WEYBURN - A revised plan for building 47 wind turbines in the RMs of Weyburn and Griffin was presented by representatives of Enbridge to the public at a town hall meeting on Thursday evening at McKenna Hall, with just over 200 people attending and bringing questions and concerns.
With a moderator roving with a microphone and fielding the questions, Enbridge had project representatives along with professionals who could handle issues relating to studies, the environment, health and safety raised by those in attendance.
Among the changes made to the proposed project was a relocation of some of the turbines to a less-populated area of the RM of Griffin, increasing the setback from turbines to 1,500 metres, and using an aircraft detection system to activate flashing lights on the top of the towers.
It came out in the course of the meeting that this setback applies for neighbouring properties of those who are not signing agreements with Enbridge, while those who have agreements can voluntarily allow turbines as close as 500 metres.
“Our whole project is an evolution,” said Sam Munckhof-Swain, director of economic and community partnerships with Enbridge, noting the process they want to follow is to present a proposal, get feedback from the community, make adjustments to the proposal and present those changes to the public for more feedback.
The company has adjusted the time frame after finding out many people felt this project was being rushed, and indicated the earliest construction would start will be 2026, with the aim to be operating by 2027.
They’ve also changed the radius of notification to five kilometres, after initially starting with two kilometres around a given site of a turbine. When challenged on this, Munckhof-Swain said this was their normal operating parameter for a project in Alberta, and hadn’t realized at first the RM had a five-km radius requirement for notifications.
A concern was raised about the STARS air ambulance, if one was called out to the area in the event of a serious injury, and whether STARS would bring a helicopter in where there were wind turbines located.
Munckhof-Swain answered that Enbridge is a big supporter of STARS, and they spoke to the air ambulance agency about their proposal, and said, “They do not have any concerns about where the turbine towers are located.”
Another resident challenged this later in the meeting, and Enbridge representative Keith Taylor noted they spoke directly to pilots and a director of STARS on the issue, and said they can get their assurances in writing if necessary.
The company reps were asked repeatedly about how they notified people about their meeting, and Munckhof-Swain made assurances they will do what they can to improve that. He pointed out the various ways the company used to notify people, and noted that they can always be reached via email and their website if people have comments, concerns or questions.
A resident asked if they are able to get a referendum on the turbine project, if they would abide by it or fight it in court.
Munckhof-Swain answered that it would be completely up to the RM council whether to hold a referendum. “Our role is to follow the local bylaws RMs have put in place. We believe our project meets those local bylaws. … It’s more a question for your local government how they want to manage this.”
When a resident pointed out the RM of Weyburn has a height restriction of 45 metres, and the proposed wind turbines are considerably higher than that, Munckhof-Swain said they plan to apply for an amendment to the RM to ease that restriction. The RM would then hold a public hearing and go through their processes before deciding whether to allow the amendment on the height restriction.
The issue of relying on a Health Canada study from 2014 was raised, and one of the professionals, a doctor, said he knows that study and the people who did the research, pointing out that there has also been considerably more research done in the last 10 years that can support the findings of that original study.
He pointed out the vast majority of studies have not been paid for by the wind industry, but by universities and research foundations, and many of the findings have been remarkably similar.
One resident, Andria Brady, said there have been threats and intimidation against people who are opposing the wind turbines project, in places of business and to kids riding on school buses.
Munckhof-Swain acknowledged that this project has brought division into the community, and was sorry about that happening.
“I empathize with those business owners. We are deeply saddened by that, but our goal is to continue the conversation and try to improve our project,” he said.
In wrapping up, he said one of the top concerns they heard repeated that night was around the issue of communications with the community, and he committed that Enbridge will continue to look for ways to improve on how they reach residents with information and updates on the project.
