By Beth David, Editor
The Fairhaven Board of Health attended the Fairhaven Select Board meeting on Monday, 4/28/25, and asked the SB to shut down the wind turbines due to complaints from residents. At the same meeting, the SB heard a presentation from Fairhaven Wind, which is seeking to amend the terms of the contract with the town so the company can get more stable rates in order to get funding to upgrade the turbines.
The two industrial WTs are owned by Fairhaven Wind. The town has a lease agreement with Fairhaven Wind for the use of the land the WTs are on; and the town has a contract to buy the electricity produced, although it all goes through a rather complicated process involving Eversource and transmission and distribution costs. But in the end, both the town and Fairhaven Wind make money on the deal.
Residents affected by the turbines showed up in force, with 20-30 filling the Banquet Room during the joint meeting with the Board of Health. BOH Chairperson Justine Frezza told the SB that her board has been hearing from residents with a variety of complaints.
In a letter to the SB, the BOH writes: “After careful consideration and in response to the impact these turbines are having on the Residents’ quality of life, the Board of Health respectfully requests that the wind turbines be temporarily shut down between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6 a.m. This temporary measure will allow us the necessary time to assess the situation further and to meet with relevant stakeholders, including residents, the Select Board, and experts, to discuss potential mitigation strategies moving forward.”
Curt Devlin, who used to live in Fairhaven and was a vocal opponent of the WTs from the start, gave a presentation the outlined the kinds of noise that the turbines make and the effects they have on residents.
He also said the current mitigation plan, which shuts down the WTs in certain winds from certain directions, is not sufficient.
He also went through a timeline of the turbines and the history of complaints, noting that there were no complaints when the WTs were shut down in 2013 for 30 days at night.
Mr. Devlin also criticized the method used by the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to measure noise.
Mr. Devlin and some residents also noted that the complaint form has disappeared off the website and the old data from previous complaints is missing.
Mr. Devlin noted that the town has a bylaw now that would not allow the current WTs to be installed anywhere in Fairhaven, and not the larger ones proposed by the company.
“The bigger they are the louder they get,” said Mr. Devlin. “They will be louder than the wind turbines that are there now, I promise you.”
Ms. Frezza told the board that she did not know about decibels; she was there on behalf of the health of the residents. She said sleep deprivation causes a lot of health issues.
She also talked about the effects of shadow flicker, which forces some residents to leave their homes during certain times of the day. Shadow flicker occurs when the sun is at the right angle to hit the blades and cause moving shadows that roll over the house over and over.
Ms. Frezza said no one is checking to make sure the mitigation plan is being followed, or who is holding the company accountable if it is not complying.
SB member Andrew Saunders asked if the BOH had a meeting where they declared the WTs a noise nuisance. He said he would expect that to be an important step. He also asked how shutting them down temporarily would help to gather information.
BOH member, Barbara Acksen, who was on the board when the issue came up before and was the sole dissenting vote against the WTs, said that after she left the board the complaint portal was taken down. She said the town was supposed to continue to collect data.
“And that did not happen at all,” said Dr. Acksen.
Ms. Frezza said the residents feel they are not being taken seriously.
Dr. Acksen they want to put a human face on it, children cannot sleep in the house, people with cancer are getting migraines from the WTs; one woman was forced to sell her house and move out of town.
“These are out neighbors,” said Dr. Acksen, adding that people bought in the neighborhood to enjoy the Little Bay Conservation Area, sit in their yards and listen to the birds.
But the lost that ability: they cannot sit outside because of the noise they cannot keep the windows open, and they cannot have the shades up.
SB member Andrew Romano asked if there was any provision in the contract that would allow them to shut down the WTs. He said he wanted to grant some relief, but did not want to violate the contract.
SB Chairperson, Charlie Murphy, voiced similar concerns. He said he wanted Town Counsel to look at the contract and let the board know if they had the authority to shut them down.
At some point Ms. Frezza said the town can shut down the WTs, saying she believed it was under the jurisdiction of the Board of Health.
Generally, boards of health in Mass. have broad powers when it comes to public health.
It was not made clear at the meeting why the BOH was asking the Select Board to order the shut-down, when the BOH had the authority.
Mr. Murphy said he has heard the noise at the houses in the neighborhood and agreed that it is a problem. However, he said the board needed to follow the correct process, so Town Counsel needed to look at the contract.
