wind farm noise and statutory nuisance
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
has published a
120 page guidance on the methodology for the investigation of
complaints relating to noise from wind farms.
The report is divided into three sections:
- A review of legal powers available to enforcement officers
- A review of literature relating to studies of noise from wind
farms
- A suggested framework for the investigation of complaints.
The review of legal powers contains an
extensive, but uncontroversial review of the law of nuisance and
its relevance to the noise abatement regime in the Environmental
Protection Act 1990.
The review of literature concludes that
although evidence of the effects of wind turbine noise is strongest
for annoyance and sleep disturbance, the current state of knowledge
on dose response relationships for wind turbine noise is
inconclusive and does not enable a robust criterion or range of
criteria to be put forward.
The report concedes that factors external to
the noise can influence the responses, for example, the visual
impact of a wind farm.
It advises that as the presence of acoustic
features within the wind turbine noise is an important factor in
the degree of impact, an assessment of wind turbine noise should
consider both the presence and prominence of such features.
The report says that it is not able to
recommend a particular noise rating procedure or to suggest
specific critical limits that can be used objectively to assess the
effects of wind turbine noise, since, although there are various
methods for the assessment of the tonality of noise emissions,
there is little guidance regarding the objective rating of effects
caused by other acoustic features. Furthermore, there is
significant uncertainty about human response to wind turbine noise
and noise levels
The report suggests that, notwithstanding the
absence of definitive statutory nuisance noise levels thresholds in
statute or case law, it is considered that noise measurements can
be used to support evidence from complainants and experts,
especially in relation to duration, timing and intensity, which are
all objective factors in the assessment of whether a noise is a
nuisance. Furthermore, those factors and relative noise measurement
levels will help to inform the debate as to the best practicable
means of abating a noise if it is found to be a nuisance.
Finally, the suggested framework for the
investigation of complaints will be of as much interest to those
who defend noise complaints generally as to those who investigate
them in relation to wind farms specifically. This is because
it suggests a methodology for the collection of evidence that is as
applicable to the defence as to the regulator, especially in cases
where the complaints are thought to be bogus.
