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7. WIND TURBINES HEALTH
RELATED ISSUES QUESTIONS
DE SANTÉ LIÉES AUX ÉOLIENNES |
Committee
Recommendations AS AMENDED
That
Council direct the Ottawa Public Health Department to request a comprehensive
review of the available peer-reviewed medical literature regarding wind turbine
related health issues, coordinated by the Province of Ontario and that the
Medical Officer of Health report back to Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Committee within 6 months and;
That
Council formally request the Province to place a moratorium on the
commissioning of new wind turbines for 18 months and/or until the medical
review is completed for public consultation.
RecommandationS modifiÉeS du Comité
Que le Conseil charge le service de
Santé publique d’Ottawa de demander un examen approfondi des documents médicaux
existants et révisés par des pairs qui concernent les éoliennes et leurs
conséquences sur la santé, examen coordonné par la Province de l’Ontario, et
que le médecin-chef en santé publique remettra ses conclusions au Comité de
l’agriculture et des questions rurales dans les six mois et;
Que le Conseil demande
officiellement à la Province d’imposer un moratoire sur la mise en service de
nouvelles éoliennes, et ce, pour une période de 18 mois ou jusqu’à ce que
l’examen des documents médicaux soit terminé et qu’une consultation publique
puisse avoir lieu.
Documentation
1.
Deputy
City Manager's report Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability
dated 4 June 2009 (ACS2009-CCS-ARA-0005).
2.
Extract
of Draft Minutes, 25 June 2009
3.
Minutes
43, 11 June 2009
Report to/Rapport
au:
Agriculture and Rural
Affairs Committee
Comité de l’agriculture et des questions rurales
Submitted by/Soumis par: Glenn
Brooks, Councillor / Conseiller
SUBJECT:
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OBJET :
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QUESTIONS DE SANTÉ LIÉES AUX
ÉOLIENNES
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That the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee recommend Council direct the Public Health Department undertake a comprehensive review of the medical literature related to wind turbine health-related issues.
Que le Comité de l’agriculture et des questions rurales recommande au Conseil d’enjoindre le Service de santé publique d’entreprendre un examen exhaustif de la littérature médicale relative aux questions de santé liées aux éoliennes.
On 11 June 2009, the Notice of Motion outlined below was presented to the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee for consideration at a subsequent meeting:
That the Agriculture and Rural
Affairs Committee recommend Council direct the Ottawa Public Health Department
undertake a comprehensive review of the medical literature related to wind
turbine health-related issues and report back within six months of Council
direction. Further, that all levels of
government be encouraged to participate.
INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES AND COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY
On May 14, 2009, Royal Assent was given to the Green Energy Act, 2009. This Act exempts renewable energy installations from Planning Act approvals. It was the subject of a report to Planning and Environment Committee and Council (ACS2009-ICS-CSS-0023). The Green Energy Act, 2009 comes into force as enabling regulations are passed and the Province has just released regulations through the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry which outline a proposed approval process for renewable energy projects as well as guidance on matters such as setbacks from wind turbines. Staff from Community Sustainability are coordinating a review of the proposed regulation with the intent to bring forward to committee for consideration.
CITY OPERATIONS
The request made for Ottawa Public Health to undertake
a comprehensive review of the medical literature related to wind turbines and
human health impacts has mandate and budgetary implications that are currently
beyond the scope of our organization.
The proposed motion would require the recruitment or commissioning of
specific expertise in this emerging field that would come at a significant
expense. In addition, the repercussions
of trying to assess impacts from an industry that is continually evolving, as
well as being a province-wide issue that will impact all Ontario residents. The undertaking proposed in this report
needs to be assessed on a provincial or national basis. This request would best be addressed by the
Ontario Ministry of the Environment perhaps in consultation with the Ontario
Ministry of the Health and Long Term Care as it falls within their provincial
mandate. It is suggested that ARAC
request Council to request provincial input into the human health impacts
associated with the emerging technologies of Green Energy proposals.
There are no Legal/Risk Management implications from this report.
The 2009 Adopted Budget for Public Health has no funding for the review contemplated by the report recommendation.
DISPOSITION
Staff will
undertake the direction of Committee.
WIND TURBINES HEALTH RELATED ISSUES
QUESTIONS DE SANTÉ LIÉES AUX ÉOLIENNES
ACS2009-CCS-ARA-0005 CITY WIDE/À L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
Councillor Brooks reported that there has
been considerable concern with wind turbine energy, particularly in his
ward. He highlighted the importance of
replacing coal-generating generators and wind turbines seem to be the way of
doing so; however, turbines seem to be creating a problem in the City of
Ottawa. A number of meetings took place
in recent months to discuss, which were well attended. The councillor also met with the components
that are eager to move ahead with their project in his ward; however, there are
a number of residents that continue to have serious concerns. The comprehensive review proposal was
discussed with the Public Health Officer and it was determined that it
surpasses the resources, both financially and administratively, that the city
has. He also reported that this is a
provincial regulation; therefore prepared an alternative motion.
