Chatham-Kent council’s request that wind turbine projects in Chatham-Kent be halted until the issues with water wells in north Chatham-Kent are investigated is still before Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.
Wallaceburg Coun. Jeff Wesley made the motion at council Aug. 21, and said a meeting with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change set up by Mayor Randy Hope was a good step, but more needs to be done.
“I think we have to take some very strong action here because we don’t know what is going on. At best, all we know is that something seems to be going on, and the people in Chatham-Kent with water wells need to know what is going on,” Wesley said at the council meeting.
There was some disagreement with using the word “halt” in the motion as South Kent Coun. Karen Herman thought that language was too strong, but Wesley said he used that word deliberately to indicate the seriousness of the issue to the ministry.
North Kent Coun. Joe Faas entered a successful amendment asking Chatham-Kent to cover the cost of well testing for the five wells in North Kent with water issues. The inspector is to be jointly selected and agreed upon by the well owner and the municipality.
Chatham Coun. Derek Robertson, said council doesn’t have all the facts in this issue, despite the Aug. 9 water well testing report from AECOM, with an e-mail from MOECC senior staffer Deb Jacobs asking AECOM for an explanation of the testing discrepancies discussed in closed session Aug. 21.
During open session, he said he supported most of the motion, but wanted to know how much the tests would cost and out of which reserves would the money be paid.
Council approved the following motion by Wesley:
- That Council ask the premier and her government to halt all wind turbine construction in Chatham-Kent until such time as the problems with water wells has been fully investigated.
- Identify an independent neutral third party (not paid for by a wind turbine company) water well expert who will be located within Chatham-Kent, on call 24 /7 for as long as needed, agreed to by the affected water well owner and paid for by the MOECC.
- Identify performance standards (first contact response times, parameters measured, time to provide responses on causes and solutions, etc.) by which well owners will have a well water problem addressed and a resolution provided.
- Schedule a special meeting with Chatham-Kent council to give a full report on the first and second issues above and what the cause/resolution is for all current water well problems identified to date.
- The Municipality of Chatham-Kent will cover the cost of inspections on the five wells currently experiencing problems. Inspectors will be selected jointly by the well owner and the municipality.
North Kent Coun. Leon Leclair said the municipality needs to deal with the facts, but added there is “too much of a coincidence” with the problems experienced by well owners close to pile-driving construction for the turbines.
“Hopefully going forward, the ministry will look into it and we’ll get some concrete answers,” he said. “It’s a good step forward. We have no jurisdiction over the province so tonight was just a statement, but hopefully meeting with ministry staff this week, we’ll have a hard discussion.”
According to media release by the municipality Aug. 24, the meeting between Chatham-Kent officials and Ministry of Environment and Climate Change staffers went well and they agreed to take some action.
“MOECC staff will be reconnecting with owners of wells which have experienced issues and reviewing those concerns with Samsung Renewable Energy and Pattern Energy, developers of the project,” the release said.
Wesley said the meeting provided the municipality with information on ministry procedures.
“Ministry officials were open to the fact that there needs to be better communication,” he said. “They took our concerns very seriously and committed to working to deal with the issues,” he said in the release.
While the motion mentioned only re-testing the five wells, Leclair said any more well complaints that come forward in North Kent will be re-tested at the municipality’s expense as well.
“I feel better, but moving forward I need to know that if someone asks me a tough question, I need to know I can find the answer. I need to be able to direct them to an expert and I want to be cc’d,” Leclair said. “I am relieved but it’s not over.”
At press time, two more well owners made formal complaints to the MOECC about well problems, including Water Wells First spokesperson Kevin Jakubec, who lives on Greenvalley Line near a pile-driving site.
In an e-mail to the MOECC, Jakubec made a formal complaint and again asked the ministry to collect and test the sediment clogging the well, believed to Kettle Point Black Shale which is known to contain heavy metals such as mercury and lead.
“I contact the MOECC now, to file a well interference complaint and ask the MOECC to uphold Section 1 & Section 15 of the Ontario Environmental Protection Act. I ask the MOECC to collect and identify the contaminating particles now present in my sediment trapper to determine if the particles are man-made or naturally occurring as per Section 15 of the Ontario Environmental Protection Act,” Jakubec said in his e-mail. “The fact that I am the seventh well interference complaint to the MOECC that I am aware of makes it obvious to the public that the Ministry of Environment has failed with the Intent of Section G and Section H to preserve and protect the groundwater for residents inside this wind farm.”
