Turbines Voted a Nuisance by Plymouth Board of Health

PLYMOUTH – The four wind turbines along Route 25 in Plymouth have been unanimously voted a nuisance by the town’s Board of Health.

“My intention is to look into it,” said board member Jerry Levine in response to residents’ complaints.

“I feel your pain.”

Levine said that the turbines were put in before the current members were serving on the board and that he and the other current members would do what they can for the residents of Plymouth and Bourne who have been making complaints about the turbines.

“It’s outrageous to me that these kind of turbines were constructed in a residential area. It should never have happened,” board Vice Chairman Barry Potvin said.

“There’s plenty of industrial areas. They’re building a lot of them offshore, where they’re not going to affect neighbors.”

It was also unanimously voted that the Board of Health would take action on the turbines within a reasonable amount of time.

Board member Nancy O’Connor Gantz said that she last remembers the residents coming to have their voices heard in 2017, when the state Department of Environmental Protection was preparing sound testing in the area.

“This is clearly, clearly something that the Board of Health has to take up, because we are sworn to protect the health and safety of the people who live in this area. We will do something,” said Vice Chairman Barry Potvin.

“I think it’s a travesty.”

Residents were told at the time to get in touch with the building department, as Plymouth has zoning regulations for turbines.

With the turbines being situated close to Bourne, but technically siting within Plymouth’s area, it has been a difficult process for affected residents to get in touch with the right people about their complaints, which have included nausea, headaches, and sound disturbances.

The turbines are also privately owned and located on private property rather than town property, which means Plymouth does not have direct control, adding another layer of obstacles for the residents against the turbines.

“I think the board will definitely do our due diligence to get some resolution,” said Gantz.