A judicial review application has been filed against the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change in the Divisional Court in Toronto.
The application alleges Ontario regulations and directives limit the amount of noise any residence in the province should have to tolerate from a wind project. Modelling is used to predict these impacts.
"The government knows the modeling done by wind companies is wrong,” said Eric Gillespie, legal counsel for the court applicant. “However, the government now doesn't require them to follow the proper process. It's not surprising people from across Ontario are joining together to vigorously oppose this."
The MOECC has admitted previous guidelines resulted in underestimates of the noise at nearby homes, according to a news release from Gillespie.
The guidelines state wind turbines can be built at least 550 metres from a home, as long as companies meet the 40-decibel threshold for noise.
The opponents say without any evidence that this was necessary, the MOECC has allowed companies promoting at least five large-scale wind projects to ignore new government guidelines.
The result is hundreds of Ontario residents near these planned turbines could be living next to turbines that could produce noise out of compliance with government regulations. If these projects, located in various parts of Ontario, were required to comply with the new guidelines, the group says it is estimated up to three-quarters of these turbines would have to be relocated or removed.
"We do not take this step lightly," commented Bonnie Rowe, spokesperson for Dutton Dunwich Opponents of Wind Turbines, applicant in this suit.
"But we estimate that these five proposed wind power projects will be out of compliance with noise levels as soon as they go on-line. In the Dutton Dunwich case, the majority of the proposed turbines, will likely produce noise over the MOECC maximum allowable levels.
She says “that is just unacceptable, especially to the many citizens living nearby, who will be forced to endure that noise. We appreciate the collaborative efforts in this application, of citizens in the other affected communities in Ontario - North Stormont, La Nation, and Wallaceburg."
