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Home My WebLink About6-12-2023 - A. Salas - Objection (810 Wakeby Road)TOWN OF BARNSTABLE Planning & Development Department Application of TJA Clean Energy 810 Wakeby Road, Marstons Mills, MA Hearing Date: June 12, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. OBJECTION OF ABUTTER, ANNE SALAS Now comes Anne Salas, by and through the undersigned counsel, and hereby objects to the issuance of the Special Permit requested by Applicant, TJA Clean Energy (“TJA”). In addition to all other previous correspondences and presentations made at prior hearings on this application, Ms. Salas states as follows: Ms. Salas resides at 145 Mockingbird Lane, a parcel of land which directly abuts the proposed solar development. 810 Wakeby Road is located within a Residence F (RF) zoning district, the Resource Protection Overlay District, the Groundwater Protection Overlay District, and the Ground Mounted Solar Photovoltaic Overlay District (GMSPOD). At the outset it is noted that when this development was first proposed, the parcel of land was not located in the GMSPOD. TJA’s initial application was denied, and litigation ensued and remains open. See TJA Clean Energy, LLC v. Town of Barnstable, 21 MISC 00204. It appears as though since the litigation was commenced, the Town of Barnstable passed the ordinance amending the application of the GMSPOD to the parcel at issue. The ordinance does still conflict with the zoning of the RF district because a ground-mounted solar installation is not a principal permitted use, an accessory use, or an enumerated conditional and/or special permit use. See Town of Barnstable Code of Ordinances, § 240-14. Seemingly the ordinance expanding the GMSPOD to this parcel was passed in order to appease TJA, to cool the litigation, 2 and in effect allow the relevant Boards to push through the approvals relevant to the development. However, there remain significant issues with the proposed development applicable to the general health, safety and welfare of the surrounding locale which should result in this Board denying TJA’s application for issuance of the Special Permit. Specifically, those issues weighing adversely on the surrounding area include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. Lack of Disclosure of Hazardous Materials TJA has not disclosed the composition of the materials to be installed at the subject parcel. Instead TJA provided with its application an “Assurance Letter” which declines to elaborate on the components, their makeup, storage, etc. while stating that “Particulate emissions could only occur if the materials were ground to a fine dust, but there is no realistic scenario for this occurrence.” See Letter Dated February 1, 2023, p. 1. This “disclosure” does not comply with the requirements of the relevant statutes, and significantly downplays the likelihood of a catastrophic failure such as fire. 2. Lack of Emergency Response Plan The Emergency Response Plan submitted by TJA is wholly deficient. Large scale electrical fires are a well-known risk to these forms of solar development. The February 1, 2023 Emergency Response Plan makes several references to “notifying local emergency personnel,” however the local Fire Chief has indicated that in the event of a large fire at this facility, the local emergency response teams would not have the capabilities to properly extinguish a fire. The onus should be on TJA to provide a proper emergency response plan which details how emergencies will be addressed, separate from vague references to notifying local emergency 3 personnel, and what specific actions will be taken to respond to any emergency and protect the surrounding residential neighborhood. 3. Proper Identification of Site Components via Site Plan The proposed site plan and project narrative lack factual support, as there are discrepancies in what is being claimed by TJA for overall production compared to the proposed installation. TJA proposes to install some +/- 8,800 solar panels which combined will not yield the 5MW output that is being represented. The proposed site plan also does not identify the specific quantity of inverters/transformers, and where they will be situated. It is impossible for this Board to determine whether the proposed site plan complies with local and state ordinances without knowing these critical facts. 4. Sound and Hazardous Waste Safety There will be significant noise pollution emanating from the property during the proposed buildout. First, if this development is approved, the Board must ensure that the construction activities comply with local and state ordinances with respect to sound. The anti-idling law, M.G.L. c. 90 § 16A must be a condition that TJA, and/or their contractor(s), have to comply with. Additionally, if this development is approved, there will be numerous transformers and inverters on the property, which also put out significant noise. The EPA has published recommendations of maximum level of 70dB, of which one (1) hour or more of exposure cause hearing loss. There has been no data submitted by TJA as to the decibel level the equipment outputs. Noise emissions as stated in TJA’s own submitted technical specifications documents is 67dB for inverters and 71dB for transformers. This dB measurement is taken from a 33 foot 4 distance from each of those devices. One proposed location is directly abutting both #800 and #750 Wakeby. 800 Wakeby has the setback of just 30 feet. Should the development be approved, the Board must also require an increase to the height of the berms that TJA proposes to install. The proposed berms are not tall enough to act as a fire block or to reduce sound emissions in the immediately surrounding neighborhood. The berms also must be one foot taller than the inverters and/or transformers, per the NFPA and firewalls as per NFPA-850 to contain and prevent the spread of fire and projectiles that could result from explosion. The catch basins also must be evaluated for appropriateness to contain the FR3 flammable coolant which per the submitted designs can be upwards of 1,880 gallons. As this Board is well aware, there is a water source on an abutting parcel that provides service to 30,000 local homes and businesses. 5. Maintenance and Operations TJA’s maintenance plan proposes annual inspections and maintenance on a twice-yearly basis, however industry standards provide for at least quarterly inspections and maintenance. TJA’s proposal in this respect is therefore wholly unsatisfactory. Significant property devaluation would result in the impossibility of relocation of abutters to properties of equal value. The sale of abutters properties could never realize fair market value as the likelihood of buyers purchasing a residence abutting a 5MW solar electrical power plant at fair market value is improbable. Essentially, resulting in the theft of the lifetime investment of each of the 17 families abutting 810 Wakeby by the board’s move to grant a special permit to the applicant. 5 TJA has not been forthcoming with this Board or the surrounding residents with facts critical to their proposed solar development. Based upon what has been submitted and represented by TJA to date, it is clear that this proposed development poses a risk to the public health, safety and welfare of the surrounding community at large. Therefore, we respectfully request that TJA’s application for Special Permit be denied by this Board. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Joseph P. Carnevale Joseph P. Carnevale, Esq. (#443658) SAVAGE LAW PARTNERS, LLP 564 South Water Street Providence, RI 02903 (401) 238-8500 telephone (401) 648-6748 facsimile jcarnevale@savagelawpartners.com