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Farmers ask why their rules are not same for turbine companies

Open letter to Ramona Afante, Senior Project Evaluator
Ministry of the Environment, Operations Division
Environmental Approvals Branch, Approval Services
2 St. Clair Avenue West, Floor 12A
Toronto, ON, M4V 1L5

re: EBR Registry Number: 012-1279  (Open letter to MOE concerning a proposed wind energy project that contravenes OMAF advice to farmers)

Dear Ms. Afante:
We own and operate a 200 acre Heritage Farm in Prince Edward County, acquired by my U.E.L. ancestors six generations ago in 1834.  We respectfully demand to know why your government obviously has different rules for farmers than it has for multinational corporations, governing the siting of wind turbines.  We would like you to explain why certain M.D.S. distances apply to us and not to wpd Canada.

Premier Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Agriculture and Food, and Hon. Jim Bradley, Minister of the Environment need to explain why MOE has deemed “complete” this proposal from wpd Canada for its White Pines Wind Farm project, even though the project clearly contravenes the OMAF web site instructions to farmers, to “make sure turbines are sited away from migratory bird corridors”.

The White Pines Wind Farm project proposes to site dozens of huge Industrial Wind Turbines in the Southeastern tip of Prince Edward County, which is in Ontario’s largest migratory bird corridor.  This is an internationally-recognized “Important Bird Area”, in a heavily flown  migration flyway extending from Point Petre to Wolfe Island.

Each turbine will be taller than the Toronto Star building at 1 Yonge Street in Toronto.
For common sense advice from OMAF about how farmers should participate in the generation of wind energy with smaller turbines, go to http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/ge_bib/wind.htm  and scroll down to Benefits, Drawbacks and Potential Pitfalls.

Here is some of that advice, which was on the OMAF web site before Premier Wynne took office, and which has not been erased from that web site despite increased public opposition to the practice of siting turbines in Important Bird Areas:
“Drawbacks:
•   Wind turbines may generate low levels of noise that can be irritating
•   Neighbours may object to the aesthetics of a wind turbine
•   Turbines may kill bats
Possible Pitfalls:
•   Make sure turbines are sited away from migratory bird corridors
•   To avoid safety issues, keep your blades free of ice and take precautions when climbing the tower to service your turbine”
Birds and bats are ravenous consumers of harmful insects and thus are natural aids to the farmer in his growing of good crops with minimal use of chemicals.  This is also a plus for the alarmingly diminishing bee population.  Wind turbines kill bats and birds and, as already demonstrated on Wolfe Island, the rate of avian slaughter by industrial wind turbines is exceptionally high in bird migration corridors.

We urge you, Ms. Afante, to remove this project from the EBR listing of projects awaiting technical approval.  There are many reasons to not waste limited MOE resources on a detailed technical review of this project, and one very important reason for both farmers and consumers is that the White Pines Wind Farm proposal clearly contravenes OMAF’s prudent advice cautioning that wind turbines kill the migrating bats and birds that reduce farmers’ dependence on chemicals.

There are four major migratory flyways in North America.  The cumulative effect of several proposed turbine projects surrounding eastern Lake Ontario creates a barrier across the Eastern Flyway that welcomes many millions of migrating birds from May to October.  If approved, these projects will displace wildlife from our shorelines, the most important staging and resting habitats for many species.  As appropriately advocated by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, wind turbines must be sited away from migratory bird corridors.

We reside at and farm our Murdale Farms property as full-time farmers.   To the best of our knowledge, none of the neighbouring properties on which wpd Canada proposes to erect its 29 “White Pines” turbines are owned by people who will be living there, and farming there, on a full-time basis.  Most are absentee turbine landlords who will not have to live with the devastating ongoing consequences of this project.  In a separate letter, we will explain how wpd Canada, a multinational corporation, plans to site  its noisy, flickering turbines much too close to the place where our family has lived and farmed in peace and tranquillity for the past 180 years.

Yours sincerely,
Douglas and Janet Murphy
Murdale Farms, by No. 4 Turbine
RR2 Milford

Filed Under: Letters and OpinionNews from Everywhere Else

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  1. IM Messenger says:

    Any other political party in power will not matter a tinker’s damn for the betterment of the ppl. The controls come from higher levels above the gov’t levels. Wealthy Corporations, lobbyists who make the gov’t change policy for money and control ie energy, subsidies, hydro, wind, smart meters, water and fluoride in water. Ppl are for the ppl. Peaceful protest, boycott corp. products, buy local is ppl power

    As shown in countries the world over it’s all about money and debt … depopulation (vaccines)… GMO foods … patented drugs and genetics … the dollar vs the foreign exchange on the markets (euros, dinars, rubles, etc.) and the countries outside of particular dollars and dumping oil, energies on the market in their own money. This benefits their own country and makes them beyond control of the dollar. You can bet on conflict with those countries ie Russia, Libya, Iraq, etc.

    Why do you think Canadian Corps are trying to rail crude through Ontario to be shipped out the St.Lawrence to where? Europe so they don’t buy energy from Russia.

    Gov’t’s collecting together and going to war is about, money, and new world order! Civilization is breaking down, collapsing, look around, be awake. Beware of TV it’s not believable ie: Weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? NO. none. Different than reported in all that TV. What is the truth today in any issue you care about?

    Find out more:
    http://www.thrivemovement.com
    youtube: Alex Jones

  2. Pamela Stagg says:

    Excellent letter! I’m glad that Douglas and Janet Murphy are reminding the powers that be of the glaring inconsistencies of government policies.

  3. Mark says:

    I am no fan whatsoever of the Liberal Green Energy Act but don’t be fooled and subject to short memories. The Conservatives that like to portray they have clean hands and will be our saviour share equal blame. They took a valuable public entity called Ontario Hydro and deregulated it creating a beauaurcratic nightmare of thousands of 100k plus positions and foreign control over our most basic need. The Tories created the monster and the Grits gave it two heads!

  4. Wolf Braun says:

    Wynne has “people” that look online for her.

  5. Chris Keen says:

    As Minister of OMAF, I wonder if Kathleen Wynne has actually looked at the website. How embarrassing!

  6. Wolf Braun says:

    BRILLIANT !!! I’d love to know which bureaucrats screwed up on this one. Wayatta go Douglas & Janet Murphy for writing this letter. Hope you get a reply.

  7. BH says:

    I agree with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Seems the guidelines presented are reasonable.
    Douglas and Janet Murphy will not get a reasonable response from the MOE. What is a citizen to do?
    Our government is forcing turbines be built where they should not be.

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