WEYBURN - The councils for the RMs of Griffin and Weyburn both had large crowds of ratepayers and citizens in attendance for their meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, voicing their opposition to Enbridge’s proposed wind turbines.
The RM of Griffin met Tuesday evening in the Griffin Rec Centre, to accommodate the large number of residents who spoke or asked questions about the turbines.
This followed a statement by the council saying they will be seeking a setback of at least 1500 metres from a turbine to a residence.
Reeve Stacey Lund noted that Enbridge wanted to have a meeting with the Griffin council, but they put off that meeting until after they heard from the ratepayers at the council meeting.
He said their position is that if this project goes ahead, they do not want it to cost the ratepayers anything, such as for road building, and noted the setback will have to be negotiated with Enbridge in conjunction with the RM of Weyburn.
In some parts of the RM where turbines are proposed to go, there are no good roads to accommodate the construction crews, and Enbridge will have to build a lot of roads to make it happen, he said.
“It’s disappointing the province doesn’t have more guidelines in place,” he said, noting the turbines seem to be getting bigger all the time. The RM heard from Enbridge in June and met them on July 9, but “none of us know much about it. … There will be lots more discussion on this for sure.”
A suggestion was made for a referendum question at the upcoming municipal elections, where residents would be asked if they support the wind turbines, and Lund said they might consider that.
Questions of liability were also raised, such as if a wind turbine catches fire or starts on land, or if there’s an accident involved with a turbine, as well as what environmental studies they would rely on or do.
Lund noted that the estimated tax revenues to the RM would be around $225-250,000, which some residents pointed out would not build very many kilometres of road.
The RM of Weyburn will be sending their zoning bylaw to SARM to help them word it before it comes back for a first reading, then a public hearing will be held.
At the Wednesday morning council meeting, they allowed three delegations to speak and present their views, but they were not allowed to ask the council questions, as this would occur at a public hearing.
No time line was given by Weyburn on when the amended bylaw will be introduced, as Reeve Norm McFadden noted it’s a process that will take months.
For these presentations, Coun. Dan Cugnet declared a conflict and left the room, as he is a landowner who has agreed to have wind turbines on his property.
He said he was willing to talk to anyone about concerns if they wished to contact him about the project.
Reeve McFadden acknowledged that they are in a tough situation as councillors, but he commented they will have to be fair to everybody, both those who oppose it and those who are for it, “even to Enbridge.”
The residents in the room disagreed with this last comment, noting the council works for the ratepayers, not for Enbridge.
“The fact you want to be fair to Enbridge and not protect your ratepayers worries me,” said one resident.
The residents were told once the bylaw is scheduled for first reading, the public hearing will be advertised for two weeks and held. If there are any amendments to be made to the bylaw as a result of that, another public hearing would be needed before it’s given second and third reading, a process that could take months to complete, said the reeve.
One presenter said she gets that there is a monetary benefit for those getting turbines on their land, but added, “I also feel for my children. I don’t want there to be possible health effects. We appreciate you are in a very difficult position here.”
She pointed out that there is a quarter owned by a woman in California, who is a lawyer, and she rejected having any turbines on her land. The lawyer noted that California is riddled with them, and did not want her neighbours in the RM to have to deal with the turbines.
“This is a big deal for everybody,” said Reeve McFadden, noting he and members of council have been on road trips to see other wind farms, such as at Assiniboia.
“This is a part of the process too,” he said, in reference to hearing the views from ratepayers. “This isn’t a slam dunk, it’s going to be a time-consuming process, and we have to be fair to everybody.”
One of the presenters, Bud Grohn, said later, “I’m a little concerned that we have to be fair to everybody. The definition of fair is not 50-50, never has been, and we all know that. I know you have to do a job.”
“The way this was rolled out was not great,” responded Reeve McFadden, noting when the province issued a press release shortly before the open house in mid-July was the same time they found out about the project.
