U.S. Congressman overwhelmed by wind turbine noise complaints
Transcript of AM 1480 WLEA (Hornell, NY) interview with U. S. Congressman Eric Massa (D, NY) on April 25, 2009, talking about the “virtual flood of constituents,” and even non-constituents, complaining about wind turbine noise.
Brian: Hi, and welcome to Connections with Brian O’Neil, on the phone today with Congressman Eric Massa. Congressman, good morning.
Congressman Massa: Good morning, and thank you for having me with you today.
Brian: Well, it’s always great to be on the line with you Eric.
Congressman Massa: How can I help?
Brian: Well, Congressman, one of the big stories lately on AM 1480 WLEA and, of course, the Corning Leader is what’s been going on in Prattsburgh. On Friday, you met with two Prattsburgh town board members Steve Kula and Chuck Schick. Now, having attended the last few Prattsburgh meetings myself, I’m guessing your meeting had something to do with the controversy over wind energy in Prattsburgh?
Congressman Massa: Well ,yes, and as some listeners may remember and certainly you might remember, for almost three years of my candidacy, and certainly since I have become an incumbent, I have been very focused on the challenges this area faces as foreign-owned industrial wind turbine corporations attempt to build thousands of these 450 foot tall towers on virtually every hill in western New York State, despite the fact that the United States Meteorological Service has stated very clearly we simply don’t have the wind in this area of the world to economically justify this. We have seen a consistent effort by these foreign companies to subvert local governments who are ill prepared to deal with these million-dollar industrial systems, to back out of commitments they’ve made through the industrial development agencies, not to pay their contributions to the local schools that they promised, not to create new jobs. So, this is, unfortunately, what we’ve been talking about, and I wish I was wrong, but everything I said for the last three years has come true. But nowhere is that more apparent than now, with the fact that these wind turbines generate so much noise that the very homes on the properties that leased agreements to the wind turbines now can’t be occupied. Now I’m not making this up. I have been in my office with a virtual flood of constituents who have come to me, both on and off properties that were leased to the wind companies, saying that they can’t live in the houses anymore, yet they can’t sell them, and in fact the town supervisor of Cohocton, a man that would not even shake my hand at a parade because he was so upset that I dared challenge this issue, has written a letter to the very company that he invited into his community, saying – we can’t have these wind turbines here because they’re too noisy. Well, you know, three years too late, and I am meeting with the folks in Prattsburgh so that they get – first off, they requested to meet with me, because they’re asking for help, to make sure that what was rammed down Cohocton does not get rammed down Prattsburgh. And it’s very disconcerting that everyone has such a wonderful opinion of these 450 foot towers that frankly don’t even produce electricity, and I don’t say that comically, I say that realistically. It’s a huge local issue.
Brian: Now, Congressman, are more wind farmers besides Hal Graham stepping forward to you and telling you that the wind turbines are driving them nuts?
Congressman Massa: Its – I have been, I would say, every weekend a different family in the office, talking with me.
Brian: Wow. And they’re wind farmers, some of them?
Congressman Massa: Yes. In fact one is the, one owns a home and he agreed to have a lease on his property and now he is saying – I have to move out of my property. It’s quite amazing. Not to mention the fact that as we talked about, hunters are now coming up and telling me that there’s no wildlife anywhere within distance, and I’m talking three to four miles, of any of these wind turbines because these wind turbines emit low frequency vibrations that drive the deer away. So if some foreign companies have their way you’ll never be able to hunt in the southern tier again because we won’t have any deer. And that’s, again, I know that sounds like an exaggeration.
Brian: Right.
Congressman Massa: But it’s not an exaggeration. Anybody who can tell you about animals in the wild will tell you they hear frequencies that humans cannot. And the low frequency vibrations from these industrial wind turbines drive the deer away. It’ll be the end of hunting for us.
Brian: Now, Congressmen Massa, back to what you said just a moment ago – you said these things don’t generate electricity at all?
Congressman Massa: Bingo. So, if the winds not blowing, they’re not generating. But if the wind is blowing, the electricity they’re generating, even now, is not going to come to New York it’s being shipped to other states like Massachusetts. And even now, we have a very limited capability technologically with the Independent System Operator, that’s the technical name of the individuals that oversee the incorporation of all electrical production into our New York Grid, a very limited ability to actually absorb the very unpredictable and highly variable nature of the electricity driven by wind turbines. Period.
