January 10, 2011

The Honourable Linda Jeffery

6th Floor, Room 6630, Whitney Block,

99 Wellesley St. W.,

Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1W3

Dear Minister Jeffery:

The Sault Naturalists of Ontario and Michiganare members of an outdoor club which organizes weekly outings throughout the Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma area as well as to adjacent Michigan. The Club consists of 130 individuals and families. We wish to take this opportunity to comment on the developing government policies for the placement of wind farms and their generators in the area along the eastern and northern shores of Lake Superior and other local waterways.

Members of our club are generally of the opinion that wind and solar generation are a suitable means of increasing our energy supply. The alternatives: nuclear, hydro-electric and coal/oil/gas generation all leave significant environmental impacts that are much more negative than the green energy of solar and wind. Thus, we are in favour of wind power for our region and do not subscribe to the NIMBY philosophy. That having been said, we do have some major concerns about where these facilities might be located whether they be on crown or private land.

We believe that the following should be an integral part of any government policy for this region:

  1. The natural unspoiled beauty of our region generates many tourist dollars annually. The beauty of the Lake Superior shoreline and the wilderness experience of the Algoma Central tour train are two of many attractors especially during the changing of the fall colours. For this reason, the Lake Superior vistas along highway 17 and the tour train vistas must be protected from the visual pollution that would result from poorly-located wind farms.
  1. For aesthetics and other environmental reasons such as the oil they contain, we are concerned about wind towers being placed in the waters of Lake Superior. Before any towers are place on the waters of Lake Superior, a complete Environmental Assessment of the possible consequences must be carried out.
  1. Studies should continue on the impact of wind towers on bird and bat mortality. Important avian flyways should be avoided in the placement of towers unless it is shown that they have little impact.Similarly, concentrations of bats around cave sites should be avoided. We are firmly of the opinion that all data collected by companies in support of their application(s) for wind farms are to be made available to the public on an identified website.
  1. Wind towers should be placed where access is already in place. This reduces the environmental impact of cutting more forests for access roads and tower sites. For example, the placement of towers near Hwy 17, along its east and north sides, in many cases would not impact the Lake Superior vistas to the opposite side. Further there is an existing power line right of way running from Wawa to Sault Ste. Marie that could afford access to many suitable sites.
  1. There are many cottages located all along the shoreline of Lake Superior and some inland lakes. They were built in these locations for the natural beauty of their location. These cottage owners have the right to be similarly protected from the visual pollution of towers whenever possible. The towers of the Prince Wind Farm are a concern for many cottage owners (and some permanent residents) along the north and east shores of Goulais Bay because of visual pollution both during the day and with the blinking red lights at night.
  1. We encourage research into the use of low level wind generators in select locations along the Lake Superior shore where they cannot be seen by the travelling public on land. We acknowledge that it would be impossible to locate any generators along the Lake Superior shore where they would not be seen from the lake.

We are concerned about the lack of opportunity for public input into provincial policies for wind farm location especially as they impact our area. We thus find that the only opportunity to comment on a potential project becomes a fire-fighting exercise after the fact –pitting the proponents and land owners looking for a fast dollar against those trying to protect the region and public as a whole. We strongly encourage the government to develop policies for the placement of wind farms and their generators for our region that reflect the public good. The development of these policies should provide a highly visible opportunity for input from the local public. We feel that given the opportunity, valuable insight, information and advice could be gained from the residents and entrepreneurs who are most familiar with the land.

We agree with the sentiments expressed in the Sault Ste. Marie Star on January 8, 2011 in a point of view article written by John Kastner. He said in that article “Both sides of the windmill issue should be asking for the same thing: A comprehensive and impartial report on the health impacts of windmills, their impact on the environment and landscapes and their effectiveness as an energy source.”

Yours sincerely,

David Euler, President

On Behalf of the Membership

Sault Naturalists,

P.O. Box 21035

308 Northern Ave. E.

Sault Ste. Marie ON P6B 5H3

CC. Mr. John Friberg

Ministry of Natural Resources, Policy Division

Renewable Energy Program

300 Water Street, Floor 5

RobinsonPlaceSouthTower

Peterborough, Ontario

K9J 8M5