Vinalhaven wind turbine noise complaint heads to Maine Superior Court on March 8, 2012

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More than two years after wind turbine blades began spinning on Vinalhaven, the lives of some residents are still being disrupted by excessive noise. Finally, a Maine Superior Court will hear their case for due process according to law. The hearing is scheduled for March 8, 2012, at Kennebec Court in Augusta in the chamber of Judge Michaela Murphy. For those who interested to learn the facts, click here to read: Vinalhaven Neighbors’ History of Wind Turbine Legal Issues

Of the case before the Superior Court, Rufus E. Brown, Esq., an attorney for the petitioners, writes: “The issue at this juncture is whether the provisions in the Wind Energy Act dealing with small -scale wind projects precludes judicial review of an compliance order issued by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, following a valid complaint concerning excessive noise, that has the effect of (1) exempting Fox Islands Wind from any obligation to affirmatively demonstrate that it is operating in compliance with the DEP Noise Rule, (2) exempting FIW from the obligation to disclose operational and meteorological data of the wind project necessary for the Department to assess for itself  whether the Project is operating in compliance with the DEP Noise Rule and (3) preventing neighbors from filing a complaint to the MDEP about excessive noise unless they follow a burdensome and expensive “protocol” that includes a requirement that acoustical expert to evaluate the complaint before it is submitted. 

The complaint, supported by a former MDEP regulator who objected to the Order under review and a Freedom of Access request to the Governor’s Office, alleges that the Order was a product of political influence that pressured the Department to ignore the heartfelt complaints by neighbors suffering from excessive noise and override the professional judgment of Department regulators that the Project was not operating in compliance with the law. 

The complaint further alleges that this pressure was instigated with the assistance of the same Portland Maine law firm that the Commissioner had worked for as an industry lobbyist shortly before she issued the Order under review. The decision by the Superior Court will determine whether residents affected by excessive noise will be allowed to proceed with the merits of their complaint that the Commissioner’s decision was arbitrary, capricious, unfair and a product of political influence.”

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Comment by MaineHiker on March 5, 2012 at 12:48pm

Disturbing the peace is disturbing the peace is disturbing the peace.

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

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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