Brian: Congressman Massa, when you met with those Prattsburgh officials on Friday afternoon, or Friday morning I think it was, what sort of impression did you walk away with when you left the meeting with those two Prattsburgh board members on Friday.
Congressman Massa: Well, first off, that they were very serious and concerned, that they were local officials of what I call gravitas. In other words, they’ve thought this through, they’ve asked the tough questions, they’ve asked for help from every, anyone and they told me that I was the only local, state or federal official that would sit down and talk to them.
Brian: I can believe that.
Congressman Massa: Now, this is an issue that I have been dealing with for years because I refuse to take the side of these very powerful foreign companies who are willing to do all kinds of things to get me to spout the party line for them. By the way, speaking of party lines, just about everybody that’s come up to me and asked me for this help is not of the same political party I am, because this, like every other issue that I deal with, cuts across party lines. This is about the future of this area. One of the last things we have, after everything else has been taken from us, is our environment, and now they want to take that too, and I will not rush willy-nilly down a road, a road by the way that has been torn up by the heavy tractors transporting these windmills and then we have to pay to repave them, I won’t go down that road without a fight, and that’s what I am trying to make happen.
Brian: We’re talking with Congressman Eric Massa on Connections here on AM 1480 WLEA. Congressman Massa, it seems to me that the two big issues right now in regards to wind energy are the problems with noise and the problem with corruption, with politicians having conflicts of interest. Some of these politicians out there, it seems like they’re just being out and out agents for wind companies in more than one way. One way would be bullying around anyone at these meetings who asks any, who questions at all, anything at all that the wind company wants. Another way would be for them to vote just down the line in every way that the wind company wants them to. As a matter of fact, at the last Prattsburgh meeting I attended, a man stepped forward and complained that one of the Prattsburgh Town Board members had given his name to a wind company person and this wind company person showed up at this Prattsburgh man’s house. And the Prattsburgh man was furious that his address and name had been given out to a wind company official by a Prattsburgh Town Board member for purposes of solicitation. Congressman, what’s going on here?
Congressman Massa: I think it’s a combination of opportunism and short- sightedness. I have been to these meetings. I have seen the bullying. You can’t – I am not easy to bully.
Brian: Right.
Congressman Massa: Many people will tell me they don’t like me because I’m too outspoken.
Brian: And you’re fast on your feet, yeah, I’ve seen you in a debate.
Congressman Massa: But on the other hand, I think that the voices of the people that have no voice need to be represented. Now, if in a free and fair and open and informed decision a town decides they want to do this, then great, that’s a local issue. But I want it to be free, fair and informed and when the information actually gets out there, people say – well, we don’t want that. Nobody, including me, is against the clean production of wind energy where it makes economic and technical sense, at all. It doesn’t here. We are being taken advantage of because we ‘re being treated like a bunch of country bumpkins by these foreign folks from European capitals, and it’s got to stop.
Brian: Congressman, one person said to me recently that you seem to be way ahead of most of your political colleagues on this subject of wind energy because most leaders at the federal level that we’ve seen are just acting like, basically, public relations guys for wind companies. Do you think that someday that wind will be looked on in some areas like ours as a fad and a phase that just didn’t work out?
Congressman Massa: Yeah, but the problem is when they look at that, we’re going to have hundreds of these industrial wind turbines broken and rusting and spilling oil that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to take down and return those forests to what they were so we can go back to enjoying and attracting people for what they come here for. That’s the problem. So we shouldn’t have to wait to realize that a mistake has been made. If we had wind greater than 33 percent, which means that more than a third of the time the wind blew strong enough to actually turn the blades and make electricity, we could have some hope of having a real contribution to help stop environmental degradation, and yes that’s global warming, and to make inexpensive electricity. But, none of that electricity is staying here and those turbines are not generating electricity, so you can look at this from many different levels. And it’s very sad. And then, of course, I get painted as an out of control you know, aggressive, guy. Well, I’m going to be very aggressive when it comes to fighting for our local interests, because, candidly, nobody else is.
