National Wind Watch | Testimony of Wendy Todd to = Maine legislature, April 30, 2007

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posted: =20 May 7, 2007 =E2=80=A2 Health, Noise, Maine, Kansas, Property Values

Testimony=20 of Wendy Todd to Maine legislature, April 30, 2007

Author: Todd, Wendy

Senators, Representatives, and Committee Members,

Thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Wendy Todd. I am from=20 Aroostook County. I am a resident of Mars Hill and live approximately = 2600 feet=20 from the Mars Hill Wind Project. I am here today to offer testimony that = residents around the project are suffering. There are 18 families that I = know of=20 that are negatively impacted on a regular basis from the noise, strobe = effect=20 and shadow flicker from the turbines. Most of these 18 families live = less than=20 3000 feet from the turbines. There is no one that I know of from 425 = East Ridge=20 Road to 212 Mountain Road that does not agree that there are issues with = noise.=20 Issues that are changing the way residents view life around the = mountain. We=20 have formed a group called the Mountain Landowners Association in an = attempt to=20 share information and come up to speed on the issues of living this = close to=20 turbines of this size and generation. We have had to struggle through = massive=20 amounts of documentation from the Internet and from other towns that are = dealing=20 with the same issues.

We have tried and I believe have succeeded in finding the answers to = many of=20 our questions but it has all been from our own efforts. We have received = very=20 little help from our town or the company that sited the windmills. Nick = Archer=20 with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection has been a helpful = resource, but I believe even he would say that the State has a ways to = go to=20 educate itself on the pros and cons of wind turbines and how to best = site a=20 project. It would be a recommendation from our group for the State to = look to=20 California and other states in the nation that have been dealing with = these=20 issues for years, as well as other countries who have gleaned a great = deal of=20 information from years of studies, to help form guidelines to protect = not only=20 the land but the residents that live nearby proposed projects. We should = learn=20 from those who have gone before us. We shouldn=E2=80=99t have to = reinvent the wheel.

Let me make it very clear that no one in our group is opposed to wind = turbines. We are for alternative, renewable forms of energy. Some from = our group=20 supported this project from the beginning. Some hated the project from = the=20 beginning and still do. Some were on the fence, but because of the = points of=20 renewable energy, landowner rights and proposed benefits for our town, = county=20 and state were swayed to sacrifice precious views of Mars Hill Mountain = and our=20 quiet with the disruption of the construction phase of the project. = Nobody=20 really knew or realized what was about to happen and how it would change = our=20 lives.

My husband and I moved to Southern Maine after we were married. We = left for=20 the adventure and for good paying jobs. We lived in Portland for 2 years = then=20 purchased our first home in Buxton, Maine. That house sat about 40 feet = from the=20 edge of Route 22 (a major route leading to/from Portland) and was = directly in=20 the path of the approach to and from Portland International Jetport. The = noise=20 at that little house could reach unbelievable levels, but somehow we = learned to=20 deal with them. After 10 years of planning and saving we moved back home = to Mars=20 Hill where I was born and raised. The desire was to get away from the = craziness=20 of the corporate world, the noise that surrounded us and to seek = solitude and a=20 place to raise our children.

My family has owned land on Mars Hill Mountain for almost 100 years. = My=20 father and grandfather were potato farmers. I learned from a very young = age to=20 have a close connection with the land from my parents. They allowed us = to carve=20 out a small lot in the center of the family farm and we began the = process of=20 building our dream home.

Part of that process was to ask questions about the proposed wind = farm. We=20 learned early on that the town residences would not have an opportunity = to vote=20 on this $55 million dollar project. I attended the Evergreen / UPC TIF = meeting=20 in Mars Hill, in November of 2004. At the meeting the question of noise = was=20 posed. The answers are documented. Basically the noise was described as = silent,=20 nearly silent and you would have to be 500 feet or less from the site to = hear=20 it. Printed documents and the UPC, Evergreen Web site stated that, = =E2=80=9CYou will not=20 be able to hear any noise at all at the bottom of the mountain.=E2=80=9D = The morning=20 after the TIF meeting I was at the town office and got to speak directly = with=20 Peter Gish from UPC. I told him where my parents lived and described = where we=20 hoped to build and asked whether noise would be an issue. He said, = =E2=80=9CYou won=E2=80=99t=20 hear anything from these things.=E2=80=9D Our town manager confirmed = that this was true=20 because he had visited a site in Canada and heard very little noise = being=20 emitted from the site.

Perrin and I on a visit to PEI took a drive to the north shore to = stand under=20 the turbines there and found them not to be intrusive. We felt we had = enough=20 proof on the issue of noise that we went ahead and built our home. We = figured=20 that if we could deal with the aesthetics and the construction phase = that we=20 would be fine. If we had known then what we know now or if we had been = made=20 aware of the noise section of the permit with the sound analysis from = RSE, we=20 would never have built where we did. The report from RSE clearly stated = that=20 some residences would experience noise levels at or above DEP level = limits. My=20 parents own over 200 acres of land, many of which are much farther away = from the=20 turbines.

