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Proposed Restrictions Could Doom Wind Project in Somerset County

creative commons

Pioneer Green says new recommendations to tighten restrictions on wind turbines would end plans for a wind farm in Somerset County.

This warning comes after the governor vetoed a bill in Annapolis that would have delayed construction for over a year so that a study could be conducted on the impact of the turbines on the radar at the military installation on the Patuxent River.

By a majority vote the Somerset County Planning and Zoning Commission decided to lower the nighttime maximum noise level to 40 decibels, that is 15 decibels below the Maryland standard of 55.

Daytime levels would be kept at 65.

In addition, the panel voted to push back the tower distance from property lines.

The Commission was to set to meet today on bonding options.

It hopes to have a vote on a proposed final county wind ordinance by November 3rd.

It then goes to the Somerset County Commissioners.

 

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.