Although there is no doubt that the Noble Environmental Power wind farm projects have been an economic boom to the townships of Eagle and Wethersfield, some Eagle residents are not altogether happy with the turbines.
Complaints by some regarding noise issues with the turbines have been brought to the town board's attention, most recently at the board's March 20 meeting.
At least one resident reports that the noise is interrupting his sleep, which in turn is affecting his health.
Paul Zawadski of Wing Street says the noise is worse from 10:00 p.m. to midnight and prevents him from sleeping a full night. Although Noble conducted a sound test as per its licensing agreement with the town, Zawadski believes it was not done properly.
He says he is also unhappy with the town board's response to his concerns. "I spoke with [Councilmen] Butch Keem and Will Herrick," he says. "Will [Herrick] tried, and met with [Project Manager Brett] Hastings at the Eagle office, but Noble would not do anything."
Zawadski said that Councilman Herrick suggested he have his own independent sound test done. "I'm holding off until spring," Zawadski said. "May is the worst time for the noise."
Several other residents of Wing Street have also voiced complaints about noise.
ANOTHER CONCERN some residents living near the turbines had was interrupted television reception.
A Route 362 resident, Glen O'Connor, lives within a mile of 27 of the turbines. "I have no television right now," he told the board. "Noble agrees there is a problem with TV reception."
He also cited noise and "shadow flicker" problems.
O'Connor, who attended the March meeting along with a neighbor, said that the company that did the study, Hessler Associates, is closely connected with Noble. "I had it reviewed by another guy," he said. O'Connor told the board that he videotapes the turbines and uses a sound meter to back up his claims. "My metering is honest and legitimate," he said, reporting that the sound level reaches over 50 decibels at times.
Adding his attorney fees were already very costly, O'Connor asked the board, "Will you help me with this. Pay my attorneys? What do you want me to do?"
O'Connor told the board that Noble's attorneys wanted him to sign a confidentially agreement, a stipulation he objects to.
When Supervisor Joseph Kushner asked Hastings why the confidentiality, he replied that the clause is in the town's agreement.
WHEN ZAWADSKI asked what could be done if his noise study found Noble was in violation, Kushner said," I'll talk to the attorney and see what we can do, legally. If we breach the contract we will be sued, and lose. We may have grounds, we may not."
He said that because of the host agreement with Noble, "We are limited as to what we can do." He explained the town chose the 50-decibel level for noise because it is the limit that other towns use.
Kushner agreed to look into the television reception matter and said, "I want the television thing settled tomorrow." He later explained that just five residents had reported television reception interference. Of these problems, three had been solved with new antennas. He said the two homes left were located in a valley.
"They [Noble] were not prepared for the change to digital TV," Kushner said, "but they know they have to fix it. They'll have to work it out contractually with the individuals."
Hastings told the board and the residents, "I'll be glad to go to Noble with whatever you plan to do."
"Noble will be doing another noise study north of Route 39 [the Wethersfield project]," Kushner later told the Herald, "and we'll see how that one goes."
"As far as O'Connor asking us to have Noble 'shut them down' we have a contract we have to abide by. The project is here to stay," Kushner said.
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