A.
Controls. Each WECS shall be equipped with both manual and automatic
controls to limit the rotational speed of the rotor blade so it does
not exceed the design limits of the rotor.
B.
Minimum blade height. The minimum distance between the ground and
any part of the rotor or blade system shall be 30 feet.
C.
Signs. Appropriate warning signs shall be posted. At least one sign
shall be posted, at the base of the tower, warning of electrical shock
or high voltage. The Town Board may require additional signs based
on safety needs.
D.
Climbing pegs. No climbing pegs or tower ladders shall be located
closer than 12 feet to the ground level at the base of the tower.
E.
Access control. A WECS shall be designed to prevent unauthorized
external access to electrical and mechanical components and shall
have access doors that are kept securely locked at all times.
A.
Traffic routes.
(1)
Construction and delivery vehicles for WECS and wind energy
facilities shall use traffic routes established as part of the application
review process. Factors in establishing such corridors shall include:
(a)
Minimizing traffic impacts from construction and delivery vehicles;
(b)
Minimizing WECS-related traffic during times of school bus activity;
(c)
Minimizing wear and tear on local roads (if use of such roads
is permitted under this chapter); and
(d)
Minimizing impacts on local business operations.
(2)
Wind energy permit conditions may limit WECS-related traffic
to specified routes and include a plan for disseminating traffic route
information to the public.
B.
Road remediation. If any load exceeds the limits of § 385
of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, the applicant shall
be responsible for remediation of damaged roads, upon completion of
the installation of the WECS. A public improvement bond shall be posted
prior to the issuance of any building permit in an amount, determined
by the Town Board, sufficient to compensate the Town for and damage
to local roads, if such use is authorized under this chapter, that
is not corrected by the applicant. An applicant shall submit an estimate
of costs for restoration to the preconstruction quality and character
of local roads, for the Town's approval prior to construction,
and this estimate shall be the basis for the bond.
A.
The equivalent level (Leq) generated by a WECS shall not exceed the
limits listed in Table 1 when measured at the nearest off-site residence
or buildable lot. If the A-weighted background sound pressure level,
without the WECS, is within five dB of some or all of the limits in
Table 1 or exceeds some or all of the limits in Table 1, then the
A-weighted criterion to be applied to the WECS application for those
affected limits shall be the A-weighted background level plus five
dB. The remaining limits that are more than five dB above the A-weighted
background shall remain as given in Table 1. [Note: For example, during
daytime, if the background is less than or equal to 40 dB, then the
limit is 45 dB. However, if the background is greater than 40 dB (e.g.,
44 dB) then the applicable WECS limit is the background level plus
five dB, which calculates to 49 dB for this example.]
B.
In all cases, the corresponding C-weighted limit shall be the operable A-weighted limit (from Table 1 or based on the A-weighted background, as appropriate) plus 18 dB. The application shall include certification by an independent acoustical engineer as to the predicted A- and C-weighted WECS sound levels at potentially impacted residential sites. The engineer, or the firm with which the engineer is associated, shall be a member of the National Council of Acoustical Consultants (NCAC) with a specialty in environmental noise and shall be a member, board certified, of the Institute of noise Control Engineering of the USA. The background shall be measured and predicted in accordance with Subsection C below.
|
Table 1
WECS Noise Limits at Residential Receivers
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Daytime 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
|
Evening 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
|
Nighttime 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
| ||
|
A-weighted level (dB)
|
45
|
40
|
35
| |
|
C-weighted level (dB)
|
63
|
58
|
53
| |
C.
A-weighted background sound levels shall be based on measured hourly
L90 levels gathered over a sufficient time to characterize each of
the following three time periods, respectively. The day shall be divided
into three time periods: daytime, the hours from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00
p.m.; evening, the hours from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and nighttime,
the hours from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. If insect noise possibly can
dominate some of the hourly L90 measurements, then Ai-weighted (See
Schomer, Paul D. et al., "Proposed Ai-Weighting: a weighting to remove
insect noise from A-weighted field measurements," Internoise 2010,
Lisbon Portugal, 13-16 June 2010) shall be used in lieu of the standard
A-weighting, or measurements shall not be made when insect noise possibly
can dominate some of the hourly L90 measurements. The background shall
be reported by the time period and computed as follows: The minimum
hourly L90 shall be tabulated by time period and by day, and the arithmetic
average of these measurements by time period over all the days of
measurement shall be computed. These three averages of daily minima
shall be reported as that site's daytime, evening, and nighttime
A-weighted background levels, respectively. [Note: In relatively quiet
areas insect Noise, especially during summer months, can easily dominate
the A-weighted ambient sound level. This occurs partly because the
primary frequencies or tones of many, if not most, insect Noises are
in the range of frequencies where the A-weighting is a maximum, whereas
most mechanical and WECS Noises primarily occur at the lower frequencies
where the A-weighting significantly attenuates the sound. Also, insect
noises and bird songs do not mask WECS Noise at all because of the
large differences in frequencies or tones between them.]
