Falmouth: Resolution of Wind Turbine Litigation Extended 2 Years

In January of 2014, the Town of Falmouth and Zoning Board filed litigation over the wind turbines.

In June 2017 Barnstable Superior Court Judge Moriarty agreed with the Falmouth Zoning Board the wind turbines are a nuisance and shut down the turbines. The Town of Falmouth had 60 days to appeal the decision.

In July of 2017, the Falmouth Select Board voted not to appeal the decision. Chairwoman Susan Moran said: "It's time to put the matter behind us and move forward."

On November 15, 2017, five months after the Judge Moriarty decision and three years after the case began the "Friends of Falmouth Wind" and Falmouth 501(c)(3) non-profit group requested to intervene in the case.

On November 20, 2017, Judge Moriarty denied the motion to intervene as the "Friends of Falmouth Wind" and Falmouth 501(c)(3) non-profit group have no standing and the motion is untimely. They had since January of 2014 to ask to intervene in the case.

On December 18, 2017, "Friends of Falmouth Wind" and Falmouth 501(c)(3) non-profit group filed another appeal could take one to two years in Massachusetts Superior Court. While the turbines remain shut down parasitic electricity is going into the wind turbines to maintain the turbines as well as maintenance contracts and routine maintenance as the older gearbox turbines age.

The Falmouth Building Inspector this past week is making arrangements according to Falmouth zoning to remove Falmouth Wind I.

In the past, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center gave Falmouth 1.8 million dollars to help defray the cost of wind turbine litigation and Falmouth Town Meeting Members have been approving up to $300,000.00 every six months for town litigation. The Falmouth Zoning Board will again be hiring an outside law firm to represent them during the most recent appeal.

The Town of Falmouth avoided Special Permit 240-166 as it would have required additional hearings with the Falmouth Zoning Board and notification to the up to 200 residential homeowners around the turbines.

The Town of Falmouth hid an August 2010 noise warning from the manufacturer that the turbines installed generated 110 chest pounding decibels of noise. This noise is equal to a hard rock band playing 24/7.

You can not ask the Falmouth Select Board about the warning letter because the board is listing wind turbine litigation on the agenda every week in order to muzzle the public. The letter has never been posted on the town website as it shows the guilt.

The Town of Falmouth had a map designed by KEMA Inc. in 2005 that showed the turbines installed would generate up to 60 decibels at homes on Blacksmith Shop Road. The noise is equal to large electrical transformers at 100 feet.

The public has never seen the warning letter, emails, memos and maps that show the turbines should never have been built. The courts have seen all the documents. Falmouth had a vote to take down the wind turbines in 2013. The town never told voters about the warning letters, emails, maps, memos and documents that showed a Special Permit was needed.

Prior to the Falmouth wind turbine installations, boilerplate studies around the state warned of two distinct types of noise: Regulatory measured in decibels and Human Annoyance or what today is called low-frequency infrasound. The warnings of Human Annoyance were discretely dropped from the Falmouth studies. Residents in Falmouth were not warned as residents in other towns.

The Town of Falmouth at one time had eleven ongoing lawsuits over the wind turbines and several are still awaiting court dates. The most recent appeal by the Friends and non profit will place a hold on all current litigation as the turbines remain shut down.

Falmouth Town Meeting Members will be asked on Monday, April 9, 2018, for more money for wind turbine litigation.

Falmouth taxpayers: until further notice, the financial litigation fee beatings will continue until further notice. These two turbines and litigation has given renewable energy in Massachusetts a Black Eye.

This was to be a revenue stream for the town but has become a revenue stream for Beacon Hill law firms at taxpayer expense.

Those that live around the wind turbines are never going to give up their health and property rights for an agenda gone horribly wrong.

Falmouth Fact Check: Infrasound From Wind Turbines Do Make People Sick- Yes