Three citizens took the floor, during the question period of the MRC of Arthabaska session, to express their concerns regarding the Arthabaska wind project which plans, to date, the installation of 42 wind turbines in Sainte -Séraphine (30 wind turbines), Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Warwick (7) and Victoriaville (5).
“I attended two of the three information sessions. People were disappointed and also surprised by the number of wind turbines, argued Johanne Allard. People need to be able to live in peace and with peace of mind. »
Victoriaville invited elected officials to be more vigilant. “If we take care of birds, we should also take care of humans,” she said, while also expressing her fears about the value of houses near wind turbines.
To this, the prefect of the MRC of Arthabaska and mayor of Kingsey Falls, Christian Côté, was reassuring, while citing the case of Saint-Michel in Montérégie. “Three assessment rolls have been filed since they had wind turbines. The residences did not suffer any loss in value. They have even increased like the others,” he said.
Resident of Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Warwick, Pierre-Paul Leblanc, for his part, considered it unrealistic to speak of “zero net loss” with the wind project. “At home, in Sainte-Élizabeth, we will lose land and woodland. The term zero net loss should be revised,” he stressed.
The prefect responded by asserting that he was staying the course. “We maintain our commitments. As a percentage, there will be no loss. We want to compensate as close as possible, but at least within the territory of the MRC. We, the elected officials, do not want to lose what is usable,” he assured.
Last to come to the microphone, Chantal Marcotte raised concerns about people’s health, saying she feared impacts on sleep, impacts such as anxiety, stress and interpersonal conflicts.
“But there is also the question of recycling the material in 30 years,” she raised.
To the question on health, Christian Côté stressed that this would be addressed during the hearings of the Bureau d’audiences publique sur l’environnement (BAPE). “As for recycling, apart from the wind turbine blades, everything can be recovered. But there is development taking place in the area,” concluded the prefect.
