Noise information should have been disclosed

I was recently contacted by councilman Steven Kula regarding a visit some of Prattsburgh's officials had to Chatham-Kent, Ontario to visit the Kruger Port Alma wind project.

I do not doubt that the people Stacey Bottoni and Sharon Quigley spoke to on their recent visit to Chatham-Kent did like the Kruger turbines and had no issues with them. However, that is not the case for everyone living near the turbines. I am in contact with a family suffering severe health/quality of life issues since the turbines began operating. They were told before the turbines went up that they would not hear them. They hear them almost all the time, both inside, and outside their home. Objects vibrate off shelves in their home. They all suffer from disturbed sleep patterns. The father has started trying to sleep with a radio on to drown out the noise. Two young children have started to hit their heads with their hands, "because of the noise" they say. One also complains of the noise in his ears and vomits as he is falling asleep.

This family complained of the noise created by the turbines to the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in early March. On March 23, 2009 a Kruger Energy employee visited the residence in response to the noise complaint that they had made to the Municipality. The Kruger representative said they would file a noise complaint report with the Ministry of the Environment and install noise monitoring equipment inside and outside the home. On March 24, a letter was submitted to Chatham-Kent council describing their altered living/health conditions.

Obviously the problems being experienced by these people were known to both Kruger and the Municipality before Bottoni and Quigley visited on March 30 and 31st.

For this information to have been withheld is very unethical and inexcusable.

Additionally, areas in Ontario with much more experience hosting industrial wind turbines than Chatham- Kent, are now expressing concern over the health effects on nearby residents.

The Grey-Bruce Public Health unit has asked all levels of government to undertake a proper scientific study to determine the effect of industrial wind turbines on public health because the issues related to wind turbines are infringing on their resources which are needed for other public health matters.

Prattsburgh is very lucky to have a councilman like Steven Kula working to protect the health and happiness of its' citizens.
Sincerely,
Monica Elmes
Ridgetown, ONT