SW Vic Questioning Noise Data

17th January, 2021

Source; Via Wind Farm Living.

Here in lies the problem with the Wind Farm Industry Compliance System.

We all know the Warwillah dairy at Hawkesdale to be a busy, noisy, agricultural dairy during the day – with farm tractors, trucks, utes, delivery trucks coming and going and fuelling up, and the noise logger is strategically placed in a noisy location.

At night however, it is a very peaceful spot – a long way off the main road, no dairy activity at night, no machines humming and no noisy vehicles using the fuel pump. Also – no noisy gum tree plantation with rustling leaves on a windy night.

So, shouldn’t we see on the graphs – Very High noise during the day and Very Low Noise at Night when the workers are sleeping?

We know that: A High Background Noise Level Measurement = A Permit allowing a Higher Noise emitting Wind Farm.

A wind farm company needs to collect high background noise measurements so that they can build bigger and noisier turbine and remain compliant under the permit.

The graphs do not show this extreme variation of noise from day to night as we know the reality of the working agricultural dairy and the workers’ hut to be. The graphs do not seem to reflect the low ambient background noise levels of the quiet and peaceful night-time low level sounds that the workers would experience when they are sleeping in their accommodation facility.

And because we don’t have access to the raw data – we can’t verify the dots on the graphs.

Click to access HD-WF-Background-Noise-Monitoring.pdf

Marshall Day’s depiction of a Busy Noisy Agricultural Dairy – Their Photos do not depict the real Picture.

Here are our photos of the same Noise Logger – We now know what to look out for.

Noise logger is located close to a calf paddock                                                                   

Workers’ accommodation in background

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The Hawkesdale and Ryan Corner Communities are right to question Marshall Day Acoustics (MDA)

MDA applied for this job knowing that their work would NOT be scrutinised by any government authority until after the turbines were built.

Wind Farm Jobs are worth tens of millions of dollars to them, so of course they are going keep the Companies happy.

We are starting to wise up – that the system is rigged.

• The Planning Minister can’t check the noise compliance until after the wind farm is built, so he is irrelevant.
• The Moyne Shire don’t have access to the technical data, so they can’t say if the reports are fudged or not.  (Mushroom system of governance)
• MDA were on the committee that designed NZ 6808-2010, which ultimately shifted the focus from ensuring the protection of community health to a standard that merely requires adherence to a mythical measurement based on road traffic noise.
• MDA are in court now, charged with falsifying noise reports.
• MDA’s litigation proceedings may place in jeopardy their future professional indemnity insurance.

So, What can we do as a Community? …

Well, the first thing we can do is ..  stop them treating us like mushrooms – don’t let them keep us in the dark and feed us on sh*t. – Keep asking them questions – the harder the better.

We have the Smarts to Nut this Stuff out. 

Take the Warwillah Dairy Example.

Yes, it is a busy commercial dairy during the day – but at night it is a dead quiet peaceful isolated rural location, with no noisy gum tree plantations.

The outside night-time noise levels should be down at around a 10dB – 20dB levels reflecting the dead quiet peaceful isolated rural location that it is.

Table 8 below (below) shows MDA’s “Night period operational wind farm noise limits” at 40dB.

Why would any technical professional, assert that it is acceptable for their industry to purport that the base limit of noise during the night is the same as the base limit of noise during the day? … The industry knows, and we all know that it is quieter at night than it is in the day, especially in an isolated rural location – and especially at Warwillah Dairy, which is a hive of activity during the day and dead quiet at night.

MDA is insulting the intellect and professional standing of his industry colleagues by stating this in the Hawkesdale Noise report.

At the Workers’ accommodation, you would expect the dead quiet rural background noise level to be about 10dB – 20dB.

Say, 15dB plus 5dB = 20dB. – which would probably be sleepable. …

The NZ standard bases night noise levels upon the internal level of 30 dB for sleep disturbance from road traffic and an open window.

But the permit allows MDA to hit a value of 40dB – which is twice as loud than the dead quiet background noise of Warwillah at night.

The Wind Industry in Moyne Shire would not be viable if the Wind Farms had to ensure a “dead quiet peaceful isolated rural locations at night”.

The last thing MDA wants is a low background noise level at night. As this would be a disaster for the Wind Farm Company who is paying them millions to do the work.

And the Wind Farm industry would not be viable if turbines were limited to a noise level of 20dB noise levels at night in rural locations.

So, what do MDA do to help the Wind Industry get their permits and keep them compliant?

• Support a Permit System – that does not require Acousticians to hand over any data for scrutiny.
• Use noise loggers that don’t pick up any sounds lower than 20dB – and therefore keeps the averages high.
• Delete unwanted low noise levels to keep the regression line high – because they can.
• Put the logger further away than the 10 meters required by the permit.
• Put the logger in the noisiest location they find.
• No requirement to check quality and accuracy of equipment and workers qualifications.
• Produce a fudged report that cannot be scrutinised or validated – because they can.

MDA’s Graph makes out Warwilla’s dead quiet peaceful isolated rural location is equivalent to a residential dwelling along Raglan Parade in Warrnambool.

Note – There is no noise measurements lower than 20dB – doesn’t that tell you that their equipment can’t register lower than 20dB?

How does Warwillah generate high noise with no/low wind speed – Question – were the calves in the paddock licking the logger those nights?

I wonder how many low-level dots they deleted? – this will be for them to know and for us to never find out

It looks fudged to me …

…Don’t be a mushroom, your family and your livelihood is at stake.

windfarmlivingcommunity@windfarmliving.com

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