WEYBURN - Residents of the RMs of Weyburn and Griffin were urged to band together to fight the Enbridge proposal for 46 wind turbines, and hope to make their case to the RM of Weyburn council at their upcoming meeting on Aug. 14.
A meeting of concerned residents was held on Wednesday evening at McKenna Hall, and was emceed by Kim Brady.
Brady set the tone early on, as he asked that residents be respectful both of the land-owners who have signed agreements with Enbridge, and of the RM councillors, who he said are being put in a very tough position.
Brady met with MLA Dustin Duncan on Friday, and said he told him the government is being completely unfair to RM councils because there are no regulations in Saskatchewan to govern wind turbines.
“They want to gravel roads and mow the ditches. It’s not fair to them,” said Brady, noting that Alberta at least has the Alberta Utilities Commission to set regulations for wind turbines.
A resident noted that he was told by an Enbridge official they would be following the AUC regulations since Saskatchewan doesn’t have any – but acknowledged he doesn’t know what those regulations say.
Brady pointed out also that the RM of Weyburn has some zoning bylaws that can relate to turbines, but the RM of Griffin doesn’t. Of the 46 proposed turbines, 21 will be in the RM of Griffin, and 25 in the RM of Weyburn.
Some background facts about the proposed wind turbines were presented to the residents, including that the project was initiated by EDF Renewables, a Chinese company, which had set up two test stations to determine if there was enough wind in this area to make this project viable.
There are six First Nations who are partnering with Enbridge on the project, and Enbridge will sell up to 30 per cent to them at a cost of around $150 million. To assist them, the government has put forward a loan guarantee of $100 million.
On the size of the proposed turbines, Brady said he was told they will be either 673 or 678 feet in height, which is about four times the height of the Parrish and Heimbecker inland grain terminal.
One of the speakers at the meeting, Don Bourassa, pointed out this height is about the same as the highest radio tower on South Hill, and told the residents to imagine that tower with big blades on it turning around. At this height, it will be visible to most residents in Weyburn, and up to 30 miles away.
Bourassa also noted that within a two-mile radius of his farm there are 12 proposed wind turbines, and in a five-mile radius, there are 17.
“I am smack in the middle of it. Am I happy about it? No. We all have to work together to stop this from happening,” said Bourassa.
Like Brady said before him, he also urged residents not to be dumping on the RM councillors, who have a job to do to make zoning bylaw and to enforce them.
He noted the Weyburn Review reported that Enbridge had had a meeting with the council, and asked them not to pass on the information as they set out their case to reduce setbacks from 1000 metres to 750.
“They do not work for Enbridge, they work for us,” said Bourassa to applause. “What we have to do is put something together for the meeting on Aug. 14.”
Brady noted he has spoken to Reeve Norm McFadden and to a couple of the councillors, and they will only allow two or three from the group to represent the residents at the council meeting, but noted anyone can attend the public meeting. In order to speak, the RM has to be notified at least a week before the meeting to be put on the agenda.
“I didn’t move to the country thinking this would happen. I don’t want to live with the wind and noise. Enbridge is going to follow the Alberta Utilities Board’s regulations as Saskatchewan has no regulations for this,” said Brady. “We’re all surrounded by these things. I really hope the RM will listen to the ratepayers. They work for us, we elected them.”
Brady, and Faith McDonald, noted that residents have a number of options before them to make their voice heard, including signing a petition (which has about 1,600 people signed as of Wednesday night), and writing letters to their MLA, the premier, and to RM councillors and the City of Weyburn.
They also pointed out there is both a provincial and municipal election this fall, and if the RM councillors don’t support the residents, they could be voted out and replaced.
It was also suggested other organizations be contacted for their concerns, such as Nature Saskatchewan and the Weyburn Wildlife Federation.
Brady ended with a plea for anyone with other ideas or other sources to contact for relevant information to contact him, to help them make the case to the RM.
The plan is to form a committee or a board of concerned residents to help compile the information they need to continue their fight against the turbines.
