Calls for another wind turbine meeting  

Credit:  Michael Gennings, Staff | www.simcoe.com 29 June 2012 ~~

Clearview Township council has passed a resolution calling on Skyway 124 Wind Energy Inc., to host another public meeting regarding its proposal for three wind turbines between Singhampton and Dunedin.

Moved by Councillor Brent Preston and seconded by Councillor Doug Measures, the resolution was passed at council’s meeting last Monday night. `

Preston says the company has failed to hold a proper “first” public meeting, despite two attempts, one in December and the other in March.

He says that over the last several months he and other residents have asked the company to schedule another meeting but the request has gone unanswered.

He says Skyway has failed to meet two key stipulations in the Green Energy Act regarding public meetings for proposed wind turbine projects.

“One is they have to provide notice [of a public meeting] to all landowners within 120 metres of the project. The notice must be in writing and they failed to do that. There are at least two landowners who haven’t been notified of either public meeting,” Preston explains. “But the biggest problem is as part of the public meeting they have to present their project plan…which includes a map of the project area. And at the first public meeting they didn’t even show turbine locations and at the second meeting they showed turbine locations but the really key thing they have to show is the location of all the noise receptors. So a noise receptor is either a house or a location on a vacant lot that would be deemed a residence. And there are just dozens and dozens of errors and omissions on their mapping.”

Preston says he doesn’t understand why the company won’t acknowledge the problems, agree to resolve them and host another meeting.

Along with sending a copy of the resolution to Skyway, Clearview is sending a copy to Ontario’s Minister of Environment, to document the problem with Skyway.

The township wants to be on the record with the province – which approves wind turbines – that Skyway has failed to meet two of its application requirements under the Green Energy Act.

Preston says he doesn’t know if involving the province will help but it’s worth a try.

Skyway officials could not be reached for comment.