Manvers Township Protests WPD's Sumac Ridge Development June 19, 2012
The stormy weather which
protestors battled to attend a well organized opposition rally and
shabby public consultation on the Sumac Ridge project was nothing
compared to the troubled atmosphere generated by the propaganda and
prevarication inside the Rolling Hills Public School venue on June
19th.
Rhino hide must be the sole qualification for the job of wind
project consultant, knowledge of pertinent information apparently is
not.
A GREED ENERGY NOT GREEN banner was unfurled by a young couple standing
in front of a propaganda poster depicting an infant in green mask and
cape under the captioning, "Wind power, Ontario's growing superhero".
A woman whose child has a heart problem pounded on a display table, no
doubt frustrated by the manifest indifference to her concern for
potential harm from Industrial Wind Turbines, others raised raucous
chants and a passingly tuneful rendering of Oh Canada.
One "consultant" evaded a question as to why the company would use the heavily disputed (currently challenged at the HWC ERT appeal)
Provincial noise setbacks when a good corporate citizen might prefer to
respect the WHO 2km setback. She claimed never to have found the
scientific studies upon which it was based... almost laughable
considering there exists no scientific proof IWT do NOT harm humans nor
for that matter has there ever been proper scientific proof Industrial
Wind Turbine performance actually matches its claims.
As the evening wore on, veterans of many an environmental skirmish,
methodically toured the room, questioned, documented, and compared
notes. These stalwarts previously worked through the Oak Ridges Moraine
legislation to preserve its precious water... called the 'rain barrel'
of Southern Ontario, the Moraine is the source of 65 major streams or
rivers and provides clean, safe drinking water to over a quarter of a
million people on private and municipal wells.
They reported that:
No WPD reps that were asked knew what the Oak Ridges Moraine is, why it
is important and what area it encompasses.
Often asked why is it possible that WPD can build on the Moraine when
local landowners might not be able to erect a simple shed - the
response was - BECAUSE WPD CAN under the Green Energy Act.
WPD denies ownership of the Beers Road or Hayes Line wind test towers.
WPD also denies being the company behind the land purchases along Hwy
7A and Beers Road. Apparently the wind developers see one another as
competition so information is rarely shared. It was noted by
several WPD reps that Energy Farming Ontario (EFO), which
coincidentally has FIT contracts for two proposed power plants on
either side of the WPD project, better act quickly - they are running
out of time.
The FIT contract has an expiry date - for EFO it is the end of April
2013. So... there may be three more local industrial projects in the
area being processed soon. Would WPD consider buying the EFO
projects?..... maybe....
The issue of water came up many times. At least two WPD reps
unbelievably stated there is no aquifer in the area. The
professional engineer responsible for the base construction did not
know that residents get their water from wells; he also did not know
what submersible well pumps are.
The reps didn't know where the two nearby schools or Pontypool
residents (on a communal well) get their water from... it was almost as
if water just shows up, like magic. No hydrological or
hydrogeological studies were conducted because under the Green Energy
Act approval process, the proponent does not have to. A vague
Water Report produced by Natural Resources Solutions indicate that a
seasonal fish habitat, a complex fish habitat, a large man-made pond,
two artesian wells, and a small spring will be within 120 m of
construction areas. The small spring will be in the direct path
of the electrical line to go along Gray Road.
When asked about the impact construction of access roads and
transmission lines, etc. might have on these bodies of water - the
answer was WPD will 'mitigate' any water issues.... when they
appear.
Mr. Stephenson, the lead rep for the company NRS did state that future
water infiltration (rain, snow melt) for .06% of the area will be
affected by the construction of the concrete pads. Mr. Stephenson
did not seem to be aware that changes in influence on groundwater in
one location might affect water resources miles away. A member of
the public tried to explain the importance of area underground or
intermittent streams to local fish habitat in other bodies of water,
but this concept was not understood by the rep in charge of
environmental studies.
It was pointed out to the reps in charge of environmental surveys, that
they missed some endangered species locals have documented for several
years. And the 7 minute and 30 minute bird surveys?
According to the rep - hey don't blame us... we gave the MNR our study
plan outline and the MNR said 7 minutes was sufficient. In
defence of the 7 minute bird surveys one of the reps said they
conducted several 7 minute surveys in the winter.... maybe even as many
as 9. The reps agreed there were no bird surveys conducted during
migration periods. The reps do not know who will be hired to pick
up dead birds and bats. One of the reps stated that there might
be a couple of permanent local jobs for turbine maintenance workers
post construction.
While it was admitted that 'vegetation' will be removed, no one was
able to indicate how many trees, what species and what portion of a
significant woodland and other woodlands will be cut down.
When asked about blades breaking and the turbines catching fire, the
head of WPD Canada Ian MacRae stated it never happens and that he only
knows of a couple of workers who were hurt by wind turbines. As
to the huge compilations of wind accidents and deaths that can be found
online..... Mr. MacRae stated that anyone can make up a list. However,
Mr. MacRae did acknowledge that there had been some serious issues with
the REpower wind turbine model blades cracking which almost decimated
the fortunes of Suzlon, the India based owners. Mr. MacRae claims
the blade cracking problem has been fixed. One WPD rep admitted
that the blades can not be recycled and will end up in landfill but
this is not WPD's problem.
The engineer did say that audible noise will extend for a long distance
but will be within the regulations set by the Ontario government.
The noise levels are estimated by computer modelling based on the
turbine manufacturer's specifications. The noise levels and
distance in the maps may or may not be accurate since they are
simulated projections. The noise studies were to include any
other wind turbines within 5 kms, but there is no sound information
available on the two adjacent EFO projects, Settlers Landing and Snowy
Ridge... so there could be higher levels of sound, or sound from
several directions in the future. No studies were completed on
infrasound effects because the company is not obliged to do so.
The flicker effect - the strobe light effect will only last a few hours a week.
WPD will have insurance coverage for the turbines but have not made arrangements yet.
WPD has indicated that the company intends to send the application for approval to the MOE on June 29th.
The petition to protect this historic area can be found in the Wind section on www.manverswindconcerns.com
More reporting on this event:
http://www.chextv.com/News/LN/12-06-20/Wind_power_protest_Bethany.aspx
http://www.mykawartha.com/community/article/1378456--turbine-protestors-make-final-stand-at-consultation-meeting
SHOULD YOU WISH TO HELP MAINTAIN THE HARD-WON PROTECTION OF THIS
ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREA AND PARTICIPATE IN THE PUBLIC INPUT:
Comments or questions for WPD - are to be sent to: Shawna.Peddle@stantec.com & SumacRidgeProject@wpd-canada.ca
Please send a copy of comments and/or questions to the MOE Director or Renewable Energy Approvals, Ms. Doris Dumais at: doris.dumais@ontario.ca
And Councillor Heather Stauble, hstauble@city.kawarthalakes.on.ca
Keep a copy for yourself!
Heather Stauble addresses protesters
MPP Lisa Thompson and MPP Laurie Scott addressing crowd