NO CONTAMINATION ALLOWED
Here is a copy of the letter I just sent off to EDF-EN today after receiving a letter from them letting me know how great wind turbines are going to be for the area. They sure sounded confident...
Dear Ms. Jouanneau,
I received a couple of messages from you back in June and, due to changes in your meeting dates and my schedule, was unable to attend the community meeting in August. As it turns out that was probably just as well. I see from your letter that you were able to discern the fact that most of us are NOT in favour of the flawed science and likely environmental problems if wind turbines are used to generate electricity.
I am the Chairperson of the Protect Lorrain Valley Coalition, a group of concerned area residents, land owners, lease holders of Crown Lands and outdoors enthusiasts of all kinds who spend time in the Lorrain Valley and South Lorrain areas.
I am specifically contacting you today after reading a portion of the letter we received this week, our first letter from your firm; Page 5, First Q&A. In it your company professes to be able to "manage" water run off from the blasted ridges you will have to shape to your purpose should you receive the Offer to Contract from the IESO.
As you most likely will have found, not only is the area full of marshes, creeks and springs but, after a basic google search of the areas in question, you would have found that the erythrite (cobaltarsenate) (cobalt bloom) here is highly water soluble and exists throughout the region. It is extremely carcinogenic and, in water ingested by livestock, wildlife and humans or airborne inhalation, is quite dangerous to health.
Our area has had many millions of dollars spent in attempts to clean up from the previous century's ignorance. This is the 21st Century and along with many other hard learned lessons we have, it must be noted, remained unable to control water as it moves across the land. Your attempt to control it is highly unlikely to succeed and we will bring every possible resource to bear in preventing you from opening this land to inevitable contamination.
To attempt to convince those of us who live with serious health issues, gradually reducing levels of arsenical lake waters, reclaimed tailings ponds (also thought to have been sufficient to hold the contamination at bay back in their day) and sport fish we are advised to eat once per year at best, that somehow YOUR project will be different is nothing short of insulting.
It is with firm resolve that I promise to do everything I can to thwart your attempts at blowing up this area and recontaminating it with arsenic that if allowed, would destroy our livestock and tourism industries.
We used to have a modest thriving manufacturing sector in this area and, ironically, due to the province's ever increasing electricity costs we are left with agriculture and tourism. Our little valley cannot sustain another hit of poison.
I cannot even begin to understand the enormous funds that you have at your disposal and I am told that the wind turbines will go up regardless of people's concerns. However, your riches must certainly allow for the additional expense of longer distances to grid hook ups in areas where there isn't this level of contamination and where there aren't this many people. This isn't "NIMBY", Not In My Backyard this is "LOVE", Leave Our Valley Entirely.
My concerns are measurable in Parts Per Million not the usual and unprovable effects of this industry like bird death and insomnia. The negative results of wind energy are coming in from all over the world but it will take a long time for people in power to see clearly. Meanwhile, we fight.
PLease remember the land in the Lorrain Valley is only our home if we leave it alone. Should your efforts be successful the runoff from this error in judgement will end up in the Ottawa River.
Another really good thing to remember is that this same water ends up, eventually, in the Rideau Canal.
all the best...from the
beautiful
bush,
Linda Roberts
Chairperson of the Protect Lorrain Valley Coalition
and Owner of
VOICE FROM THE BUSH,
Online Communication
