January 21, 2018
Illinois

Wind farm causes problems for Macon County residents

Illinois News Network | January 20, 2018 | www.ilnews.org

Residents in Macon County say a wind turbine farm is causing trouble, and their lawyer says they did not receive proper documentation for the project.

Richard Porter, a lawyer at Hinshaw & Culbertson, said his clients claim the zoning was improperly granted and notice was not sent to a number of people entitled, meaning they could not prepare for the hearings about the wind farm.

“The county refused to allow those people access to the application,” Porter said. “So, they literally did not see any of the information or reports … even during the hearing.”

The Macon County case was filed in 2015 against what Porter said was then known as Twin Forks Wind Farm LLC. Even though the project is still not completely finished, the turbines have been constructed.

“My clients’ own property is within this footprint and being surrounded by these 500-foot wind turbines,” Porter said. “Their property values, and their use and enjoyment of their property will be dramatically impacted and is being dramatically impacted.”

Porter said other issues the turbines can cause include a strobing effect in the morning and afternoon, physical symptoms for those with vertigo, issues for local wildlife, the loss of antenna television signals, and the loss of views. Porter said two types of sound the turbines create also are a problem.

“They create a low-frequency noise that awakens people during the night and cause certain people to have noticeable problems, headaches, tinnitus, stress-related issues,” Porter said.

“Beyond that, there is audible noise that happens; and our experts have told us that in regards to Macon County, the audible noise will actually exceed the Illinois Pollution Control Board limits on how loud these things can be.”

Porter said his clients are hoping for the turbine project to be shut down and for the turbines to be torn down.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/01/21/wind-farm-causes-problems-for-macon-county-residents/