Stray Voltage Law to Take Effect in September
By BOB BOUGHNER, THE DAILY NEWS,
It's another victory for 73-year-old Dover farmer Lee Montgomery. But the celebration is bittersweet. The former dairy farmer is pleased the province has finally recognized ground current pollution. New legislation will take effect in mid-September that will contribute to the health and safety of livestock and human beings. "I'm very happy,'' said Montgomery, who claims stray voltage ruined his life and took the life of his wife, Donna.
Montgomery has spent the past 30 years trying to make the government aware of the seriousness of the problem. His first breakthrough came in 2006 with a private member's bill by Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Marie Van Bommel. The bill received all-party support at second reading. That was the first time he was able to celebrate victory.
Last week the Ontario Energy Board announced amendments to the distribution system code in relation to farm stray voltage. Montgomery said it ensures that electricity to farm customers is of a quality that does not unduly impact the health and safety of a livestock operation. He said the Ontario Electrical Authority has been named as the third party mediator in case there is a dispute case over mitigation.
Montgomery claims his farm was affected by stray voltage from an Ontario Hydro substation on Highway 40, south of North Maple Mall. He said the day the substation was shut down his electrical problems ceased. Montgomery credited Barry Fraser, a consultant and former Kent agricultural representative, as well as Van Bommel, for helping win the battle.
Fraser said the new amendments lower the threshold level for mitigation from 10 V to 0.5 V-a factor of 20. "This is the lowest of any jurisdiction in Canada and probably North America,'' he said. Fraser said the ruling "vindicates'' Montgomery, who was chastised at the time as a trouble maker.
Montgomery said his problems began in the early 1970s. "It cost me the life of my wife, the loss of my dairy herd, the loss of my milk quota and I was forced to sell a 100-acre farm,'' he said. In the 1970s and 80s, Montgomery traveled throughout Canada and the U. S. showing his award-winning Holstein cows.
Montgomery claims that stray voltage is not only an Ontario problem, but is one that faces people and farm animals throughout North America. The new amendments call for fully-trained and qualified investigators under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Fraser said the new amendments will ensure that electricity to farm customers is of a quality that does not unduly impact health and safety on livestock operation, especially dairy farms. "It permits the accurate determination of the contribution from the distribution system to total measured farm stray voltage at animal contact points like the feet and mouth,'' he said.
Click here to visit the Ontario Energy Board’s consultation webpage and read more about the amendment on Farm Stray Voltage (EB-2007-0709) and related documents.
Mike Holt’s Comment:
Our Newsletter of July 3 gave you the link to my free video on Stray Voltage, which should help you get a better understanding of this phenomenon. I also told you about a case that I’m working on that will enable you to see the application of this theory. The investigation and its solution will be available to you on a DVD in early September. This DVD will be the first of its type in content and visuals from a real onsite case study. Stray voltage (actually neutral-earth-voltage – NEV) is a big problem and will become a bigger problem in the future.
For now, click here to visit our site’s technical page to learn more about this topic.
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