After recently hearing about the noise problems in Cohocton, the tower collapse in Altona, and the mechanic liens placed on homeowners in Franklin County, it is beyond any rational thought to continue placing wind turbine generators too close to homes. The medical evidence of neurological problems with children under six years old and the elderly caused by living too close to turbines is well documented in Europe and other places around the world and is currently being studied in Maine. Turbines that are erected too close to people’s homes impose threatening health and safety issues. The setbacks in Cohocton are 1,500 feet from a home. Whereas, SCIDA has setbacks in Prattsburgh at 800 feet from your home and 480 feet from your property line. Most of Europe now has incorporated a one mile or greater setback law. Even the prowind Town Supervisor of Cohocton, Jack Zigenfuss, has written a letter pleading with the developer to fix the severe and pressing noise issues there. This is not new information; SCIDA and the Prattsburgh Town Board have known it for years and have chosen to ignore the facts. The Clipper Turbines used in Cohocton and the Siemens Turbines chosen for Prattsburgh are rated in the same intermediate category and have the identical noise rating of 106 decibels. State agencies and elected state and federal representatives are well aware of the issues and yet few have come forward to stop this travesty.
Environmentally conscious Prattsburgh residents who are opposed to the Prattsburgh project have always supported clean, green energy with the importance of proper placements of turbines. SCIDA chose the setbacks based on being able to get enough turbines in an area to make the project worthwhile for the developers. Corporations should not be put before people.
Never was there a concern for the nonparticipating land owner’s health and safety. Based on faulty data and information, provided by the developers, small towns have set noise levels that are completely inadequate. The DEC says an increase in ambient noise of 6 decibels will cause a disturbance. The ambient noise for rural areas is about 20-25 decibels. So, the noise level should not be over 31 decibels at the property line. Measurements in Cohocton are just under the limit of 50 decibels. This is 19 decibels above the DEC’s recommendation and that is why the people of Cohocton cannot sleep at night. We have all paid for Government Agencies (DEC, PSC, and NYSERDA) to study issues and make recommendations to avoid problems like those in Cohocton. Now the Prattsburgh developer wants to hold a special meeting to explain their plan and answer questions. I am sure they will offer the town many incentives like fire trucks, town barns, road signs, and the like. The Town Board shouldn’t allow itself to be bought off at the expense of its citizens. The Ecogen Turbines have the same noise rating as the turbines in Cohocton, but our setbacks are considerably less. This will cause serious harm to our citizens living in the area. To allow this project to move forward without significant change is negligence at best. The issues are health and safety, plain and simple!
Best Regards,
Councilman Charles A Shick
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