(1)
Parcels three acres or smaller. The A-weighted background measurements
shall be made along the line from the nearest proposed WECS to the
residence in question. If the parcel of land has no residence, then
the line shall terminate within 25 feet of the center of the parcel.
The actual position of the microphone shall be within the property
in question and should be within 25 feet to either side of the line,
no closer than 50 feet the property boundary, and no closer than 25
feet to the house or any other structures. If positioning within this
"measurement box" is not possible because of unique site conditions,
such as the position being underwater or the property being too small,
then the unique conditions shall be fully documented and an alternate
position selected and justified.
(2)
Parcels larger than three acres. The A-weighted background measurements
shall be made along the line from the nearest proposed WECS to the
residence in question. If the parcel of land has no residence, then
the line shall terminate within 50 feet of the center of the parcel.
The actual position of the microphone shall be within the property
in question and shall be within 50 feet and 500 feet of the residence
or within zero feet and 500 feet of the parcel center, as applicable,
and should be within 50 feet to either side of the line, shall be
no closer than 50 feet to the house or any other structure, and shall
be no closer than 50 feet to the property boundary. If positioning
within this "measurement box" is not possible because of unique site
conditions, such as the position being underwater or the property
being too small, then the conditions shall be fully documented and
an alternate position selected and justified. The microphone shall
be no closer than 50 feet to the house or any other structures.
(3)
Measurement requirements. The microphone shall be situated between
four feet and 4.5 feet above the ground. Measurements shall be conducted
within the general provisions of ANSI S 1.13-2005, and using a meter
that meets at least the Type 2 requirements of ANSI S 1.4 and S 1.4A-1985
(R2006). The meter noise floor shall be 20 dB(A) or lower. The report
shall include each hourly measured A-weighted L90 level, the tabulated
daily minima, by time period, and the three time period averages.
The report also shall include a sketch of the site showing distances
to the structure(s), to the property line, etc., and several photographs
showing the structure(s), the property, and the acoustical instrumentation.
All instrumentation shall be listed by manufacturer, model, and serial
number. This instrumentation listing also shall include the A-weighted
noise floor and the one-third-octave-band noise floors, if utilized,
for each meter used.
(4)
Background measurements shall be conducted throughout the area
using sufficient sites to generally characterize the background sound
levels. It is anticipated that background sound measurements will
be performed at nine to 12 locations. The Town shall contract for
the background measurements and determination of background levels
for general areas of the Town such that every parcel is assigned a
background level for daytime, evening, and nighttime. The contractor
shall be a member of the National Council of Acoustical Consultants
(NCAC), with a specialty in environmental Noise, and the consultant's
project leader shall be a member, board certified, of the Institute
of Noise Control Engineering of the USA. The WECS applicant shall
pay for the contract to measure and determine background levels. This
payment shall include the cost of the contract, the cost of letting
the contract and the cost of supervising the contractor. The number
of measurement sites and study plans shall be developed jointly between
the Town and the contractor, with input from the public and from the
applicant.
D.
Octave-band data.
(1)
The starting point for predicting WECS A- and C-weighted levels
at potentially impacted residential parcels shall be the manufacturer-supplied
octave-band sound power levels as measured by the manufacturer in
accordance with International Standard for Acoustic Noise Measurement
Techniques for Wind Generators (IEC 61400-11). At a minimum, the octave-band
data shall include the 10 octave bands with nominal center frequencies
ranging from 16 Hz to 8,000 Hz (See ANSI S 1.6-1984.), and the sound
power levels for these bands shall be tabulated in the report. Any
data not available from the manufacturer shall be estimated from field
measurements on like wind turbines ready in use. Any such field measurements
shall be described fully and documented in the report. In order to
model the worst-case condition, the Noise level corresponding to the
maximum power setting shall be used, assuming stable atmospheric conditions.