“We should keep this an active discussion,” he said.
During a short recess, the Neighb News asked Ms. Frezza why her board did not simply exercise its clear authority to shut them down, when the authority of the Select Board was not clear.
She reiterated that they do have the authority, but said they wanted to work with the Select Board and not against them.
“We, as the Board of Health, want to stand with the residents,” she said.
During the meeting, several residents spoke, asking the SB to shut down the turbines.
Resident Grant Menard said he tried to get his complaints compiled from the town only to find that most of them were missing. He said the process, that was available again for one week, was very cumbersome, requiring him to print out a PDF, fill it out, scan it and send it back.
He read some of the complaints he could find, and said they are not only about sound, they are about anxiety.
“But I can’t sleep at night, guys. I’m pleading with you,” said Mr. Menard. “Please listen to the people who are hurting.”
John Methia said they should not be talking about health and contracts in the same breath, or even in the same meeting. He said it was the same story 12 years ago.
“When I hear health concerns and contract in the same breath, I get very concerned,” said Mr. Methia.
Mr. Saunders reiterated his concern that a finding of a nuisance standard was not reached.
Mr. Methia reiterated his concern that they were “merging” the two things.
“We should act. We should act now,” he said.
Mr. Romano made a motion to shut down the WTs temporarily. SB member Natalie Mello seconded the motion. They voted yes, and the other three members, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Saunders, and Keith Silvia voted no.
Mr. Murphy said the item would be on the next agenda.
Resident Karen Isherwood and reminded the board that her family has been dealing with the WTs since the beginning. She has been vocal opponent of them, detailing the problems the have caused for her health and her family’s health and ability to enjoy their property.
She said the Board of Health has the authority to shut down the WTs.
She said she wanted to point out that not all the problems are for people at night only. She has migraines from the WTs and they do not distinguish day or night. Not everyone leaves their home all day.
Resident Henry Ferreira also addressed the board, saying 12 years ago it was a different Select Board, and the Board of Health was just a rubber stamp.
“You guys have the opportunity to fix a major error that happened 12 years ago,” said Mr. Ferreira.
“It’s insane,” he said to have put those large WTs so close to homes.
He said it happened because Executive Secretary Jeff Osuch wanted it, and SB member Brian Bowcock “was Jeff’s buddy,” and BOH chairperson Peter DeTerra “was the rubber stamp.”
During the whole discussion, Sumul Shah, who constructed the WTs and owns the project, sat without saying anything. He was not asked for comment. When he had his time at the podium to give an update and ask again for the board to amend the contract, he commented on some of the discussion.
He started by saying he has been part of the community for 12 years.
“I can go back and forth with Mr. Devlin over sound studies…all day long,” said Mr. Shah.
He said, “This is not about strict compliance with sound,” but about a “feeling the community has” about the WTs.
He said he did not know if they could every get an agreement that is perfect. He said he believes there is a happy medium. Maybe the town just does not make as much money.
At the end of the day, he said, Fairhaven Wind will still be part of the community, a business member, all working together.
When asked, he said there’s “no way” they can afford to shut down the WTs the way the BOH wants them to, “under the present contract.”
He said if they adjust the rates, they might be able to do it
“You’re not the only town having this discussion,” said Mr. Shah.
He also said he was open to any discussion for mitigation, including partial shut-down, or even exploring the installation of a solar array at the site.
In his update about the upgrade to the WTs, Mr. Shah said they were no longer considering WTs with a higher output. And the replacements would be the same dimensions. He said they chose a company that has a presence in New England. The new WTs will also have noise reduction mode.
What he needed from the board is a change in the rate structure in the contract that would take out the fluctuations and give the company predicatable rates. That would make it possible for the company to get the financing for the upgrades.
The WTs that are currently in place have multiple maintenance issues.
Mr. Saunders noted that the current WTs were installed before the bylaw was in place. He asked Mr. Shah if he had checked with the Building Commissioner to see if the project is grandfathered in, otherwise they would not be able to get the building permit and the project could not go through.
Mr. Shah said he had not checked.
Mr. Saunders said the whole discussion was “moot” if the building commissioner did not issue the permit.
“Your opinion, and my opinion are irrelevant,” said Mr. Saunders, adding only the zoning enforcement officer’s opinion is relevant.
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