Madawaska Valley Council goes on Wind Tour

Wind farm debate picking up again

Posted By Douglas Gloin Barry's Bay "This Week"

The controversy over plans to build a series of wind turbine operations at sites across the region is set to brew up in the next fewdays.

Madawaska Valley councillors just returned last Friday “from a pretty substantive tour” of wind turbine sites in southwestern Ontario, Mayor John Hildebrandt told Monday night’s regular township council meeting.

A company named SkyPower has proposed to build six of the giant wind turbines at sites in the hills north of Wilno. Turbine farms are also being proposed in Bonnechere Valley, Madawaska, Whitney and several other areas.

The Madawaska Valley councillors took the tour to sound out opinions from people involved with, or living near, wind farm sites near the shores of Lake Huron. Councillor Shelley Maika made the contacts for the trip, “nobody else knew where we were going or who we were talking to,” she said.

Hildebrandt said councillors would condense their findings over the next week or so, and then put out a press release. Bonnechere Valley and other area politicians went on a similar trip to wind turbine operations near Sault Ste. Marie as well, and Hildebrandt said he would be comparing notes with them.

Council’s visit was timely. There are two public meetings on the wind farm issue set for this week. The first, organized by SOS, or Save Our Skyline, which is opposed to industrial wind operations in the area as they are currently proposed, is at St. Hedwig’s Church hall in Barry’s Bay on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.

SOS president Lou Eyamie of Wilno says the presentation will be about two hours and will run along the lines of a gathering held during the summer. That meeting featured presentations on reported impacts to health, the environment, wildlife, livestock and property values caused by industrial wind turbines, but did not include any representatives from the other side of the issue.

The second meeting in Whitney is on Saturday (Oct. 11), and concerns a proposal by RES Canada Inc. to build from 40 to 60 turbines near McCauley Lake, about 10 km. from the Algonquin Park border. The plan has particularly alarmed the people who own the 40 cottages on the quiet lake, which is largely undeveloped. In an interview last week, cottager Brent Peterson said the cottagers fear that because they are a small group, and because the proposed wind turbines would be located on Crown lands, they will be unable to stop the turbine operation from being approved.

But Eyamie says a considerable amount of opposition to the wind turbines is building in both Whitney and Madawaska and their views are certain to be represented at the meeting. It is to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Martin of Tours hall on Post Street in Whitney.

At a minimum, Eyamie says, he would like to see a full Environmental Assessment done on all wind farm site proposals, including a study of their possible impact on the groundwater. The turbines also need to be built with adequate setbacks that keep them away from neighbouring homes and property.

But Eyamie also believes that the wind farm companies need to explain to citizens what sort of benefits would be forthcoming to the communities that allow them to set up shop.

In a related development, SkyPower sent a letter to Madawaska Valley Council saying they had tried twice to contact Eyamie twice through letters but had heard no response from him. But Eyamie, who was at Monday night’s council meeting, said the first letter arrived just after he left on a three-week trip, and that he has just received the second.

“We’re not ignoring them,” he said. “It’s just a timeline thing.”
Article ID# 1238370 http://www.barrysbaythisweek.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1238370