May 26, 2013
Massachusetts

Kingston resident claims independent testing of O’Donnell turbines proves non-compliance

By Kathryn Gallerani | Wicked Local Kingston | Posted May 25, 2013 | www.wickedlocal.com

KINGSTON – Country Club Way resident Tim Dwyer wants to meet with selectmen to review what he describes as evidence that Mary O’Donnell’s three wind turbines are out of compliance with state noise regulations.

In a letter to selectmen Thursday, Dwyer requests a meeting June 4 to explain why he believes her three turbines are clearly out of compliance in violation of her contract with the town.

“It honestly lays out as clearly as I can that these turbines are out of compliance,” he said.

Dwyer and other residents affected by O’Donnell’s wind turbines hired their own acoustical engineer to perform sound measurement on her turbines. On the evening of April 2 and 3, he writes, Noise Control Engineering, Inc. of Billeric took sound measurements at four homes surrounding the O’Donnell turbines and at a reference location to establish ambient noise levels.

He said Noise Control Engineering concluded based on this testing that the O’Donnell wind turbines are generating noise that is in excess of the state’s broadband noise guideline.

“The evidence that the O’Donnell turbines are operating outside the boundaries of the DEP noise regulation is incontrovertible, and the effects are devastating,” he writes. “Residents are being forced to abandon their homes during periods of high wind speeds. Others, with no alternative, simply hunker down and try to survive day-to-day with a debilitating lack of sleep.”

Dwyer said being out of compliance would put O’Donnell in default of the town’s zoning bylaws and in violation of Wind Power Purchase Agreement she signed with the town.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/05/26/kingston-resident-claims-independent-testing-of-odonnell-turbines-proves-non-compliance/