Falmouth Turbine II -- Doctrine of Laches - Frivolous Litigation

Attorneys for the Town of Falmouth and Select Board have focused heavily on whether the complainants, wind turbine neighbors, appealed the issuance of a building permit for the Falmouth Wind II turbine in a timely manner.

The turbines were installed in 2010 and 2012. The town did hide negative documentation from the public.

The Town of Falmouth had a KEMA Inc. map from 2005 that showed a General Electric 1.5 megawatt wind turbine would exceed 40 decibels on Blacksmith Shop Road. General Electric a domestic wind turbine company refused to build a single wind turbine due to residential setbacks and ice throw.

Vestas wind turbine company the manufacturer of the two town-owned prior to construction warned the town by letter and email the turbines generate 110 decibels each. The letter was never made public until 2013.

A doctrine called “laches” is defined as an unreasonable delay or negligence especially in pursuing a right or claim. How can the Town of Falmouth claim the wind turbines can be protected by the legal doctrine when they hid documents that showed the 110-decibel wind turbines should not have been built in the first place.

The town hid the documents until 2013 one year after the construction of the wind turbines. After the release of the Vestas 110 decibel warning letter the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center in a 2013 memo admitted mistakes in the original acoustic noise studies in which they should have realized the turbines exceeded the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection noise regulations.

Now let's go back to the 2009 Falmouth Special Town Meeting:

The minutes and video of the Falmouth Special Town Meeting in June of 2009 show only a "Technical Feasibility Test" was done for the combined financing and construction of both Falmouth Wind I and Wind II.

There are no acoustic noise predictions for both wind turbines operating together at the June 2009 Special Town Meeting.

Falmouth Wind Turbine I & II Became A Single Project in June 2009

Town Attorney Frank Duffy Was On Project Team For Both Wind I & II as well as Weston and Sampson Consultants in 2009

Vol. One 33 pages

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS TOWN OF FALMOUTH SPECIAL TOWN MEETING

Monday, June 29, 2009 7:00 p.m.

http://www.falmouthmass.us/Doc...

Page 11 Project Team :

"Heather Harper has been our project manager, the Assistant Town Manager. Ray Jack, from the Department of Public Works. Jerry Potamis, the Wastewater Superintendent. Peter McConarty, our Acting Town Engineer. Town Counsel Frank Duffy. And our Associate Town Counsel Pat Harris."

Page 12 Wind Energy Consultants:

"We’re supported by Westin and Sampson, our consultants."

Page 14 : Construction of Second Wind Turbine

"Next slide. With the work with our consultants and our Town staff, our recommended expenditures to construct a second wind turbine, a second 1.65 megawatt turbine at the Wastewater Treatment Facility, and to subsidize the first – and we’re calling it Wind One – with the balance of the funds available. \"

Page 16 ; Technical Feasibility Test For Falmouth Wind II completed

"We’ve passed the technical feasibility test. The size of the site is over 240 acres. It can support two turbines. The distance to residences is greater than 1000 feet from any residence. And the prior studies that we have done are relevant for a two turbine configuration. Thank you."

SPECIAL TOWN MEETING -See Video For Visual Displays of Falmouth Wind I & II : June 2009 Falmouth Wind I & Wind II become one and the same project announced by former Assistant Town Manager Heather Harper. The video starts at 15 minutes and the project team is introduced at 23 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8LFk6JbxhU