According to a series of reports compiled by Jim Cummings, the Institute’s executive director, Maine lowered its wind farm noise limit and the state of Victoria (Australia) adopted a new 2 kilometre buffering requirement when citing new wind farms.
However, advocates for such protections were dealt a blow in the US state of Oregon, where a county commission declared violations of the state’s stringent noise standards are “minor and rare enough” and not worth cracking down on.
The Maine Board of Environmental Protection has approved new wind farm noise standards that will lower night time noise limits to 42 dB at the property line of any nearby homesites, a 3 dB reduction from the old standard.
The daytime limit of 55dB remains unchanged. Community groups, which initiated the review with a formal citizens’ proposal, had encouraged a standard of 35 dB. The new rules will need to be approved by the state legislature in January.
The new rules also include detailed procedures for measuring noise and establishing compliance with the noise limits.
In Australia, the State of Victoria has enacted new wind farm siting guidelines that prohibit construction within 2km (1.25 miles) of a home unless the owner has signed off on the nearby turbine(s).
In addition, the new guidelines prohibit wind farms within 5km of many existing villages, in order to allow for future growth.
The law also excludes from consideration for wind farm development several areas with “a high degree of amenity, environmental value, or are a significant tourist destination”.
But in Oregon, the the Willow Creek Wind Farm was given a reprieve from needing to address noise violations, when the Morrow County Court (the local name for county commission) decided not to enforce the state noise law.
Oregon has some of the most stringent noise standards, 10 dB over night time ambient, which amounts to a noise limit of 36 dB; the commissioners decided that the noise violations were minor and rare enough that they would not enforce them.
The decision was largely spurred by the fact that the state has abandoned its noise control enforcement efforts in 1991, leaving enforcement of the state standard to local authorities.
An attorney for three of the wind farm’s neighbours has vowed to appeal the decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.
For additional information:
