Falmouth Turbines Operating Illegally For Five Years Needs New Special Permits September 10, 2015

Falmouth Broke Laws Needs New Wind Turbine Permits

Falmouth Hid Letters, Studies, Memos & Documents That Would Have Stopped The Installations

Used The Courts & Taxpayer Funds To Obfuscate A Bad Case

Falmouth Turbines Operating Illegally For Five Years Need Special Permits September 10, 2015

The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled the town should have received a special-use permit from its Zoning Board of Appeals before erecting Wind 1.

First the simple fact is the Town of Falmouth was warned by the manufacturer Vestas Wind Company prior to the installation the turbine generates 110 decibels of noise almost twice the manufacturers specifications. The 110 decibel sound is that equal to a hard rock band playing out doors 24/7.

It is obviously clear the Town of Falmouth hid a letter dated August 2010 that described the noise issues with the wind turbine.

click here to read the August 10,2010 letter

http://www.windaction.org/posts/41357-vestas-raises-concerns-about-turbine-noise-letter#.VdEcw_lViko

Second the Town of Falmouth never posted the April 19,2005 Falmouth Community Site Screening Report which said in section 6.2.2 a Special Permit is required

click here to read the site screening report paid for by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today known as the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.The original owners of Falmouth Wind 1

click here to view the April 2005 screening report:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4cvi5tu6i7yww7a/2005%20April%20KEMA-MTC%20Falmouth_Site_Screening_Study.pdf?dl=0

Two facts, the town had a letter the turbines were too loud and a study that they needed a Special Permit. A Special Permit would have required additional notifications and more studies. Any additional studies would have led to questions why the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center dropped the reference to the two types of noise warnings in all other boiler plate wind studies done by the agency.

The two references were “regulatory noise” and “human annoyance” or what today is called “infra sound” or “low frequency.” The Massachusuetts Clean Energy Center was aware of “human annoyance” in 2004 all their studies contained the warning until the Falmouth installation.

July 2010 – Joint ZBA/Planning Board meeting – Chairman Board of Appeals states the town should not have bypassed the local permitting process.

In 2010 the noise complaints starting coming in about Falmouth Wind 1. The town starting digging a hole they can not get out of today. The town already knowing the turbines are too loud makes the residents file written certified noise complaints to the town. This process takes months to setup. The plan from the begining is to stall and obfuscate in hopes the wind turbine victims will give up. The town was well aware the turbines were too loud.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the Town of Falmouth do a “Dog and Pony show” and hire the Consensus Building Institute (CBI) for almost $400,000.00 to resolve the issues the town already was aware of. Everyone has to understand the evidence overwhemingly points to greed corruption and a political agenda taking the health and property rights of up to 200 families.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center in an effort to outspend the wind turbine victims in court and make them go away recently gave the Town of Falmouth 1.8 million dollars to help pay its litigation costs. Massachusetts has a long history of revictimizing residents by using taxpayer money to pay the litigation fees of the side they want to win. The victims are being shot in the back with their own tax dollars.

On May 15 , 2012 Falmouth Select Board Chairperson Mary Pat Flynn was given this letter : The results of MassDEP sound sampling : Falmouth Wind 1 broke the MassDEP 10 Decibel Threshold . The turbine broke the noise regulations as they always knew they would . Letter from Ken Kimmell formerly BCK law and Mass DEP Commisioner

click here to read the report :

http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dep/energy/wind/final-falmouth-report-with-cover-letter-and-appendix.pdf

Nils Bolgen wind turbine manager at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center in 2013 changes setbacks to 2000 feet from residential property lines.
“Nils Bolgen, who works with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, said his organization has become “more conservative” in requiring project proposals seeking funding to provide more detailed data if they are close to residential areas.” “In 2005, when the Center began requiring applicants to provide acoustical data, Bolgen said it was done on an “ad hoc” basis.” “Now, all turbine proposals within 2,000 feet of residences must provide that data.”

click here to read the story

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130526/NEWS/305260341

The next month April 2, 2013 the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center sent a memo to the Town of Falmouth they admitted making acoustical noise mistakes during the wind turbine study for Falmouth Wind 1.

click here to read details on MassCEC April 2 2013 memo

https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/04/03/details-on-masscecs-april-2-memo-on-falmouth-turbines/

The public has never seen the September 12, 2012 Consensus Building Institute video with the question of the six million dollars of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds was it a loan or a grant

click here to read the minutes

http://www.cbuilding.org/falmouthwind

Feb 26 2015 – Falmouth found Massachusetts Court of Appeals exceeding zoning ‘by-right’ authority. Ruling upholds neighbor’s

June 4 2015 – Massachusetts Supreme Court affirms Appeals Court Ruling. Falmouth’s Wind 1 illegally permitted

Aug 20 2015 –Zoning board determines town’s special permit application to be heard under Falmouth’s original windmill bylaw. Zoning Board is authority to hear application.

BTW (Since June 4 2015 Falmouth’s turbines operate without required permit [defies MA Supreme Court ruling until pending completeion of Special Permit process]). Illegal violation waived by ZBA, finding “town has proceeded in good faith”. (?)

SEPT 10 2015 – SPECIAL PERMIT PROCESS SET TO BEGIN –

Special Permit criteria; “the Board of Appeals SHALL ENSURE no adverse impacts on the neighborhood”

REMINDER: the ZBA has already ruled twice Wind 1 is a Nuisance

The Zoning Board of Appeals has ruled the wind turbines are a nuisance. 

There’s also another lawsuit pending over a nuisance claim against the turbines by neighbors before Judge Christopher Muse that is likely to go to trial.

A travesty of justice is a town that makes a mockery of the court system, taxpayers, health of its citizens and property rights with no compensation.