In response to a question by Chair Jellett,
Councillor Brooks assumed that the medical review would take some time although
thought it could be completed within six months, adding that if the review were
not complete or accepted within that time period, then it would be the
residents’ responsibility to prepare for and pursue the moratorium.
Moved by Councillor Brooks,
Whereas
Wind turbines are a permitted use under the Province’s Green Energy Act ;
Whereas
the Province is the sole authority for regulation and approval of wind
turbines;
Whereas
wind turbines will be located primarily in rural areas;
Whereas
health-related and property concerns have been raised at public meetings with
respect to the location of wind turbines;
THEREFORE,
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee recommends that Council direct the
Ottawa Public Health Department to request a comprehensive review of the
available peer-reviewed medical literature regarding wind turbine related
health issues, coordinated by the Province of Ontario and that the Medical
Officer of Health report back to Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee within
6 months;
FURTHER,
THAT Council formally request the Province to place a moratorium on the
commissioning of new wind turbines for 18 months and/or until the medical
review is completed for public consultation.
CARRIED, with Chair Jellett and Councillor Hunter dissenting on the last paragraph of the motion.
Councillor Hunter noted his dissent on the
last part of the motion and explained that this matter was similar to power
transmission lines. He recalled that
there were accusations and allegations made about power transmission lines,
although none were ever proven. He
remarked that it is useful to have as much information as possible but argued
that it is counterproductive to stop the construction of green energy
facilities while the review is taking place.
He remarked that windmill energy was used in the past to draw water out
of the ground, adding that this science has evolved to create power.
PRESENTATION
– UPDATE ON MARLBOROUGH WINDFARM
PRÉSENTATION – MISE À JOUR SUR LA FERME ÉOLIENNE DE MARLBOROUGH
Chair Jellett reported that Committee would receive an update from Prowind Canada and reminded the audience that the City had no authority over this issue. He advised that the provincial government scheduled a public meeting for 7 p.m. on 15 June 2009 at Tudor Hall and encouraged residents to contact their MPP for more information.
Councillor El-Chantiry asked legal staff if a permit was required to install a windmill. Tim Marc, Senior Legal Counsel believed that a permit was necessary if the qualifications are met. In response to a follow up question by the Councillor, Mr. Marc confirmed that wind farms followed the same regulations as solar panels.
Bart Geleynse, Prowind Canada Inc. provided a PowerPoint presentation, which is held on file with the City Clerk. He touched on the following main points:
· Background of Prowind
· Context – wind power in Canada
· Specific details on the Marlborough project
Responding to a question from Councillor Brooks, Mr. Geleynse reported that there were between six to 10 towers, one hundred metres from the centre of the rotor to the hub height, adding that a range of turbines come in various capacities and depends in the end on assessing which turbines are most suitable for the particular wind regime that is in the area.
Councillor El-Chantiry asked how many feet a farmer would lose between towers. Mr. Geleynse advised that the base of a turbine is 18 feet in diameter, excluding some workable ground area surrounding the tower. He estimated that it would be fewer than ten metres, along with a five-metre access road to the towers. In response to a follow up question by the Councillor, Mr. Geleynse said that the zoning could not be changed after the towers are installed.
Councillor Brooks commented that clean energy is good for the environment, which in turn, is good for the community for the short and long term. He touched on the two main concerns of area residents: the negative impact on property values that are in close proximity to the wind farms and health issues. Mr. Geleynse indicated that there has been ample information on the Internet regarding health issues and encouraged residents to do their own research and get informed on this important and controversial issue. He added that he personally believes that it is a healthy and responsible thing to do for the environment.
In terms of property values, studies in the United Stated and Europe suggest that property values in the vicinity of wind farms have remained stable compared to areas where wind farms do not exist and reported that in some cases, the property value had actually increased.
Gary Chandler, Chair of the North Gower Wind Action Group, which includes 150 members, expressed opposition to the North Gower wind farm development. He noted his disappointment that such a contentious issue was put on the agenda at such late notice as well as with the Councillor’s suggestion that the City cannot do anything about this. Mr. Chandler suggested that Council, in an influential manner, could support its citizens that are being impacted negatively by this development. On CBC radio, the Minister of Environment was asked about health issues relating to wind farms and he responded that he did not think there were studies that prove there are health issues; however, the Minister hoped to set up a research institute to monitor and study the effects of wind turbines so that whatever issues arise that affect the health and safety of individuals can be properly addressed. On that note, Mr. Chandler suggested that no development should take place in North Gower until the research institute is implemented and has conducted its research to determine health implications. He noted that there are over 35 rural communities across Ontario seeking a moratorium on future industrial wind turbine complex developments until medical and scientific research has been incorporated into current guidelines. He asked that Council show leadership by supporting the moratorium.