Brian: Congressman, it seems that you have a lot of knowledge about laws regarding wind power. Do you know who would be held responsible if a neighbor of a wind project suffered something like property value loss or their house was vibrating and, you know, they’re living next door to a wind turbine that’s causing their house to shake or the noise is terrible at night. Do you know who’s responsible for that – the wind company, the IDA, the town? Do you know who has to take responsibility?
Congressman Massa: Well, the immediate supposition is that the source of the problem is culpable for the property degradation. That’s generally the rule, but the wind companies then seek protection by saying – well, the town boards and the local towns gave us permission to do that, it’s their problem. The town board says – yeah, but the IDA gave us permission to do this, so it’s their problem. Then all of a sudden, a single family has to go running around, all up and down trying to get someone to help them when they are given the run around. This is exactly what happened in Cohocton. When people went to the town board and complained and said – listen, you guys voted to put these things up here, it exceeds the noise limit. The town board said – well, don’t talk to us, talk to the wind company. They went to the wind company, the wind company said – not our problem, the town board issued us a permit. And this is how you end up going in that circular run around that drives people crazy and they shouldn’t have to. So I’ve said – come see me, it’s my job to help where I can help, and I’m going to do that.
Transcript provided by Helderberg Community Watch
February 7th, 2010 - 07:26
I live by a very large wind farm in upstate NY. There is so much misinformation here that any sign of real education is lost in the unfettered propaganda. Much of what is said about loss of deer and other game and the noise these turbines make is pure nonsense. The loss of real estate value is contradicted by a recent federal study.
I suggest before the congressman hitches his wagon to this crapiola he actually make a visit to the area of a wind farm, listen and watch what is going on, and speak with hunters and game wardens relative to its effect on wildlife. There may well be legitimate concerns about wind farms, but the “death is near and there is no good to wind turbines” approach does no good to your battle. Instead it makes you seem unrealistic histerics, so poisoned by your hate, you lose all credibility.
February 7th, 2010 - 10:32
Do you think the congressman is making up that people are coming to him and complaining about existing turbines and warning others? What is you relationship to the wind turbine business that you would be out hunting for articles like this? Next you are going to tell me the thousand of birds that die each year in Altamont would have died anyway. Of the 257 protected golden eagles tagged 54 were killed by the turbines blade or the wires for the turbines a further 21 were killed, by unknown cause though many of these were destroyed transmitter upon blade impact. That is a documented 20-25% plus kill rate over a number of years of a Federally protect bird. The law calls for prison and fines for killing golden eagles. I’ve read the propaganda from the wind industry and feel their approach of saying that a 400 foot wind turbines with 103 dba of noise will have no impact is laughable. It is known that they have lobbied to “adjust” the laws in their favor and purposely use the wrong measurement standard, why not use dBc which actually measures the low frequencies noise produced by turbines. Why exactly have Australia, Denmark, Sweden, England and numerous other countries CHANGED their standards of set backs. Well because of the adverse impact of ever larger turbines on people in rural areas. How far do you live from the turbines and how big are they. Have you seen the interviews with people in Vinalhaven, Ontario, England and New York and even a study in Japan where person after person talks “honestly” about the impact of turbines on their lives. Many of these people were taken advantage of because they wanted to the right thing, but unfortunately the wind industry doesn’t do the right thing, like a 1.25 (2km) mile set back. They are in it for the money and if lives have to be ruined then so be it. Why have numerous wind companies had to purchase houses? Just being nice guys? Would you like it if some decided you had to move because of their idea? Have you read any scientific studies on the characteritics of turbine noise and wind shear. Do you understand where the back noise is 25 Dba that a TEN FOLD increase in noise would drastically affect a persons quality of life. The noise studies done by the builders of turbines are done to allow them to build the most turbine so they get the most tax dollars and most kickback on the electric rates. Have you read the studies laying out how CO2 will only be modestly affected by wind turbines, because of winds fickle nature. That to have a full electricity generation system ready to go at a moments notice when the wind drops emits CO2 and wastes resources? Do you realize that conservation, efficiency measures like CLF bulbs,etc. and nuclear power would better at lowering CO2 in comparison. The people of Vinalhaven were PROMISED they wouldn’t hear anything and alas the representatives from the wind industry didn’t tell the truth. Do you support industrial wind turbine in National Parks?