​Falmouth Hides Wind Turbine Noise Warning - Project Manager Resigns

Assistant Falmouth Town Manager Heather B. Harper served as wind turbine project's manager and by November of 2010 was acting Town Manager

In August of 2010 the Town of Falmouth received a letter from Vestas wind company stating they had previously been warned the town the turbines they purchased are twice as loud as General Electric turbines. General Electric refused to build a single wind turbine because of residential setbacks and ice throw.

The letter remained hidden by town officials for 5 years is at the bottom of the page.

In September of 2010 two months after the town received the noise warning letter from Vestas the manufacturer of the turbine Assistant Falmouth Town Manager and wind turbine project manager Heather B. Harper met with officials from another town and told them : "We took on a huge risk and I think we were successful but we’re a large community and I think we can take on that risk.”

Two months later in November of 2010 Heather B. Harper was appointed temporary acting Town Manager. Town Manager is the chief administrative officer of the town and is responsible for administering and coordinating all employees, activities and departments placed by general law.The many responsibilities of the Town Manager is the preparation and oversight of all fiscal affairs including the Annual Operating Budget and Five Year Capital Plan.

The August 2010 Vestas noise warning letter remained hidden for five years until it was released through a FOIA request, Freedom of Information Act Request. Without the FOIA request the town would never have released the warning.

The letter from Vestas wind company warned the town had previously been made aware of noise issues and they were responsible for the site selection and the excessive noise levels.

Assistant Falmouth Town Manager and wind turbine project manager Heather B. Harper after 21 years on the job resigned effective June 10, 2016 to work for the Cape Cod Commission. Heather departed for professional reasons.

It is bewildering that Falmouth Town Meeting Members are approving up to $300,000.00 every six months on litigation the town can not win.

The purpose of the 2012 Falmouth Wind Turbine Option Analysis Process (WTOP) was to engage in an open, transparent, and collaborative exploration of the range of options for the long-term future of the Town’s two Wind Turbines – Wind I and Wind II. The negotiations cost $139,000.00 in which the town never disclosed the August 2o10 noise warning letter. The town has never disclosed why they hid the warning letter and how the decision was made to gamble the health of up to 200 residential home owners and tens of millions of dollars in a project they knew should never have been built

The Town of Falmouth maintains a town web site with a section titled: " Falmouth Wind Information "

The Town of Falmouth for well over six years has never posted the letter below on the site. The letter warns of a chest pounding 110 decibels of noise that generates from a single wind turbine. Falmouth has two of these turbine.

To date the town has never made the warning letter available to Town Meeting Members or the general public by publication or electronically

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The noise warning letter " the smoking gun "

August 3, 2010

Mr. Gerald Potamis WasteWater Superintendent

Town of Falmouth Public Works

59 Town Hall Square Falmouth, MA 02540

RE: Falmouth WWTF Wind Energy Facility II "Wind II", Falmouth, MA

Contract No. #3297

Dear Mr. Potamis,

Due to the sound concerns regarding the first wind turbine installed at the wastewater treatment facility, the manufacturer of the turbines, Vestas, is keen for the Town of Falmouth to understand the possible noise and other risks associated with the installation of the second wind turbine.

The Town has previously been provided with the Octave Band Data / Sound performance for the V82 turbine. This shows that the turbine normally operates at 103.2dB but the manufacturer has also stated that it may produce up to 110dB under certain circumstances. These measurements are based on IEC standards for sound measurement which is calculated at a height of 10m above of the base of the turbine.

We understand that a sound study is being performed to determine what, if any, Impacts the second turbine will have to the nearest residences. Please be advised that should noise concerns arise with this turbine, the only option to mitigate normal operating sound from the V82 is to shut down the machine at certain wind speeds and directions. Naturally this would detrimentally affect power production.

The manufacturer also needs confirmation that the Town of Falmouth understands they are fully responsible for the site selection of the turbine and bear all responsibilities to address any mitigation needs of the neighbors.

Finally, the manufacturer has raised the possibility of ice throw concerns. Since Route 28 is relatively close to the turbine, precautions should be taken in weather that may cause icing.

To date on this project we have been unable to move forward with signing the contract with Vestas. The inability to release the turbine for shipment to the project site has caused significant [SIC] delays in our project schedule. In order to move forward the manufacturer requires your understanding and acknowledgement of these risks. We kindly request for this acknowledgement to be sent to us by August 4, 2010, as we have scheduled a coordination meeting with Vestas to discuss the project schedule and steps forward for completion of the project.

Please sign in the space provided below to indicate your understanding and acknowledgement of this letter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me.

Sincerely, (Bruce Mabbott's signature) ___________________Bruce Mabbott

Gerald PotamisProject Manager Town of Falmouth

CC: Sumul Shah, Lumus Construction, Inc. (Town of Falmouth's Wind-1 and Wind-2 Construction contractor)

Stephen Wiehe, Weston & Sampson (Town of Falmouth's contract engineers) Brian Hopkins, Vestas (Wind-1, Wind-2's turbine manufacturer, and also Webb/NOTUS turbine)