Wallace makes headway with environmental hearing

November 5, 2014 · 0 Comments

In response to pleas for help from Melancthon residents over health risks posed by Dufferin Wind Power Inc.’s (DWPI) construction process for transmission poles, Green Party candidate in the Provincial election, Karren Wallace determined that the amendments to DWPI’s Renewable Energy Approval (REA) deemed “insignificant” to the environment by the Environmental Board Review, could be potentially harmful. She presented a formal request to the Environmental Review Tribunal for a hearing regarding the Amendment to REA No. 5460-98BPH8 held by Dufferin Wind Power Inc. and in less than two weeks received approval for the hearing; the first to make political headway for citizens frustrated by the system.
The DWPI transmission poles, located along side the County owned rail corridor, will carry the power from 49 new turbines in Melancthon to the transformer station near Hwy 9 and the 3rd Line of Amaranth. Construction started in the spring of this year and Wallace heard from friends and neighbours “that DWP was violating their site plan agreements.” Wallace says she has been “helping concerned citizens for some time to manoeuvre through government to find the people and information to assist them.” About a month ago she and Ontario Green Party leader Mike Schreiner toured the area with an involved citizen, to look at the issue of possible health risks posed by DWPI transmission pole holes, many surrounded by water, some constructed in wetlands, and others near manure piles. Residents were questioning whether this might be “Walkerton” waiting to happen.
Standing on the rail bed, barely outside the tiny Hamlet of Corbetton, November 1st, Corbetton resident, and soon to be Mayor of Melancthon, Darren White expressed concern to the Green Party candidate at every pole in site. “The Walkerton tragedy happened as a result of a bad seal on ONE well during a sustained rainstorm that produced large quantities or rainfall runoff in one farm field,” said White. “In this project there are hundreds of potential conduits for contamination directly to the underlying aquifer.”
White went on to say, “Many of these are in farmer’s fields which are used regularly for both crops and animal grazing. There are also poles in potential brownfield areas (an area of possible contamination from previous use – in this case the rail bed.) The remedial sealing program (ordered by the MOECC for 300 poles in August) was an afterthought and needs to be monitored closely. As a citizen, and as the next mayor, my concerns are to ensure there is no contamination of ground water or local wells and to ensure MOECC has the staff, the resources, and the budget to monitor the transmission line construction on a continuing ongoing basis.”
Excerpts from Wallace’s letter of request for a hearing:
“…the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) has ordered Dufferin Wind Power (DWP) to seal the foundations of more than 300 utility poles to guard against possible groundwater contamination in Melancthon and Amaranth. This is not a minor request, nor is this a minor threat to the drinking water for Ontarians. In fact an MOECC employee is quoted as saying: “There is a small but nonetheless actual potential for surface water to travel to and possibly into the fractured limestone bedrock,” Tomlinson wrote. “That scenario is certainly concerning.” (Source: Orangeville Banner, August 18, 2014
…“The entire length of the poles has been coated in pentachlorophenol (penta), wood preservative. The very fact alone that MOECC oversight did not in fact foresee the problem with the transmission poles should be a red flag for a full hearing.
…“Questions that need to be answered at the hearing are:
Why did the MOECC not respond to local residents concerns when the issue was first raised many, many months ago? What type of health risks are posed to more than one million Ontarians drinking water as a result of the pentachlorophenol (penta), wood preservative potentially leaking into the aquifer? What type of on-going monitoring will occur and at who’s expense?
Wallace awaits confirmation that DWPI will be required to assume all costs at the Amendment to REA hearing. It is her hope that “the very flawed process throughout this entire project will be exposed and there will be transparency around MOECC’s role.”
Elected Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones and PC Interim Leader Jim Wilson toured the turbines October 17th. Both Progressive Conservatives, they spoke of re-introducing a previous private member’s bill in provincial parliament to give the municipalities some power when dealing with projects covered under the GEA.
Wallace, an expert in municipal policy, said of the MPP’s efforts, “Introducing a private members bill with a majority government is an exercise in futility and will do nothing to raise awareness about this issue or protect one million Ontarian’s source water.”

By Marni Walsh