The Water Wells First group is seeking an Ombudsman investigation into the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.
The group says they will ask the Ombudsman of Ontario to investigate Mayor Randy Hope, council and the administration of the Municipality of Chatham-Kent for negligence in performing their duties of office.
“Water Wells First calls on the residents of Chatham-Kent to join them in this complaint to the Ombudsman,” the group posted on their website.
“In the fall of 2016, the Municipality sought and gained party status in the Environmental Review Tribunal and as a party received disclosure from the appellant Kevin Jakubec. Documents disclosed to the Municipality detailed that the bedrock underlying the North Kent aquifer to be the Kettle Point Black Shale formation containing heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, lead and uranium.”
The group said before the formal conclusion of the tribunal’s mediation process that was requested by Jakubec, Mayor Hope and John Norton, director of legal services, made statements in the press that they reviewed Jakubec’s disclosure documents, compared the documents to the documents disclosed by the North Kent 1 Wind developer and found the ‘Golder Report’ produced by the wind developer to be sufficient
“That little risk would be posed to the aquifer, implying little risk would be posed to the families financially dependent on the aquifer for their freshwater supply,” the group stated.
“At no time to the present, did the mayor and council request an independent review by an expert geologist to the accuracy of the statements made in the ‘Golder Report’ to verify the risk assessment. Had the mayor and council performed their duties of office properly and sought an independent geologist review of the ‘Golder Report’ the Municipality would have discovered the ‘Golder Report’ is critically flawed. The bedrock described in the ‘Golder Report’ is not the Kettle Point Black Shale formation underlying Chatham-Kent.”
Water Wells First say they want the Ombudsman to investigate and determine if the mayor and council’s reliance on the ‘Golder Report’ constitutes a conflict of interest.
“As the Municipality receives monies from the North Kent Wind facility,” the group said.
“Water Wells First cites the ‘Citizen’s Guide to Building Permits’ published by the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing that; ‘Building Permits allow your municipality to protect the interests of both individuals and the community as a whole; the Building Code, which sets standards for the design and construction of buildings to meet objectives such as health, safety, fire protection, accessibility and resource conservation.'”
The group says the 2017 C-K Capital Budget; Areas of Strategic Focus and Critical Success Factors on Pg. 3; Under Environmental Sustainability states: ‘Chatham-Kent is a community that is environmentally sustainable and promotes stewardship of our natural resources.’
“Our aquifer is a natural resource,” the group said.
“Water Wells First demands accountability of Mayor Hope and council. No building permit for North Kent 1 Wind Farm should be issued until the Ombudsman Office has completed their investigation and a independent geologist review of the Golder Report has been brought forward to Council.”
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– File photo