Clear cutting began in the fall of 2005. I believe the figure is 150 = acres of=20 land that was cleared. Heavy equipment started the process of developing = roads=20 and in April of 2006 blasting started. We watched with heavy hearts as = the North=20 end peak was literally blown away. No one ever notified us of the = blasting, but=20 our houses shook, silverware and dishes rattled, and sheet rock dust = fell as it=20 took place. Soon the huge trucks arrived with the components of the wind = turbines. Traffic was interrupted which made daily comings and goings = difficult.=20 The cranes arrived and the towers began to rise. People came from all = over to=20 watch. Cars stopped in the middle of the road to view the spectacle. = People=20 repeatedly left their vehicles to take pictures with not even a thought = to=20 oncoming traffic. Residents with small children started keeping them = inside due=20 to the uncertainty of the increased traffic.

In early December #9 turbine was turned on and some residents knew=20 immediately that there was something wrong. The noise from just that one = turbine=20 was unbelievable. That is when residents began to make calls, first to = UPC, then=20 to the town and then to the DEP.

I=E2=80=99m not sure why, but we are not getting used to the noise = levels from the=20 wind farm. In an attempt to find out why, we started researching the = topic on=20 the internet and I finally called a noise expert out of Massachusetts = who was=20 able to instruct us on why the noises that come from wind turbines are = so=20 offensive. I have those documents if any one would like to see them.

Are there other issues with wind turbines? Yes. Most of which were = discovered=20 after the wind turbines were already in place. Noise is the largest = problem but=20 shadow flicker and strobe effect are close behind for some of the = residents. The=20 rising and setting sun pierce through the blades of the turbines = creating a=20 strobe like effect in some of the resident=E2=80=99s homes. For some it = is blinding,=20 even the best curtains and blinds can=E2=80=99t remove the total effect. = Some find that=20 it makes them dizzy and disoriented; others find that it can cause = headaches and=20 nausea. It is only for 20 to 40 minutes a day (when the sun is shining)=20 depending on the season of the year, but it is still an intrusion into = the homes=20 and lives of the people who live near the site. The strobe effect can be = similar=20 to the sun cutting through the trees as you drive (sun =E2=80=94 shadow = =E2=80=94 sun =E2=80=94=20 shadow).

Shadow flicker is when the shadow from the blades passes over the = land and=20 homes of people who live within a mile of the site. It too can make = people feel=20 disoriented. Some people complain that as they drive over a road that is = being=20 shaded that the motion draws them toward it (left or right) they find = themselves=20 veering into the wrong lane.

Residents are very concerned that the value of their properties has = been=20 greatly diminished. This brings fear to many of us because we have tied = up most=20 of our resources in our homes. What will there be for our children? Is = it the=20 same as it would have been before the turbines? Some residents have said = that=20 their way of life has changed so dramatically since the project that = they would=20 move if they thought for 1 minute that they could recover their = investment.=20 Please, keep in mind that these are people who dreamed of living behind = the=20 mountain. Who sacrificed many things to build the homes of their dreams = with no=20 intention of ever leaving. Imagine being driven from your home by a = neighbor.=20 Imagine feeling like you have no recourse and that there is nothing you = can do=20 about it.

Other issues that keep coming up are the risk of the turbines = catching fire=20 (consider fighting a fire 200 feet off the ground.) If there was a dry = spell and=20 the mountain was to catch on fire many of us would lose our homes.

Another issue is the potential for ice and snow build up on the = blades in the=20 wintertime, which during the melting process can be thrown hundreds of = feet.=20 (two teens at Big Rock ski resort witnessed an ice throw this = winter)

There have even been documented cases of improperly anchored turbines = falling=20 over or collapsing and of blades breaking off and being flung. These are = very=20 rare cases but that doesn=E2=80=99t make residents feel any better about = the=20 possibility. Some of these residents are only about 700 feet from = turbine #1,=20 which sits very close to East Ridge Road. So close that if it fell = toward the=20 road it would likely be in the road. Also posing a danger are the blades = that=20 are likely to break off and be thrown into nearby yards and homes.

We are only 5 months into the operation of this site. We are learning = something new almost every day. The Mountain Landowners Association is=20 requesting that the State of Maine put a moratorium on all siting of = Wind Farms=20 in the state until the issues at Mars Hill are reviewed and = resolved.

My husband says . . . It is sad when corporations are free = to prey=20 on small towns and small town government. He believes that corporations = should=20 not be able to push and bully their way into an area to take clear = advantage of=20 the inhabitants by withholding information, by leading them to believe=20 fabrications, stretching the truth in order to achieve corporate goals = at the=20 suffering of Maine residents.

We have been asked by the Maine Department of Environmental = Protection to=20 remain patient while the sound analysis is being conducted and reviewed. = Resource Systems Engineering (RSE) of Brunswick, Maine is performing the = sound=20 analysis. They (RSE) also happen to be contracted by UPC/Evergreen (the = company=20 responsible for the Mars Hill Wind project). This fact raises questions = within=20 our group as to whether the analysis will be fair. We have been assured = by the=20 DEP that this is a fair process. Unfortunately we have become skeptical = of many=20 things. Both the DEP and UPC have told us, that this could take a long = time to=20 resolve. The residents of Mars Hill will try to remain patient but we = want for=20 everyone to know that our patience is growing short with no hope of = resolution=20 in sight.

Originally posted at Ellis=20 County (Kan.) Environmental Awareness Coalition.

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