Neighbor News
Falmouth Intentionally Hurt Wind Turbine Neighbors For Monetary Gain
Pursuant to Massachusetts civil procedure rule 23 wind turbine victims should be in Massachusetts Land Court filing class action litigation
Falmouth Intentionally Hurt Wind Turbine Neighbors For Monetary Gain
RE : Massachusetts : Proof Falmouth officials created a dire catstrophic health and finacial fiasco
To : Massachusetts Land Court :
The Falmouth Energy Committee is appointed by the Falmouth Select Board. The two groups of elected officials and appointed officials worked together to deliberately take the health and property rights of a minority of Falmouth citizens with the poor placement of commercial megawatt wind turbines.
A local group called Friends of Falmouth Wind is made up of mostly town officials who advocate operating the wind turbines 24 hours a day despite the taking of health and property rights of a minority of home owners with no compensation
The affected residential property locations are around 200.
The residents suffer lack of sleep from a wind turbine noise described as torture. The lack sleep leads to devastating health impacts.The 200 residential properties also suffer a diminution in market value.
The Town of Falmouth was aware in 2005 that the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative,MTC, today the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center ,MassCEC, had two commercial Vestas V-82 type 1.65 megawatt turbines they could not sell. The state agency put the turbines out to auction no one bid. The turbines came with a warning of two distinct types of noise "regulatory" measured in decibels and "human annoyance" today known as infra sound. The MTC was aware of the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) commissioned infra sound noise study by Dr. Neil Kelley in 1987.
The embarrassed Massachusetts Technology Collaborative was desperate to sell the turbines as they were costing almost $4000.00 a month in storage fees for years. They simply dropped the noise warnings of two distinct types of noise to get the turbines off their books. Falmouth was aware they dropped the noise warnings. The Town of Mattapoisett had dropped plans to install wind turbines because of the noise warnings prior to the Falmouth wind studies.
The Falmouth Energy Committee conducted a two part feasibility study in 2005. The first which was April that included the requirements to use a Special Permit to install commercial wind turbines. The second was November. The April 19, 2005 report to this day has never been released to the public. They knew they needed a Special Permit.
The Falmouth Energy Committee solicited General Electric a domestic wind turbine company to build. GE refused because of residential setbacks and ice throw to a nearby highway.
The 2005 KEMA study map showed that residential locations using a General Electric 1.5 megawatt turbine would exceed 40 decibels at residential property locations.
The embarrassed Massachusetts Technology Collaborative the state agency offers the Town of Falmouth one million dollars in advance to take one of its wind turbines. The town excepts the deal ignoring the KEMA map, two distinct types of noise warning and GE a domestic wind company who refused because of residential homes and a highway.
Falmouth Wind 1 the Vestas V-82 type 1.65 megawatt in installed with no special permit and right away residents file written certified noise complaints.
Recently it was found the Town of Falmouth had been hiding a noise warning letter from the manufacturer of the turbine that the turbine generates 110 decibels of noise almost twice as loud as the General Electric turbine used as the model in the noise study that showed an exceedance of 40 decibels in 2005.
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center admitted in an April 2013 memo to the Town Falmouth that the original acoustic noise tests were flawed and as of June of 2013 changed setbacks to property lines to 2000 feet. This memo has never been posted on the Falmouth web site.
Now comes Falmouth Wind II also a Vestas V-82 type 1.65 megawatt wind turbine. The Town of Falmouth misled federal EPA officials filing an EPA waiver to borrow 5 million dollars in stimulus funds for the construction of Falmouth Wind II. In that EPA waiver the town never told federal officials General Electric a domestic wind turbine company refused to build a wind turbine because of setbacks and ice throw. In order to get a stimulus loan there has to be no domestic wind turbines available. The town out of all its bylaws made reference to Special Permit 240 166 in the EPA waiver. The reference to the bylaw 240 166 left the reader to assume the town was filing the permit.
Pursuant to Massachusetts civil procedure rule 23 the wind turbine victims should be in Massachusetts Land Court against the town. The home owners are the original stake holders.
It is abundantly clear the town hid documents from public view, omitted documents, disregarded multiple noise warnings for a financial gain.
The bottom line is the town has a total disregard for public safety, health, residential land use and conserving property values. The town ignored Special Permit bylaw 240 166 multiple times.
