Falmouth Onshore Electric Cables Public Concerns Forum

Falmouth Onshore Wind Proposal; Place buried onshore electric cables exceeding the output of Pilgrim Nuclear Plant in residential zoned locations

The voltage between 220,000 and 345,000 volts at 800 megawatts

Concerns: Health, Safety, Noise, Real Estate Devaluation, and Loss of Business

The Town of Falmouth’s Wind Energy Systems WES bylaws 240 -166. The Special Permit process includes transmission, storage equipment, substations, transformers, service and access roads, and one or more wind turbines.

Power substation location up to 25 acres and noise levels as high as exceeding 100 dBA decibels and human annoyance frequencies from the onshore electric substation. # Note about as loud as one of the town-owned wind turbines.

Completed traffic study for summer residential population over 100,000 and Falmouth Hospital routes during 2 years during road construction.

Mitigation of loss of rental property loss, business, hotels, motels, and local commercial losses due to ongoing construction.

The direct impact on homes' home values is in a negative way by placing industrial/commercial power in residential locations.

Notification by Falmouth to the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association ( MIIA ).

Older electric magnetic field, EMF, studies for 40 years since 1979 show a relationship to Childhood Leukemia

Falmouth Electric Magnetic Field Technical Memo, October 28, 2020, shows EMF levels as high as 500 Milligausss directly above the cables.

Notification to individual residential and business abutters the establishment of an electric, ROW, right of way which includes the width and EMF readings before and after installations.

EMF levels are higher directly above these buried cables than aerial cables of the same voltage.

The documentation of EMF levels prior to construction and future EMF levels.

Negotiations and proposals on a "Host Community Agreement" with the wind company since November 2020 with town officials should balance safety and health assessments vs monetary gains. The Host Community Agreement (HCA) establishes a guide for a long-term, cooperative relationship while providing specific benefits, predictability, and revenue for the town of Falmouth for years to come.

Since 2020 there have been months of discussion with town staff, conservation board, Town Council, Town Manager, and Energy Committee but no public forum with the public with a question and answer period with follow-up questions from the public.

The Town of Falmouth spent years in court and up to eleven lawsuits and multiple appeals over the two town-owned wind turbines that generated over 100 decibels of noise.

The zoning relief requested by the offshore wind company involves exemptions from all Falmouth local zoning provisions duly adopted by the Falmouth Town Meeting and approved by the Massachusetts Attorney General to ensure the health, safety, and land rights of the community’s residents. This would include all local land use provisions of the Falmouth Zoning Code, including provisions regarding dimensional requirements, height, site plan review, parking, nuisances, noise, and interference.

Essentially, the offshore wind company is playing the State’s offshore wind energy "climate emergency" against a municipality’s fundamental responsibility and duty to implement local zoning code pursuant to M.G.L. c. 40A (“The Zoning Act’’).