March 23, 2014
Michigan

Wind turbine noise issue discussed, plan moving forward

By BRIAN MULHERIN, Daily News Staff Writer | Ludington Daily News | www.shorelinemedia.net

The Mason County Planning Commission is continuing its crash course in sound engineering this month as it hopes to have a proposed final sound mitigation testing plan for Lake Winds Energy Park to discuss at its first meeting in April.

On Tuesday, the planners heard from HGC Engineering’s Ian Bonsma, who walked them through Consumers Energy’s proposed changes to the proposed testing plan for the wind turbine development. HGC, the county’s consultant, discussed its opinions on revisions that Consumers suggested to the plan that it had proposed earlier in an effort to bring sound levels down to 45 decibels at unpooled parcel property lines.

After Bonsma made his responses to Consumers’ responses, Consumers Energy responded to the responses to its responses – and that wasn’t even the confusing part. Consumers representatives Bill Schoenlein, the director of operations for LWEP, mechanical engineer Corwin Holmes and attorney Adam Smith spoke on behalf of the utility.

The sound testing plan is expected to be discussed again next Tuesday at a location to be named. Mason County Building and Zoning Director Mary Reilly said she’s not yet sure where the meeting might be held. Tuesday’s meeting took place in the main courtroom at the Mason County Courthouse.

Demonstrate vs. maintain

They say the devil is in the details and that was apparent on Tuesday night. One paragraph of the sound testing plan calls for Consumers to develop a procedure that keeps its sound levels from being out of compliance with its special land use permit.

See the full story in Wednesday’s print and eEditions of the Ludington Daily News.

[rest of article available at source]

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/03/23/wind-turbine-noise-issue-discussed-plan-moving-forward/