Rumford selectmen: 4,000' setback between wind turbine and property line
Considering Governor Baldacci thought 1.5 times the height of the turbine was more than enough setback between a 400' tall turbine and a property line, this is a hughe improvement in protecting human health.
Rumford selectmen continue work on wind ordinance
Published on Friday, Sep 23, 2011 at 12:12 am | Last updated on Friday, Sep 23, 2011 at 12:12 am 2 Comments
Rumford selectmen worked Thursday night on finishing details of a third wind power ordinance. Residents are expected to vote on the proposal either late this year or next spring.
RUMFORD — Wind turbine sound, safety setbacks and operational licensing were the major topics discussed at Thursday night's wind power ordinance workshop by selectmen.
The board has until Sept. 29 to draft their third attempt at a wind ordinance, if it plans to present it to voters on the Nov. 8 ballot. If unable to do so, residents would most likely have to wait till June 2012 to vote on it.
Selectman Jermey Volkernick, who took issue with trying to rush a wind ordinance to the voters by November, was absent Thursday night.
The operational license was the first item that was discussed with three concerns from Selectman Greg Buccina. Language to allow ongoing monitoring of a wind project, both pre- and post-construction, was discussed.
Buccina also suggested hiring a wildlife biologist for a pre-construction study of the area and also to allow a continuing study for up to three years after the wind turbines are in operation.
Erosion control was brought up because of recent concerns over flooding during Tropical Storm Irene and the effects of how a logging project could have factored into the destruction caused by the storm surge.
"I think we should take care of concerns ahead of time instead of dealing with issues after the fact," Buccina said.
Selectmen Brad Adley and Jolene Lovejoy said they believed there were already regulations with the state Department of Environmental Protection concerning erosion.
Selectman Jeff Sterling informed the board that the Board of Environmental Protection voted 5-4 to drop the decibel level of wind turbines from 45 to 42 from 7 p.m to 7 a.m. The regulation has to be passed by lawmakers before it goes into effect.
"If we went with DEP on sound decibels and it gets voted in, we are on the same page, and if it doesn't, then we are more stringent," Buccina said.
Lovejoy addressed how every community is different and that's why an ordinance needs to vary from community to community.
"We can't have the same set standards as DEP," Lovejoy said.
A resident mentioned hiring a unbiased acoustical engineer for a study on the matter.
Safety setback items were also slimmed down in the ordinance. Initially, the ordinance had language that included setbacks for property lines and residential lines. Selectmen agreed to do away with the residential line language and only have a property line restriction.
The safety setback language was changed to require a wind turbine to be 4,000 feet from a property line.
http://www.sunjournal.com/river-valley/story/1092304
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Comment
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Comment by Rolly Perry on September 23, 2011 at 10:57pm
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This (if passed) will basically "remove," any development of Wind Power in Rumford. 4000 feet from "any," property line is LONG way. I have not done any type of survey or such, but there seems to be only a few potential development locations within the borders of Rumford. I live in Mexico and don't see any turbines coming to town given this new guideline. There are towers just North of Mexico so I DON'T need any more. Nice job Town of Rumford! :-D
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Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
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(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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