Modeling shall not assume or otherwise take into account wind-induced
sound at near-ground elevations.
(2)
For sites at which A-weighted background measurements were performed,
the A- and C-weighted WECS sound level predictions shall be made at
the same point and for the nearest WECS (if more than one). For all
other sites, a prediction point shall be selected that is as close
as possible to the nearest WECS while being within the "measurement
box" delineated above. The octave-band sound pressure levels shall
be predicted at the prediction point for at least each of the four
nearest proposed WECS (if more than four are proposed) using sound
propagation algorithms given by ISO 9613-2, with G and Gm in Table
3 of ISO 9613-2 set to 0.0. That is, the coefficients for delineating
between an acoustically hard and an acoustically soft surface are
each set to 0.0 for the source, middle, and receiver regions. (See
Kaliski, Kenneth and Duncan, Eddie, "Propagation Modeling Parameters
for Wind Power Projects," Sound & Vibration, pp. 12-15, December
2008.) Calculations for the 16 and 31.5 octave bands shall use the
63 Hz octave-band algorithms contained in ISO 9613-2, with no factor
for air absorption. No sound barrier shall be included in the calculations.
For each such prediction, the A- and C-weighted level shall be calculated
by applying the A- and C-weighting values from ANSI S 1.4, then adding
the weighted mean square pressures, and finally by converting back
to decibels. The overall predicted A- and C-weighted levels shall
be the sum of the individual levels added on the basis of the mean
square pressures.
E.
Any Noise level falling between two whole decibels shall be rounded
to the nearest whole decibel.
F.
The applicant shall provide all calculations, data and assumptions
in electronic format to verify compliance with this section; if computer
modeling is utilized to predict project sound levels, the raw input
data to the model shall be provided and sufficient additional data
to allow the model runs on which the applicant relies to be reproduced.
A.
Enforcement shall be by measurement. The Town shall be responsible
for and shall contract for any enforcement measurements. The contractor
shall be a member of the National Council of Acoustical Consultants
(NCAC) with a specialty in environmental Noise, and the consultant's
project leader shall be a member, board certified, of the Institute
of Noise Control Engineering of the USA.
B.
The duration of any WECS measurement shall be 30 minutes. During the thirty-minute period, the equivalent level (Leq) generated by the WECS shall be measured. The measurement location shall be at any residential property as given in § 117A-25A, and at any point on this residential property at which the background sound level may be measured per § 117A-25C. Measurements shall be entirely within the appropriate time period, e.g., during nighttime for nighttime enforcement, and the WECS shall operate continuously during the thirty-minute measurement.
C.
The microphone shall be situated between four and 4.5 feet above
the ground. Measurements shall be conducted within the general provisions
of ANSI S 1.13-2005, and using a meter that meets at least the Type
2 requirements of ANSI S 1.4 and S 1.4A-1985 (R2006). The instrument
noise shall be at least 10 dB below the lowest level measured.
D.
A calibrator shall be used as recommended by the manufacturer of
the sound level meter.
E.
The fundamental level of the calibrator and the sensitivity of the
sound level meter shall be verified annually by a laboratory using
procedures traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
F.
A wind screen shall be used as recommended by the sound level meter
manufacturer.
G.
An anemometer shall be used and shall have a range of at least five
to 15 miles per hour (2.2 to 6.7 meters per second) and an accuracy
of at least ±2 miles per hour (±0.9 meter per second).
H.
A compass shall be used to measure wind direction to at least an
eight-point resolution: N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW.
I.
Measurements shall be A-weighted, or, alternatively, in one-third-octave
bands. For A-weighted measurements, the uncertainty (tolerance) of
measurements shall be one dB for a Type 1 meter and two dB for a Type
2 meter. For one-third-octave-band measurements, the meter shall meet
the Type 1 requirements of ANSI S 12.4 and S 12.4a-1985 (R2006); the
uncertainty of measurements shall be five dB in each and every one-third-octave
band. For all measurements, the surface wind speed, measured at a
height of 1.5 meters, shall be less than five meters per second.
J.
