Say

Town of Saugeen

Shores

1%;

Shores

600 Tomlinson Drive, P.O. Box 820

Port Elgin, ON NOH 200

November 8, 2016
Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario
Bell Trinity Square
Floor, South Tower
483 Bay Street, 10*
Ontario
Toronto,
M5G 2C9
Dear Mr. Paul Dub:

The Town of Saugeen Shores asks your office to investigate the ongoing failure of the Ontario
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) to verify that an industrial wind turbine
in our community is operating in compliance with the ministry's own regulations.
The UNIFOR (formerly CAW) industrial wind turbine was constructed in 2012 at the union's
Family Education Center at 115 Shipley Avenue in Port Elgin Ontario. It began operation on
March 25, 2013.

In the months leading up to the start of operation, MOECC officials provided assurance that the
turbine's performance would be audited. In a letter dated February 13th 2012, the MOECC's
Director of the Environmental ApprovalsAccess and Service Integration Branch informed the
CAO of the Town of Saugeen Shores that "The ministry has required the proponent
(UNIFOR) to undertake auditing once the turbine is in operation to ensure the noise limits are
not exceeded beyond the ministry's standards."
Through a Freedom of Information request, a grassroots group (opposing the UNIFOR industrial
wind turbine project) collected information on public complaints about the operation of the
turbine filed with MOECC during the twenty months following the start of its operation. Over that
time, approximately 209 complaints were filed. Many of these complaints cited seemingly
excessive turbine noise emissions.
Also recovered, as part of the same Freedom of Information request, were records of noise
monitoring undertaken by MOECC in response to the public complaints. A number of those
records show monitoring results which may indicate that the turbine was producing noise
emissions in excess of what is allowable under the Certificate of Approval issued for its
operation by MOECC.

On February 3, 2016 representatives of the Town met with local MOECC officials to discuss
these troubling noise monitoring results. MOECC representatives advised that the complaintsdriven noise monitoring results do not prove conclusively that the turbine was operating out of
compliance. However, they also advised that no acoustic audit or test has ever been done that
would determine, conclusively whether or not the turbine has been continually operating in
compliance with the MOECC's Noise Guideline for Wind Turbines or the Certificate of Approval.
In light of this, the large number of complaints received and the troubling (but inconclusive)
noise monitoring results, the ministry advised that UNIFOR had committed to complete a
voluntary acoustic audit of the turbine. At that time, the audit was scheduled for completion in
2016.

Telephone: 519-832-2008

Website: www.saugeenshores.ca

Facsimile: 519-832-2140

Had an acoustic audit been completed at that time it would have come more than four years
after auditing was first promised by ministry officials and more than three years after the start of
the turbine's operation (a very long time, given the number of noise related complaints received
during that period). Unfortunately the promised audit was not done in June.

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On June 6th, MOECC staff advised Town officials that Jade Acoustics had started doing
"preliminary noise monitoring" in the spring but that the audit itself would not be done until
September. On September 27th, Town officials were further advised by MOECC staff that
"preliminary monitoring" was ongoing but that, due to delays caused by "weather, lack of wind
and turbine down time" the voluntary audit would not be done by UNIFOR until March or April
2017. Most recently, on October 5th, MOECC staff advised UNIFOR that they now expect the
audit to be complete no later than May 30, 2017 and for the results to be sent to the ministry no
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laterthan June 30,2017.-

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it to be absolutely unreasonable for our community to
The
I.- Town of Saugeen Shores believes
of next year in hope that an audit of this turbine's
spring
the
until
wait
to
continue
to
have
by the proponent. At the time of writing, we are
voluntarily,
undertaken
operation will finally be
filed relating to the operation of this turbine.
been
have
advised that as many as 328 complaints
Ifthis Audit is not done until June 2017, it will come four years and three months after the
earliest potentially non-compliant test result of which we are aware. How many complaints must
be filed, how many questionable test results must be logged, how many more years must pass
before the MOECC sees fit to demand a mandatory audit and applies the penalty of shutting this
turbine down should audit results not be delivered within strict timelines?

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The Town of Saugeen Shores is deeply concerned about the continuing delays in completing
this acoustic audit and believes that MOECC must make this acoustic audit mandatory and set
a mandatory date by which audit results must be submitted by UNIFOR for ministry and public
review.

More broadly, it is possible that the situation affecting our community may be indicative of a
larger failure within the MOECC to fulfill its role in regulating and overseeing the operation of
industrial wind turbines in the Province of Ontario. The fact that the MOECC may be unable or
unwilling to ensure that industrial wind turbines achieve full regulatory compliance should merit
a detailed investigation by your office into this matter.
Please advise as to how you intend to proceed.

hesitate to contact
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further information please do not
IJIu|.n.l-l?-Iany questions or require
Should you have
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the undersigned.

I-'11:

.-|_to this matter.

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Thank
you for your prompt attention
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truly,
Yours
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H-'-H-|' Signed
Original
Mike Smith, Mayor
Town of Saugeen Shores