Chatham-Kent’s Chief Legal Officer is responding to allegations made by Water Wells First.
The activist group recently announced that they want John Norton to resign, based on an e-mail they acquired between him and Pattern Energy.
Water Wells First says Norton asked Pattern Energy to release a statement saying a Brook Line home’s well was fine, after the family announced their water turned cloudy.
“I’ve never been to the [Brooks family’s home], I have no knowledge or expertise in testing water. So it’s not for me to judge whether the testing is accurate”, says Norton.
“It’s simply my role to ensure that information flows out properly, and that the wind turbine company is using qualified water testing, and that’s determined by the Ministry of the Environment, not by the Municipality”, Norton explains.
Norton says the Municipality doesn’t control how the water is tested or how the results are interpreted.
“I’m simply an employee of the Municipality. But I did ask them to make it a public statement. Implied in my request to them was the belief that their information was accurate and true. I had no information that it wasn’t accurate or untrue, So the idea that I suggested to the turbine company that they should release misleading information is false and untrue”, says Norton.
