Mysterious ‘hum’ returns to plague residents of Windsor, Ontario

[TomW]

By Kristie Pearce

WINDSOR, Ont. — After an “intense,” unsettling weekend, Windsor residents plagued by a loud and mysterious hum are asking the federal government to take action.

“It’s time for the federal government to step up and initiate correspondence with the U.S.,” said David Robins, a partner at the Sutts, Strosberg law firm.

Robins said this weekend he “could feel vibrations through the house.”

Windsor Coun. Al Maghnieh said he was flooded with complaints Sunday morning of an intensifying hum.

“We have picture frames on the wall and they were shaking last night,” Sonya Skillings, a mother of two, told The Windsor Star Sunday. “It’s never been that bad where we actually had things move on the walls.”

Skillings said her 15-month-old was kept awake all night.

“This disruption interrupts so much with sleep patterns, it’s unreal,” she said. “Especially with a baby. There’s just no peace and quiet.”

Skillings has lived in her Poplar Avenue home for 10 years.

“It’s never been like this.”

An investigation by Natural Resource Canada pinpointed the noise to the Michigan industrial area of Zug Island, Maghnieh said.

“I’m calling on the federal government to finish what they started — getting to the bottom of what this noise is,” Maghnieh said.

“I am extremely frustrated with how this whole process has been. We had a lot of attention from the government last fall and now all of a sudden the Ontario Ministry of Environment seems to be washing their hands of it and Natural Resources Canada is just ignoring everybody. The folks in River Rouge (the municipality that includes Zug Island), all they do is cry poor and say they can’t afford any investigative work. Meanwhile, residents are suffering from this noise.”

As of last fall the provincial environment ministry fielded about 400 complaints about the rumbling since March 2011.

Robins said he’s been approached by fellow residents tired of the “annoying noise” asking him to help start a lawsuit.

“Until we can identify the exact cause, it’s very tough to try and think of any legal action,” he said.

“Bottom line is nobody wants to lose their job and companies don’t want to lose profit. It’s the usual story, which is the all mighty dollar will trump over environmental concerns. They’re not thinking about Canadians.”

Maghnieh said he is “demanding action now,” from senior levels of government.

“What needs to be done is the federal government needs to get back down here, finish this report, finish this investigation, establish the source and start working the cross-border channels. Even though this is covered from the States, the federal government still has the jurisdiction to reach out to their American counterparts and to continue the investigation to put pressure on the city of River Rouge and to start the process of investigation on that side as well.”

Maghnieh said River Rouge ignored city council’s resolution calling on it to help Windsor.

“It’s very evident they’re not in a hurry to help us.”

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