Followup North Harmony Town Board 3 23 26 Wind Law

 North Harmony Town Board 3 23 26

Energy Update - Chautauqua Energy Watch

Public hearing on wind law moratorium extension

 Attached:

1- Parishville, NY Wind law requires: “five times total height of the proposed WECS [wind turbines] from the nearest non -participating property line.” (Local Law No 1 of 2017 P18 E. #1). The wind developer abandoned its proposal for the region. 

2 - Chautauqua County Health Board 3 19 26  presentations by residents living in the Ball Hill Wind, the Arkwright, and the Cassadaga Wind projects. They describe  suffering symptoms of “wind turbine sickness”.  (YouTube film & transcript attached). https://youtu.be/UwEp9hgyjSg?si=j7yZBg9rpwaGx5DD

3 - New York Department of Health testimony: "Based on the Health Department's review of information ....Recognized health-related effects of [industrial wind] audible noise include annoyance, sleep disturbance, cognitive performance reduction, effects on social behavior, cardiovascular effects, and psychophysiological effects..."

Testimony given by Henry Spliethoff, Chief of the Prevention & Sustainability Section of the New York State Department of Health to the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment. (20 page document attached)

 

4 - Chautauqua County Board of Health recommendation:  "proper wind law that restricts industrial wind turbines to a minimum of 1.5 miles from any property line and 35 or fewer decibels of sound frequency." (2019)

5 - Steuben County “wind turbine sickness” - 23 cases since Baron Hills Wind began operation in December 2025. Residents complain of widespread “wind turbine sickness” in Steuben County NY   By Sonya Ellison, February 11, 2026 | wellsvillesun.com ~~

Karen Engstrom Chautauqua Energy Watch 716. 753-7062 kengstrom138@gmail.com (no text)

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Chautauqua County Board of Health  3 19 26
Residents speak regarding the human health effects caused by industrial wind - Arkwright, Cassadaga, and Ball Hill Wind Projects.
Transcription:

 1 - I own a small livestock farm in Forestville, My property is immediately surrounded by six industrial wind turbines in the Ball Hill Wind Project. There are three 500 foot turbines in the town of Hanover right across the road in the front of my house, and three 600 foot turbines in back of my property.  The 500 foot turbines are less than a half mile away and the 600 foot turbines are less than a mile away.
Since October 2023 there have been severe reductions in the bird and insect populations and changing conditions with the wildlife who lost their habitat in the area around my farm. My own family and I  have experienced adverse health problems since the turbines powered up in October 2023 including headaches, severe migraines, sleep disruption, dizziness, tinnitus, nausea and vomiting - spontaneous vomiting, equilibrium disruptions, and heart issues - not severe ones - mostly just palpitation, rapid heart rate.  I don’t have any cardiac problems. I see my doctor regularly. I take no prescription drugs and my doctor is amazed at how healthy I am. Perhaps it is the lifestyle I live. The twirling to the turbine blades is a constant visual disruption.  The proximity of the turbines causes severe debilitating shadow flicker on sunny days.
These symptoms affect my ability to work outside because I don’t feel well. I'm dizzy. I’m nauseous. Sometimes I am headed for the barn and I just fall down for no reason.
Prior to the turbines firing up, my herd of goats loved to go out in the pasture, now they refuse to leave the barn.
The symptoms are worse on windy days. I have zero symptoms on low wind days. When I drive into downtown Forestville, two miles away, the symptoms disappear. Margaret Bruegel, Forestville 3 19 26

2 - I live in the Cassadaga Wind Project with three in front, three on the side and three behind. When they are running it sounds like a jet plane that never lands.  You go outside and you can’t have a peaceful day. Half the summer they were not running - not making any electricity.

It makes so much noise, the vibrations, the shadow flicker - it has been so aggravating - the mental stress. It took two years of construction disruptions. They open them wide open at night. They roar. There is no wind turbine police. So when you open the door at night it is that pounding and pounding.  The closest one to my house is 1700 feet. People shouldn’t have to live like that.