In terms of property values, Mr. Chandler questioned why Prowind was misleading the community by referencing the Renewal Energy Policy Project document claiming that property values will not go down. He reported that many real estate experts have refuted this document and the report author acknowledged that they did not have the resources to determine the impacts. He added that there is a document entitled “Turbulent Energy, the Pros and Cons of Wind Power” in the Parliamentary library, and it states: “there is evidence that both visual and noise pollution do have an economic impact in the form of lowering property values. Estimates from Australia, United Kingdom and the Netherlands all suggest that property value may decrease by 30 per cent by the visible presence of wind turbines.” He continued, “Encountering these arguments, wind power advocates typically site a 2003 study published by the renewable energy policy project which conclude that turbines do not reduce property values. However, it has been noted by many, including real estate associations that these studies used analytical methods that are not acceptable for this type of evaluation.” This is the study that Prowind is depending on and has referenced. Currently, there are 801 homes within two miles of the proposed wind turbine site that will be affected.
Councillor El-Chantiry reported that his earlier question to legal staff was to clarify if ARAC had any power in this jurisdiction to approve motions or to accept the report. He suggested the delegate forward his concerns to his MPP and ask the same questions at the 15 June meeting.
John Newman
spoke from a written submission that is held on file with the City Clerk. He provided some background on the Schouton
/ Armstrong properties and the establishment of a wind power facility and how
arguments are based on emotion from both fronts. He touched on some facts relating to the percentages of
electricity in Ontario, the Ontario Green
Energy Act (Bill 150),
renewable energy projects, and Health Canada’s perspective with respect to wind
farms. Other concerns he noted were on
property values and bird population.
Mr. Newman recommended that appropriate government agencies take part in
the public consultation process.
Councillor El-Chantiry reminded the delegate that the Association for
Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) is scheduled to meet in Ottawa in August and
suggested providing these recommendations to them through his councillor or by
written submission.
Jim Quinn, who resides on McCordick Road noted his support for the wind power development, if it is undertaken responsibly. He added that wind power is the safest form of power generation on a lifecycle basis. He agreed that this is not a City responsibility, rather it is a Provincial one, through the Ministry of the Environment. He opined that this is where opponents of wind farms should be focusing their efforts.
With
respect to property values, Mr. Quinn contacted the Municipal Property
Assessment Corporation to ask whether there had been any impact due to
neighbouring wind farms. Unfortunately, no one returned his call. He provided the committee with an anecdotal
report titled “Impacts of Windmill Visibility on Property Values in Madison
County, New York”. In an attempt to
retrieve information from the Internet on ‘wind power impacts on health’, there
are over 23 million pages. The United
Kingdom’s Department for Business Innovation and Skills states that with 25 years
experience and over 68 thousand turbines worldwide, there are no significant
reports of health issues. He quoted
several studies, noting that while noise and sound can be annoying, the audible
noise created by a wind turbine, constructed at the approved setback distance
does not pose a health concern. He
summarized that the City could join their ranks with concerned communities to
support a moratorium on wind farm development pending further research.
Christiane Bollinger lives in close proximity (500 meters) to the proposed industrial wind farm project. She pointed out that industrial wind farms have been in use in parts of Europe for over a decade and enumerated some of the documented effects on humans and animals, noting the following:
·
Europe
is shifting away from wind farms and installing solar-voltaic.
·
Setback
areas have increased in some areas and in some cases, European governments have
legislated a moratorium on any further installations.
·
Property
values in many areas have drastically decreased as a consequence of industrial
wind farms.
·
Industrial
wind farms in proximity to peoples’ residences have caused numerous negative
health issues.
·
The
set back distance in Ontario is less than in Europe and will take away from
many landowners the option to build at a later date.
·
Only a
few people will benefit financially on the proposed development.
In summary, Ms. Bollinger requested
that the City go on record to support a moratorium on any industrial wind farm
installations in its jurisdiction.
Brent Taylor, a dairy farmer and President of the
Ontario Federation Agriculture Association (OFA) spoke from a written
submission on behalf of an OFA researcher, who works for Ontario Hydro. His main points were as follows:
·
Noise
control should aim for forty decibels with regard to low frequency noise.
·
Required
set backs of 500 plus meters must be increased at each additional tower as each
tower adds to the noise.
