Bill Latchford wrote: The idea behind noise is an interesting one....I personally can’t wait to forge my own thoughts on the noise....That of course is a huge debate...Some say they are outrageously noisy and others say that is very quiet. I want to hear them for myself.
We will see what the future holds for these things in Tyrone.
Township to buy noise meters for Juniata wind turbines
By Kay Stephens, kstephens@altoonamirror.com
POSTED: October 2, 2007
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Juniata Township supervisors are ready to buy a pair of noise meters at the request of three residents disturbed by wind turbines near their properties.
The township’s ordinance specifies that the noise created by the turbines cannot exceed 45 decibles, a level that has been compared to the hum of a refrigerator.
The noise has been a lot louder, residents Todd and Jill Stull told supervisors. Neighbor Clair Chappell agreed.
“It bothered us all summer,” Jill Stull said. “You can hear it inside my house, even with my windows and doors closed.”
The Stulls, who asked supervisors in March for help, said they documented dates and times when the turbines were noisy and offered that information to representatives of the company managing the wind farm.
With no action, they returned Monday night and appealed to supervisors for help.
Supervisors David Kane and David Rimbeck said they have been on the Stull property and on neighboring properties and have yet to hear any disturbing noise.
“This has to be a special case in your hollow,” Kane said.
“No, it’s happening in [Clair Chappell’s] hollow, too,” Todd Stull said.
Gerald Young, 85, who lives next to Chappell, told supervisors he has heard wind turbines.
“I have a 74 percent hearing loss in one ear and a 75 percent hearing loss in the other ear,” Young said. “If I can hear them, somebody else has got to be hearing them.”
Kane suggested asking Babcock & Brown, the company managing the wind turbine farm stretching over the Blair and Cambria borders, to set up a noise meter.
Solicitor Michael Routch advised against that and suggested the township acquire its own.
“It’s not a belief issue,” Routch said, “It’s a proof issue.”
His suggestion led into a debate over who should buy the noise meters, with supervisors voting to spend up to $1,200 for a pair of meters.
Todd Stull told supervisors the purchase is their responsibility so they can enforce the ordinance adopted last year.
Rimbeck said he could agree with the purchase, considering that the township receives $75,000 annually in wind turbine revenue.
“We’re going to buy the meters and see what it says,” Kane said.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.
Chairman Giffin and Task Force Members: 09/26/2007
Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak.
My name is Wendy Todd. I am a resident of Mars Hill and a lifelong citizen of the state
of Maine. I live approximately 2600 feet from multiple turbines located at the Mars Hill
Wind Facility. To date, I have attended two of the task force meetings and have tried to
keep up with most of the reading material. Today I am here representing a number of
families who are my neighbors and friends. They are experiencing the same things that
my family and I are experiencing, with respect to the wind turbines.
My husband Perrin and my three children moved back to Aroostook County after living
is Southern Maine for approx 14 years. We moved back because we wanted to raise our
children in a known, safe, nurturing environment. You see, Mars Hill is my hometown.
It is a small town, with a reasonably good sense of community. It has a great school
system – but most of all it is where my family lives. My parents own a farm on the
Canadian border that lies on the Northeast side of Mars Hill Mountain. My grandfather
purchased the farm in 1914 and farmed potatoes for 46 years before my parents continued
the tradition of farming in 1960. In my opinion it is some of the prettiest acreage in
Aroostook and I was very happy to come home to it, in fact…it was my dream.
The turbines however, have changed most of that as the land that was once known for its
remote nature, wildlife and solitude is now home to an industrial power plant. For
anyone to say that a wind turbine facility has a low impact on the local environment… is
irresponsible. Yet the industry and the media surrounding it seem insistent on making
light of the problems that exist. The problems are real and they are hurting families
emotionally, physically and economically.
1.) Many are worried about how the turbines have affected their property value and what
they planned to leave to their children. Some families have given up their dreams of
building homes because the turbines have changed the very nature of the land and how
they planned to use it. The construction phase drove much of the wildlife from the area
and it has been very slow to recover. We wonder if the wildlife population and
characteristics will ever be the same.
2.) Noise and shadow flicker create anger and frustration as they invade our homes and
land.
The noise keeps many residents from a proper night sleep, resulting in more
frustration, anger and stress. It has lead to time missed at work for some and sleep aids
for others. Most of these families have resorted to sleeping with the house shut up tight,
curtains drawn with fans running or other white noise sources at their bedsides. Sleep
deprivation and stress has led to a number of other issues that are of concern. One
resident has started on anti-depressants, three residents are experiencing increased
migraines and another family has separated. These families attribute the blame of these
issues on the surrounding turbines. Recent studies correlate the noise and vibrations
associated with living too close to turbines to a number of health issues that range from
ringing in the ears to vibro-acoustic disease. Other determined health issues include
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an increased risk of seizures for those who are prone to seizures, an increased frequency
and intensity of migraines, stress headaches and inner ear problems.
Unfortunately for us, the very mountain that has provided the wind facility with a class 3-
wind resource often acts like a fence protecting us from the upper level winds that push
the turbines.
There are many times when winds are high on the ridgeline but are near
calm at our homes. The noise and vibrations from the turbines penetrate our homes. At
times there is no escape from it. It doesn’t matter which room you go to, there is no
escape from the noise. The noise ranges from the sound of a high range jet to a fleet of
planes that are approaching but never arrive. When it’s really bad it takes on a repetitive,
pulsating, thumping noise that can go on for hours or even days. It has been described as
a freight train that never arrives, sneakers in a dryer, a washing machine agitating, a giant
heartbeat, a submariner describes it as a large ship passing overhead.
