BOARDMAN -- Dozens of wind turbines west of Boardman are so noisy, nearby homeowners say they're keeping them awake at night and even making them ill.
"It's not healthy for us," Dan Williams said of the 240-foot-tall turbines he can see from his hilltop home. "It's like a freight train that's not coming or going."
Williams is among neighbors along Oregon 74 demanding that Morrow County enforce state noise regulations on the Willow Creek Wind Energy Project or revoke its land-use permit.
More than that, they're part of an emerging backlash to an alternative-energy technology that most revere as clean, green and essential to reducing emissions that contribute to climate change. As turbines sprout across Oregon, people who live near the sweeping blades are raising their voices about noise, spoiled views, lowered home values and health risks.
In January, a Massachusetts company yanked plans for a wind farm outside The Dalles after opponents complained that it would be too close to homes, ruin spectacular Columbia River Gorge vistas and put wildlife at risk...
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/oregon_wind_farms_whip_up_nois.html">Oregon Local News: Oregon wind farms whip up noise, health concerns.
This news item is about a year old, and I have no information as to whether Oregon decided to enforce its laws on this point. Probably not.
Personally, I don't see
how anyone can demand that wind farms obey existing laws because, um, well, it's wind energy and therefore perfect, because wind promoters
say it is.