July 31, 2011
Ontario

MOE extends period for public comment on wind turbine project

Monte Sonnenberg, Simcoe Reformer, www.simcoereformer.ca 30 July 2011

The Ministry of the Environment has bowed to public pressure and extended the deadline for filing comments about a proposed wind farm east of Port Dover.

MOE initially set a July 30 deadline for comments on the proposed Capital Power project. However, due to ongoing complaints in the local area, the MOE will continue to accept input until Aug. 29.

“The reason specifically why we decided on the extension was because the comment period began on a holiday (July 1) and ended on a holiday,” Kristina Rudzki, a senior project evaluator with the MOE, said Thursday. “Due to the high level of concern, we decided on the extension.”

Capital Power is proposing a 58-turbine, 104-megawatt development straddling the boundary line between Haldimand and Norfolk counties. The plan calls for the construction of 13 turbines in an area between Port Dover and the U.S. Steel Canada plant in the Nanticoke Industrial Park. The remainder will range eastward from U.S. Steel to Selkirk.

Terry Karges of Port Dover, an opponent of the development, welcomes the extension. He said many in Port Dover didn’t know the MOE was about to give its approval until the public was invited to comment July 13 in the local media.

“Now that we have this extension, we want to continue working on it until we get some health studies,” he said. “It should’ve been moved to Aug. 29 anyway. Everyone else is getting 60 days to comment. We only (originally) got 30 days.”

Several green energy companies have filed plans to construct 200 wind turbines in Haldimand County. As a result, Haldimand in short order has mustered a robust chapter of Wind Concerns Ontario. Karges and associates are trying to establish a Norfolk chapter. However, to this point they haven’t had much success.

“I haven’t been able to get much going in Port Dover,” Karges said. “They seem quite indifferent.”

Anyone interested in commenting on the Capital Power project can learn more by going to Ontario’s Environmental Registry and plugging in file number 011-3999.

“All comments and submissions received will become part of the public record,” the MOE website says. “You will not receive a formal response to your comment. However, relevant comments received as part of the public participation process for this proposal will be considered by the decision maker.”

[rest of article available at source]

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/07/31/moe-extends-period-for-public-comment-on-wind-turbine-project/