wind project would be located in Plympton-Wyoming.

“The noise limits related to our wind operations are regulated by the province,” said Suncor spokesperson Jason Vaillant.

“We certainly intend to operate within those limits.”

Vaillant said “from a technical perspective” the bylaw would prevent wind turbines from operating in the municipality.

Continue reading Plympton-Wyoming stands behind new bylaw aimed at wind turbines →

This is a useful tool to use to show people how much one turbine can impact the property values of homes around it.   Now imagine if any of Farmers B through E have a second neighbour with a turbine.  They are completely prevented from ever doing anything on their own property again.  But turbines don’t affect property values…..right.

Thanks to Concerned Citizens of Delta County for this photo.  Origin unknown.

A lawsuit in which residents living near the Lake Winds wind plant south of Ludington claimed the facility was making people sick has been settled out of court. Cary Shineldecker, one of the plaintiffs in the case, isn’t allowed to discuss details of the settlement, but is still allowed to talk about the alleged negative health effects that can be suffered by those who live near such facilities.

“What I think is different about this settlement is that, although the details of the settlement are confidential, I’m not gagged from speaking out about the problems with wind energy,” Shineldecker said. “I think everything we’ve done here has helped the community and residents. For too long, supporters of wind energy have been able to silence and discredit those who have to live with the effects of it.

“We saw how they silenced Jerry Punch and his group,” Shineldecker continued. “When his group was working on a study that refuted what wind energy supporters wanted to be reported about the health impacts of wind turbines, they (the wind energy supporters) shut them up.”

On April 1, 2013, a group of 17 residents who lived near the Lake Winds wind plant – others joined the group later – filed a lawsuit against Consumers Energy in Mason County Circuit Court. The lawsuit alleged that people were experiencing dizziness, sleeplessness, headaches and other physical symptoms primarily due to noise generated by the wind plant’s 56 giant wind turbines, which the plaintiffs claimed had been erected too close to homes.

Continue reading One Lawsuit Settled, But No Truce in Wind Energy Debate →