Dear Editor: To date our group has made excellent progress in our legal opposition to the Nextera wind turbine approval. The proceedings for a tribunal hearing have been postponed pending the outcome of our judicial review of the Ministry of the Environment. The basis of our judicial review is that the MOE did not follow its own rules imposed by the Green Energy Act when approving this application, and that Nextera was given certain exemptions in order to make the process easier for them. Affidavits have been filed and cross examinations have been conducted, the result of which leaves our group feeling very optimistic about the outcome. The hearing for the judicial review will be held in Toronto on April 2, 2012. If our judicial review is unsuccessful, we have the option to continue our legal proceedings by moving forward with the tribunal. This process gives our group a second opportunity to keep industrial wind turbines out of Wellington County. In addition, the appeal filed by the Haudenosaunee First Nations will also move forward. It is our fear that although this is only a 10 turbine project, that it is the beginning of many more to come and could be considered as stage 1, which can easily be expanded on once the turbines have been erected. It is our goal to make sure that our area does not become the next Shelburne. As with all legal proceedings, there is much that must remain confidential, but we are happy to share what we can with the public. Please feel free to email us at preservemapletoninc@gmail.com for updates on our progress. Legal challenges, however, are an expensive endeavor and we hope the public will support our attempt to keep turbines out of Wellington County by donating to the legal challenge. Donations can be made by completing and mailing a donation form (available on our website or please email and we will send you one) or by Visa/Mastercard through paypal at the following websites: www.smwf.ca http://freewco.blogspot.com/ http://ontario-wind-resistance.org/ All information supplied to us is kept completely confidential. We thank everyone for their continued support! Preserve Mapleton Incorporated
Wendy Gascho