February 5, 2013
Massachusetts

Mass CEC needs more time due to volume of feedback, cost issue

By Kathryn Gallerani | Wicked Local Kingston | Feb 04, 2013 | www.wickedlocal.com

KINGSTON – The draft scope of the acoustic monitoring study for the wind turbine Independence won’t be ready until mid-February, and the delay is being attributed to the volume of public comment as well as an issue with the cost of the study.

Mass CEC Director of Communications and Marketing Catherine Williams said Monday that the timeline has been extended “due to the volume of comments and feedback we received from the public and town officials. We needed more time to make sure all the feedback submitted was reviewed.”

She said the budget noise consultants Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. submitted was too high, requiring Mass CEC to renegotiate the cost with them. She said the cost the consultant quoted was three to four times higher than expected.

“The timeline was extended to ensure this process was fair and cost-effective,” she said.

Once the draft scope has been completed and reviewed, she said, it will be made available to the public. The public will have two weeks to provide feedback.

The Board of Health will meet at 6 tonight in Room 200 at the Town House for a discussion on possible wind turbine regulations, according to the agenda for the evening.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/02/05/mass-cec-needs-more-time-due-to-volume-of-feedback-cost-issue/