And our property tax was supposed to go down. Our property tax went up. John Conway, Cassadaga 3 19 26

3 - I live in the heart of the Arkwright Wind Project. The closest turbine to our bedroom window is 1400 feet. September 8 2018 when they turned them on my ears began to ring. I had accepted that wind turbines were a good thing but now I have tinnitus so bad that the hum is there day, night, day night, it never stops. These turbines have destroyed my life, my retirement. It has been horrible. I have 28 grandchildren.  Eight of them cannot even come to my home because they become nauseous when they come here. I appeal to you, don’t let this go on anymore.

Lynn Bedford, Arkwright 3 19 26

4 - Arkwright Wind:  Hello everyone, my name is Carrie-Ann Babcock, and I live within a half mile distance of two industrial wind turbines.

I would estimate that either one, the other, or both turbines create burdensome noise approximately 70% of the time. 25% of that time, I consider the noise produced as unbearable. The noise level is not strictly dependent on wind speed. We can have relatively mild wind days that produce large amounts of sound, and also conditions in which the blades ice over, that are considered a level 10 emergency noise event in our household.

A bit of background on our lifestyles in relation to this sound burden. My husband and I are both outdoor enthusiasts and our careers require that we work mostly outdoors. As owners of an environmentally friendly landscaping business, our property houses thousands of native plants that we cultivate and add to customers' yards throughout Chautauqua and Erie Counties. We have invested all of our money and time curating a beautiful property in the Town of Arkwright to support wildlife and to accommodate our outdoor interests and business.

I cannot be in my yard when the turbines are loud. Period. When I was in college, I lived next to a stretch of train tracks. The noise was annoying at first but my body adapted quickly, and after a few weeks I was able to successfully sleep through the night. The jetliner sound from the turbines is neither predictable or cascading, it can present as an unbearably loud constant. With a train or jetliner, my body can anticipate the soft incoming noise in the distance, that slowly crescendos and then begins to fade as it passes. The turbines can create the intense roar of a jetliner that is directly overhead, and the sound can remain constant for days.

This sound can transform into an even worse audible scenario. The only word that I have to verbally describe this type of sound is POUNDING. When the turbines are pounding, I become physically ill. I start to panic. I experience an overwhelming urge to flee. It feels like my body is telling me that I am in impending danger and that I need to escape. I get headaches, nausea and dizziness. I cannot be outdoors when the turbines reach this noise level.

But it gets worse. The turbine sound reverberates INSIDE our home. The sound is inescapable. You can hear and feel pulsating over the sound of the dryer, wood stove blower and the radio and TV that we play to try and distract from the noise. We don’t sleep on nights when the noise is carrying into our home. This type of event can last for days and leads to cumulative and constant exhaustion. We all know what it’s like to be exhausted at work, and can appreciate the danger that it imposes for our livelihoods. Living like this causes immense anxiety and depression.

I have tried every over-the-counter headache and sleep medication that I could find, to no avail. Shortly after the turbines were installed, I experienced intense pain that was shooting through my head, neck, face and jaw. It took many years, and visits to my general physician, ENT, neurologist, dentist and physical therapist to finally determine that I was grinding my teeth at night. The grinding at night was so intense that I actually sprained my jaw. This pain is ongoing and requires routine therapy and maintenance.

I hope that you can agree that moving to the peaceful countryside to listen to industrial noise pollution is a mentally impactful event. We have not adjusted and we have not adapted to this type of sound. The novelty of this sound has not worn off, and the sound is just as impactful as Day 1.

I had no pre-set notion that these things could occur. I am a supporter of green energy, when it is done correctly. So why not, at the very least situate these things further from households? Nothing will change for me, but why not prevent this from happening to others, especially children? I absolutely can confirm through my own experiences that industrial turbines represent a health hazard when placed inappropriately, and I hope that my testimony can help others.

Thank you for hearing my concerns.   Carrie Ann Babcok, Arkwright   --   to the Chautauqua County Board of Health 3 19 26