A controversial wind turbine development near Collingwood is now officially under review.
People who are fighting the project lined up on Tuesday to have their voices heard by a provincial environmental tribunal in Collingwood.
WPD Energy wants to build eight turbines, five of them near the Collingwood airport.
“Turbines, I see them up in Shelburne, Godrich, all over the country side,” says Clearview Township resident James Huston. “There's a lot of people with these machines and they are an eyesore.”
Tuesday’s hearing is the first step in the tribunal's review of the project, which was approved by the province last year.
Those appealing include the County of Simcoe, the Town of Collingwood and Clearview Township, along with three local landowners.
“We are concerned about these massive structures, 500 feet high in such a concentration,” says George Daniels, a commercial pilot. “It will comprise our ability to fly safely and effectively around the airport.”
There have been more than 150 similar tribunals in the province, but only three have been partially successful.
Concerns with the turbines include the impacts on environment and human health.
At the same time, a local pilot is launching a constitutional challenge.
“There is a section that deals with aeronautics in the approval we believe is a federal jurisdiction,” says Kevin Elwood.
The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association is supporting that challenge.
Meanwhile, the company behind the plan says the project was reviewed by the province for three and a half years before it was approved. They believe it satisfies all federal standards concerning airport safety.
The tribunal is expected to rule on the matter by mid-August.