If the wind turbines are spinning we hear them. Yes, there are days when the turbines are
rotating and very little noise is emitted. There are days when we can’t hear them at all
inside our homes. Those are generally days when the turbines are spinning less than 15
rotations per minute (rpm’s). A visiting engineer from GE said that the turbines do not
start generating power until the turbines reach 17 to 18 RPM. The turbines need
consistent wind speeds of 4 ½ meters per second - so… on most days when they are not
making noise they are not making power either.
People think that we are crazy. They drive out around the mountain stop and listen and
wonder why anyone would complain about noise emissions. But, believe me when we
are having noise problems you can most assuredly hear the justification of our complaint.
We have had people come into our yard get out of their vehicles and have watched their
mouth drop. We have had company stop in mid conversation inside our home to ask,
“What is that noise?” or say “I can’t believe you can hear those like that inside your
house.”
Visiting a wind facility, or sitting at the end of someone’s driveway once or twice for 2, 3
or even 10 minutes to listen does not make that person an expert on turbine noise. To be
an informed witness could take days or weeks for one to know and experience what we
are living. Not until an individual has been in a home and has heard turbine noise
emissions of 45 decibels or higher does that individual have any right to judge how
turbine noise truly affects the lives of people. Even noise experts should be talking to
residents who are living next to turbines to ensure they are collecting data that is relevant
to the burdensome noise emissions heard by those who live closest to them. Let us tell
the sound experts when we are having a noise issue.
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Nick Archer, our Regional Director with the DEP thought we were all crazy, too. But he
finally made it to our homes and heard what we were talking about. I don’t believe he
has ever heard a 50+decibel day but he has heard close to that on more than one occasion
and has made statements like these. “This is a problem.” “ We need to figure out what is
going on with these things before we go putting anymore of them up.” “I thought you
were crazy at first but you are not crazy.” “The quality of life behind the mountain is
changed.” Did he say these things just to appease us? I don’t believe so.
Because of the complaints from residents around the mountain the DEP started an
investigation into the noise levels being emitted from the Mars Hill wind facility. The
wind company agreed to do a sound study and is working with the DEP to determine
compliance. Maine state law allows projects to emit 45 dBa of noise at protected
locations like ours, (quiet areas) up to 500 feet from sleeping quarters. For some reason,
the Maine DEP granted the UPC/Evergreen project a 5-decibel variance, thus allowing
the turbines a noise ceiling of 50 dBa at protected locations. Resource Systems
Engineering (RSE) conducted the first round of sound tests in May of 2007. The May
study revealed two locations on the North end of the mountain with readings over 50
decibels.
Presently, the DEP is reviewing that May study along with a series of questions posed by
the Mountain Landowners Association of Mars Hill. The study has been in their
possession since the end of June and again the residents whose lives are being affected by
the noise are being asked to be patient. I want everyone here to understand, it has
become extremely disheartening to be asked to live with noise that UPC/Evergreen stated
would never exist. It is frustrating to know that the turbines are being allowed to
continue operations with no restrictions even though the study shows that they are over
the limit that the permit allows.
Nick Archer our Regional Director of the DEP stated at a meeting with our group that
“anything over the permit level would be out of compliance, whether its out by 1dBa or
more, out of compliance is out of compliance”. The study shows that the turbines are
over the DEP’s limit yet it seems that things are no longer that clear cut. The World
Health Organization says, “Where noise is continuous, the equivalent sound pressure
level should not exceed 30 dBA indoors, if negative effects on sleep are to be avoided.”
http://www.who.int/docstore/peh/noise/Commnoise4.htm
I understand the Governor’s desire for wanting wind to work in Maine, but surely it is not
to the detriment of people who live and pay taxes here. Many were for the Mars Hill
wind turbine project but we were misled as a community and as a state we are still being
misled.
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The wind company that came to Mars Hill misrepresented facts and spoke in half-truths.
The town manager and town council of Mars Hill believed them and based their decisions
on this information and the project moved forward. Most people truly believed that the
benefits to the town, county, state, country and world were well worth any negative
impact from the visual aspect of the turbines. Visual impact was the biggest negative
impact that was ever talked about.
Maine Site Law & Regulations – Section 484 states that “the developer is responsible for
fitting a development harmoniously into the existing natural environment and to
demonstrate that the development will not unreasonably affect existing land uses.”
Now, of course, it is to late for the truth. The turbines are there and most likely will
remain. But this task force can help other communities protect themselves. Information
is power and the people of Maine and the nation have a right to all the facts.
What am I talking about…?
Statement:
The wind company said it would create hundreds of local jobs that would be filled by
local businesses whenever possible.
Reality:
Most of the construction jobs went to contractors outside of Aroostook County.
Statement:
When asked how much electricity would be created and where it would go the answer
was “At full capacity the plant will generate 50 megawatts, enough to power
approximately 50,000 average Maine homes and at 40% capacity it would supply
electricity for 24,000 – 25,000 homes. All the electricity from the Mars Hill “wind farm”
will be used in the region, most likely by Aroostook County homes and businesses.
Reality:
Now we know that any given wind facility has an efficiency rating somewhere between
25% and 35%. The electricity generated from the Mars Hill facility goes to Canada.
Statement:
They said that the facility would likely help to stabilize electric prices. “Electricity cost
from wind power is very competitive and sometimes lower than most other sources of
fuel-based power. The more wind power that can be generated in Aroostook County and
Maine the more you can count on the possibility of more stable or even lower electric
bills in the future.”
Reality:
The truth is that our electric bills went up approximately 40% this year and are due to go
up again.
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