Massachusetts Clean Water Trust Vs Falmouth Wind Turbine II

The Town of Falmouth and various Massachusetts state agencies and officials may have committed a substantial and specific danger to public health and/or safety accepting ARRA stimulus funds to issue grants/ loans to build its second wind turbine Falmouth Wind II.

In 2004 the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today is known as the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. The state agency purchased two Vestas V-82 type 1.65 megawatt wind turbines for 5.2 million dollars. Vestas, of course, provided specifications for the 1.65-megawatt wind turbines which included warnings of decibel levels as high as 110 decibels to be generated from a single wind turbine. The noise danger was real and known by the state agency.

Prior to the construction of the two Falmouth town-owned wind turbines, Vestas gave by email and in writing that the turbines generate 110 decibels of noise.

The truncated letter :

August 3, 2010, Mr. Gerald Potamis, WasteWater Superintendent, Town of Falmouth Public Works,59 Town Hall Square,
Falmouth, MA 02540
RE: Falmouth WWTF Wind Energy Facility II "Wind II", Falmouth, MA- Contract No. #3297
Dear Mr. Potamis,
"The Town has previously been provided with the Octave Band Data / Sound performance for the V82 turbine. This shows that the turbine normally operates at 103.2dB but the manufacturer has also stated that it may produce up to 110dB under certain circumstances"

Note # The 110 decibel Vestas warning letter August 2010 has never been made public because it is an embarrassment to state and local officials who have kept the letter from the public for eight years.

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Correspondence: Susan Perez, Executive Director of Massachusetts Clean Water Trust & Town of Falmouth:

"Ms. Perez reported on the receipt of a letter from the Town of Falmouth regarding their Wind 2 turbine.
The Turbine has not been in operation since June of 2017, when a judge ordered the Town to cease and desist operation.

The Town is exploring selling the Wind 2.

Falmouth would like to know if the Turbine commenced operation again, would this meet the terms and conditions to receive loan forgiveness under Project Regulatory Agreement?
The committee was unable to determine if this would be possible without more information about the sale and eventual operation of Wind 2."

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The State of Massachusetts officials, agencies and Falmouth officials continue to find themselves in an ongoing embarrassing position. Falmouth wind turbine number two or called Falmouth Wind II a 110-decibel wind turbine was installed and commissioned in 2012 using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. The 110 decibels 2010 warning letter remains hidden today because it shows ARRA funds should never have been used as the turbine is a substantial and specific danger to public health and/or safety.

The public has NO access to the Vestas 110 decibel warning letter except by FOIA, a Freedom of Information Act Request.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection acted as the broker between the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust and the Town of Falmouth to use State Revolving Funds as a loan/grant using federal stimulus funds known as the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) included a “buy America” provision which should have disqualified Danish-made Vestas V-82 type 1.65 megawatt wind turbine from construction in Falmouth.

Falmouth and MTC aka MassCEC were able to obtain a waiver from the provision after General Electric, the only American turbine manufacturer, refused to site turbines so close to occupied structures, roads, property lines, and public access areas.

The MassDEP, Clean Water Trust and Falmouth town officials ignored safety /health and did not care where its turbines were located resulting in gross mismanagement and abuse of authority with the implementation of and use of ARRA stimulus funds.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative the owner of the turbines had warned in 2005 noise considerations generally take two forms, state regulatory compliance measured in decibels and nuisance levels at nearby residences. Today we know nuisance is human annoyance or what is called low frequency infra sound.

June 2017 the Massachusetts court system shut down both Falmouth town-owned wind turbine as they are a nuisance.

The Town of Falmouth now wants to move Falmouth Wind II and the ARRA loan to a new location in Falmouth.

Falmouth Select Board Member Doug Jones brought up the 5 million dollars loan/grant at the town wind turbine meeting October 15, 2018. You can see his comment 38 minutes into the video:

Select Board Member Doug Jones; "Second point to make is if we relocate Wind II the likelihood that our 5 million dollar grant stays as a grant is very high as opposed to it turning into a loan that we have to repay. So there is also that additional 5 million dollar that does enter into the calculations of what we do with Wind II."

Video --Report of Weston & Sampson to Falmouth Select Board Wind Turbine II Relocation Oct 15, 2018 -
The following week after this video the Town of Falmouth received a warning from an Acoustic Expert Robert Rand:
"The distance to meet 40 dBA for Wind II, a Vestas V82 with sound power level of 110 dBA, is approximately 891 meters or 2923 feet. This is greater than the setback distances provided by the proposed new location. The proposed new location is still too close."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb7Cw1I5mtI