Blowing money
SOUTH Gippsland Shire councillors have stopped short of demanding independent noise monitoring of turbines at Bald Hills Wind Farm for now, despite paying $33,600 for a ‘noise investigation plan’.
Councillors last Wednesday voted to direct a consultant to investigate noise complaints about the Tarwin Lower wind farm, but without clear instructions to monitor noise levels.
Council will pay the consultant $33,600 and has left the door open to paying even more, in addition to paying around $40,000 in legal fees so far, according to Cr Andrew McEwen.
If the consultant determines noise monitoring is required, the consultant has been instructed to provide council CEO Tim Tamlin with another quote for a “suitably qualified acoustician to undertake this work”.
The Supreme Court ordered council to investigate noise complaints by wind farm neighbours, who took legal action after being dissatisfied by council’s handling of their concerns turbine noise was impacting their health. Council is responsible for enforcing permit conditions of the wind farm, including noise.
The neighbours were less than impressed when council officers assessed their noise complaints by using their ears only to determine the turbines did not generate nuisance noise.
Last Wednesday, councillors amended a recommendation written by council’s executive to appoint a public health consultant to prepare a noise investigation plan.
Councillors called for the CEO to tell the consultant “particular attention and consideration be given to noise monitoring by a suitably qualified acoustician as part of the investigation”, rather than explicitly require noise monitoring be undertaken now.
Cr Ray Argento, who moved the amended motion, was asked by The Star why noise monitoring was not part of the $33,600 plan already and whether the consultant was suitable to undertake the role.
“The motion will allow him, should he not believe he has the skills, to access that skillset by another means,” Cr Argento said.
Wind farm neighbours believe the consultant appointed by council, James C. Smith and Associates, does not have the expertise to investigate noise complaints.
Cr McEwen, who opposed the plan, told council, “The consultant has no stated experience in noise assessment”.
Cr Jeremy Rich also objected to the plan. He said council needed to work with the community and the recommendation was adding “fuel to the fire”.
He said councils should not be charged with the responsibility of enforcing planning permit conditions given the permit was issued by the State Government, and council’s planning department was not given adequate resources to police the wind farm.
“This has been exacerbated by what I consider to be not particularly great actions from our executive,” Cr Rich said.
Mayor Cr Lorraine Brunt asked that he retract the statement, given Mr Tamlin is to face the Supreme Court on March 20 to explain the action council took to comply with a court order from August 29, 2017 to investigate wind farm noise.
It wasn’t until December that councillors received an email from Mr Tamlin explaining he had experienced a delay in finding a noise consultant. That email was leaked to the public.
Cr Rich retracted his statement and replaced it with “we have had questionable advice that has led us to be in a situation where we are now going back to court because we have not complied with the specific Supreme Court orders”.
Cr McEwen said council had already paid in the vicinity of $40,000 in legal fees, including $20,000 of the neighbours’ legal costs, in relation to the matter.
He also called for the brief to the consultant to be made public.
The motion to engage the consultant was passed by councillors Argento, Brunt, Alyson Skinner, Don Hill, Aaron Brown and Maxine Kiel. Cr Meg Edwards was absent.
The neighbours’ legal representative did not wish to comment before March 20.
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