·
Wind
towers produce air compression with each time the blade passes the tower, which
can be reduced by having a longer axle shaft and generators.
·
Noise
from transformers can be addressed by having transformers slightly
oversized.
·
Stray
voltage associated with wind farms is likely caused by currents being induced
into the return neutral lines of ordinary residential and farm distribution
service wires that are located to a near power collection lines in the wind
farm. A code requires these lines be at
least five meters apart. A minimum of
forty-meter separation between distribution and collector lines is suggested
and wires used for collection should have additional surplus capacity of twenty
kilowatts to reduce electro-magnetic field around the line.
OFA has no firm view on whether wind
towers add or subtract from property values.
Some research on land values occurred in the U.S., England, Scotland and
Australia. In 2003, the United States
conducted a comprehensive study that studied thirty sites of which 26
maintained or increased their value, while four were lower.
Richard Fraser spoke on the criticism that this
way of producing electricity is too expensive.
He agreed that it is more expensive than most other types of electricity
but compared it to how organic foods are more expensive than other regularly
produced food. He noted that there is a
segment of the public that is quite prepared to pay a higher price for organic
food because of what they believe they are getting and the same is true with
electricity.
Gary Thomas began by stating that the City should support its citizens in opposing this industrial wind farm. Approximately 30 municipalities in Ontario support and Ottawa should show leadership, as the second largest municipality in Ontario.
He noted that only one or two farmers would benefit from this wind farm along with Prowind and their German parent company. Property values will be reduced for approximately 800 homes in the amount of $30 million. He claimed that European countries are recommending set backs of between 1.5 km and 2.5 km from residences. Prowind advised that there are 70,000 wind turbines in Europe; however, there are 333 groups in 18 countries opposing wind farms. Studies by Realtors have shown that wind farms have decreased the value of adjacent properties. He claimed that the REPP study used by Prowind to support stabilized property values is not valid. The report authors state that it should not be used in this way. Mr. Thomas’ last point was that there are health issues related to low frequency sound that are not being addressed.
Stan Purley explained that luddites were people
who smashed mills during the industrial revolution and were opposed to
technological change. He asserted
that there are tremendous environmental benefits from wind power, which have
been realized everywhere from the Netherlands to Southern California. He suggested it produces clean, relatively
economic energy and the business of producing, installing and operating them
are three different aspects, all of which contribute to the Canadian economy by
way of the Gross Domestic Farm Product (GDFP).
Co-generation, or generation of power on individual farm and rural
non-farm properties, also encourages more people to live further from urban
areas and to work at home. In that
regard, he said he has been engaged for a year in trying to get the City of
Ottawa to change a by-law that says that a home worker cannot have more than
one visitor at a time. By way of example, he said that if he worked for his
company at home and two of his colleagues come over, he would be breaking the
law, but if ten come over and had a party, that would be okay. He went on to point out that in the
Ottawa-Carleton area, there are a number of existing industrial/non-industrial
windmills located quite near the Department of National Defense (DND), suggesting
that the claim that windmills emit significant electro-magnetic signature is
false; otherwise, they would be interfering with the operations of DND, which
he does not believe to be the case. He
noted the use of windmills in Southern California has been expanding at about
30 per cent per year for the last 10 years, and some of them are located
relatively close to residential properties.
In summary, he suggested that
building windmills is fine, provided they are set back and secured to avoid
potential injuries to children and animals.
In response to a question from
Councillor Brooks, Mr. Geleynse advised that the amount of oil used
depended on the kind of
turbine. He added that Enercom, a
leading manufacture, does not use oil other than in the bearings. In a follow up question by the Councillor,
Mr. Geleynse noted that part of the process of this proposed development is to
train fire department personnel on the fire department to ensure that they can
cope with fires in turbines.
Chair Jellett clarified that
Committee would require waiving the rules in order to move a motion, which Mr.
Marc responded affirmatively.
Councillor Brooks spoke to his
motion requesting the Public Health Department review medical literature
regarding turbines and noted how important it was to send a clear message to
the community.
Councillor El-Chantiry suggested providing a notice of motion given that staff were not in attendance at the meeting and allow the public health department to provide an appropriate comment. Mr. Marc advised that a negative vote on waiving the rules would lead to the motion being filed as a notice of motion. At this point, the Committee agreed that the following Notice of Motion be presented by Councillor Brooks for consideration at an upcoming meeting:
That the Agriculture and Rural
Affairs Committee recommend Council direct the Ottawa Public Health Department
undertake a comprehensive review of the medical literature related to wind
turbine health-related issues and report back within six months of Council
direction. Further, that all levels of
government be encouraged to participate.