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Wind turbines too noisy, internal Ontario government memo says
The memo concludes that the current limit of 40 decibels should be reduced to 30 to 32 decibels. In the opinion of ministry officers, that level of sound "would not cause or be likely to cause adverse effects" for residents living near turbines, it says.
Reducing noise standards to that level would require the province to significantly increase its current 550-metre minimum setback for turbines from surrounding buildings.
August 17, 2011
by Don Butler
in The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA - Ontario regulations permit wind turbines to produce too much noise, says an internal memo written by a provincial Ministry of the Environment official who recommended a sharp reduction in allowable levels.
The April 2010 memo, written by Cameron Hall, a senior environmental officer in the ministry's Guelph district office, was obtained through Freedom of Information and released Monday by Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of 58 grassroots anti-wind groups in Ontario.
The memo concludes that the current limit of 40 decibels should be reduced to 30 to 32 decibels. In the opinion of ministry officers, that level... [continue via Web link]
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