All measurements shall be corrected for the background on the basis
of mean square pressures. For one-third-octave-band measurements,
each one-third-octave band shall be individually corrected for the
background in that band. That is, both the sound level of the WECS
(which always includes the background) and the background sound level
alone shall be measured in each one-third-octave band. For either
A-weighted data or one-third-octave-band data, the background shall
be measured during a like period when the WECS is not operating, and
Table II[1] shall be used to correct for the background, by band in
the case of one-third-octave-band data. A "like period" means the
same or like location, like surface wind speed and direction, like
time of day and day of the week (e.g., Monday through Thursday night,
Friday or Saturday night, or Sunday night, etc.).
K.
After correction, when using data measured in one-third-octave bands,
all remaining bands, excluding bands set equal to zero, shall be converted
to A-weighted bands and then shall be summed on a mean square pressure
basis to establish the WECS background-corrected A-weighted sound
level.
L.
Table II. Table II correction, in dB, that shall be subtracted from
the WECS sound level measurement (which always includes the background
sound level) because of the background sound, so that the result is
just the sound level of the WECS alone (See Note 1 below.):
|
Δ, difference
|
<3
|
3-4
|
5-6
|
7-10
|
>10
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
K, correction (dB)
|
Notes 2, 3
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
|
Notes:
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
1.
|
This table provides a simple correction to measurements of WECS
sound and in the presence of the background. For example, the sound
of a WECS (along with the background sound which is always present)
is measured as 40 dBA, and the background sound level alone (without
the WECS) is measured as 34 dBA. Then Δ, the difference in decibels,
is six dB (first row, third column), and the corresponding correction
shall be 2 dB (second row, third column). That is, two dB shall be
subtracted from the measured 40 dBA level, and it is adjusted to and
reported as 38 dBA. The same procedure is followed in each band for
one-third-octave-band data.
| |
|
2.
|
When using directly measured A-weighted levels, if the difference
between the WECS sound level (plus background sound level) and the
background sound level alone is less than three dB, then it shall
not constitute a violation of this chapter.
| |
|
3.
|
When using measured one-third-octave-band data, if the difference
between the WECS sound pressure level (plus background sound pressure
level) and the background sound pressure level alone, each in the
same one-third-octave band, is less than three dB, then the WECS level
for that one-third-octave band shall be set to zero.
| |
M.
The report shall include a sketch of the site showing distance to
the structure(s), to the property line, etc., and several photographs
showing the structure(s), property, and the acoustical instrumentation.
All instrumentation shall be listed by manufacturer, model, and serial
number. This instrumentation listing shall include the A-weighted
noise floor and the one-third-octave-band noise floors, if utilized,
for each sound level meter used.
Each WECS shall be located with the following minimum setbacks,
as measured from the center of the WECS:
A.
From the property line of off-site residences or buildable lots:
10 rotor diameters.
B.
From the nearest on-site residence: four turbine heights.
C.
From state-identified wetlands, except where permits for other setbacks
have been received from the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation or federal wetland permits issued by the United States
Army Corps of Engineers: 100 feet or the rotor radius, whichever is
more.
D.
From a public highway: 1.5 times the sum of the hub height plus rotor
diameter.
A.
Operation. A WECS shall be maintained in operational condition at
all times, subject to reasonable maintenance and repair outage. Operational
condition includes meeting all noise requirements and other permit
conditions.
B.
Violations of permit conditions. A WECS is noncompliant and must be shut down immediately if it exceeds any of the limits in § 117A-25 of this Wind Energy Facilities Local Law.
C.
Inoperative WECS. If any WECS remains nonfunctional or inoperative
for the continuous period of one year, the WECS shall be decommissioned.
D.
WECS removal and remediation. WECS removal shall include removal
of all aboveground equipment, removal of foundations to a depth of
3.0 feet below grade, restoration of soil conditions, and restoration
of vegetation to be consistent and compatible with surrounding vegetation.
E.
Decommissioning Fund. The Permitee, or successors, shall continuously
maintain a financial assurance mechanism for the costs of decommissioning
and removal of all WECSs on site and the remediation of all disturbed
areas of land sufficient to assure no discharge of sediments or other
pollutants following decommissioning (decommissioning, removal and
remediation) in a form approved by the Town, for the period of the
life of the facility. The financial assurance mechanisms must ensure
that funds will be available in a timely fashion when needed and shall
not include the future value, if any, of scrap. If a bond is posted
to meet this requirement, the bond-issuing company must have a current
A.M. Best rating of A- or higher. All decommissioning, removal and
remediation fund requirements shall be fully funded before a building
permit is issued. The Town Board shall have sole discretion with regard
to the determination of the mode of financial assurance.
