A wind meeting without a map
A steady crowd of people showed up at the Skyway 124 wind proposal public meeting Monday night, where they discovered, as per usual with projects under the Green Energy Act, that the event was more of a public information night than a meeting. The only problem this time around was that there wasn’t much information to be had at all.
Now, before we go on, it must be said that Skyway 124, which we understand is basically a group of investors, did a far better job Monday night than they did in 2009, when the first iteration of their project was up for approval. On that occasion, there were police at the door, limited answers from representatives, and boards on the walls with no writing at all, only pictures of smiling people running through fields of wind turbines.
This time, representatives of Environmental Business Consultants (EBC), the consulting company for Skyway 124, were approachable and seemingly open about the process and whatever information they knew. The only problem was, there were some critical things that they didn’t know.
Chief among them was any idea of where the five wind turbines are slated to be built. Unlike the map that was circulated in the mandated advertisement for the meeting (which still appears on the Skyway 124 website), the map that was presented on Monday night showed only the project’s “study area,” a large area of land within which Skyway has conducted its preliminary studies.
When asked why the turbine locations were not on display, EBC President John Nicholson would only say that the locations “have not been finalized.” As to why they have changed from the original map, he was not talking.
The Echo has learned that there are a couple of new residences being built in the area, which could be affecting setbacks, but Nicholson was vague about that being a possible reason.
As for the process going forward, Nicholson was straightforward. The plan, he said, was for his biologists to begin a year-long Environmental Screening Report (ESR) immediately. Then, in March 2012, all other required reports, plus an outline for the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Natural Resources on how the ESR will eventually deal with worst-case-scenarios, will be presented to the province. There will then be a 90-day commenting period for the municipality and a 60 day period for the public. At the end of that time there will be another public meeting, which would have a format that has not been decided yet, according to Nicholson. It may even be a sit-down question and answer, he said, although he noted that that format usually ends up in a shouting match.
The project could then be given conditional approval. Final approval would come a year from now, if the ESR is completed is completed with no unforeseen issues.
Jan Minduik, who lives adjacent to one of the proposed sites (according to the original map), and who has been leading a group of area residents who oppose the turbines, predicts that the ESR is where the company will have trouble.
“This is a hugely environmental area,” she said. “The Osprey Wetlands are just across County Road 124, and there is a 10-kilometre-long woodland running right through the study area.”
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the night (and the most frustrating for those trying to get information) was the presence of three people who would only identify themselves as “representatives of Skyway 124.” When the Echo approached them for comment, the tallest one of them told us that “John Nicholson is doing the talking tonight.” Nicholson told us only that they were from Skyway 124.
It was later found out by Councillors Thom Paterson and Brent Preston, who relayed the information to us, that the tall man was named Ken Zuckerman, and that he is one of the investors that make up the Skyway 124 Investor’s Group. The relationship of the other two people remained a mystery.
All in all, it was a frustrating night, especially for members of Minduik’s group, who have so far been doing all the right things in response to this application. They have met twice with Clearview staff and have developed a good relationship and understanding of each other’s roles in this process, and they came to the meeting in a polite way, prepared to get as much information as possible.
“I drove up from Toronto tonight,” said Sarah Banquier, who weekends in the area. “It’s a three-and-a-half hour roundtrip drive, and I feel like I have learned absolutely nothing.”
