December 6, 2012
Ontario

Turbine group withdraws appeal

December 7, 2012 The Wellington Advertiser | www.wellingtonadvertiser.com

Oppose Belwood Wind Farm Inc. (OBWF) announced it has withdrawn its appeal of the wpd Springwood wind turbine project.

OBWF vice president Dave Hurlburt said the group withdrew its appeal based on two concerns.

“First, the (Environmental Review Tribunal) ERT ruled to dismiss OBWF’s motion to adjourn the hearing from Jan. 2 to Feb. 14. This motion had been requested as OBWF’s solicitor is unavailable until that date due to other hearings booked many months ago. The dismissal of the motion effectively meant OBWF would have to proceed with no legal representation,” Hurlburt said.

“Second, wpd had requested 10 years of medical records from OBWF’s witnesses. This would be impossible to achieve in the time allowed and would come at great expense.

“The ERT’s handling of both of these issues is consistent with the experience of other wind concern groups in previous ERTs under the Green Energy Act. It is the view of the OBWF legal group that the ERT process is a statutory regime that does not work. The six month time guarantee that the ERT must achieve under the regulations results in an unworkable system in which to present a proper case establishing serious harm to human health.

“The withdrawal will be with no costs awarded against OBWF. The OBWF legal group felt that for the reasons given, to proceed would not have been responsible on our part. It also would not be a wise use of community funds,” Hurlburt added.

“We will continue to research and seek out other legal avenues to present the harm to human health case and to challenge the Springwood project,” he said.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/12/06/turbine-group-withdraws-appeal/