A panel of experts who were appointed to work toward noise level guidelines for wind turbines in Michigan had their work discarded when state bureaucrats didn't like what the panel was coming up with and made up their own rules instead.
As a result, there is now no specific state recommended decibel level limit for wind turbines. This means wind turbines can operate at 55 dBA (decibels adjusted to reflect the ear's response to sound), which is the standard Michigan had followed for at least two years. The panel was promoting reducing that level to 40 dBA.
The Wind and Health Technical Work Group panel was formed in 2010 as part of the Wind Working Group. The Wind Working Group, formed when Jennifer Granholm was governor , was within the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG).
The technical work group panel was supposed to produce a report that would include any state guideline changes it recommended on the siting of onshore industrial wind turbines. Dr. Jerry Punch, an audiologist and professor emeritus at Michigan State University, was chosen to chair the panel. Kenneth Rosenman, a professor of epidemiology (occupational diseases) at MSU, was co-chair.
"The four issues we were looking at for this report were: physical safety, noise limits, limitations on shadow flicker and the conflict resolution process," Punch said. "We met at least a dozen times for DELEG, and we communicated regularly through email."
Regulation of noise levels is one of the most contentious issues related to the siting of wind turbines. Studies have shown negative health effects related to the constant droning of certain sounds, including noises produced by heavy traffic, machinery in factories, and, more recently, commercial wind turbines.
The panel completed its 10th draft of the proposed "Wind & Health" report, but state officials pulled the plug on the panel before a vote could be taken.
"It is important not to describe that last draft as a final draft," Punch said. "It was never formally adopted by the group. But it was approaching its final form."
If the state had adopted the 40 dBA limit, it would likely have meant Michigan's wind turbines would have to operate at an even less efficient level than they already do.
Michigan's 2008 energy legislation mandated that by 2015 at least 10 percent of the energy produced in the state come from renewable sources like wind. Forcing stricter requirements on wind power would have made that benchmark more difficult to achieve.
By the autumn of 2010, Punch said he and others were getting clear signals that Mark Clevey, a key manager for Consumer Education and Renewable Energy programs with the State Energy Office, didn't agree with the direction in which the panel seemed to be heading.
At the time, the State Energy Office was a division of DELEG. Clevey started after the Technical Work Group panel had started its work. Clevey has a master’s degree in public administration and economic development.
"He (Clevey) came to a few meetings and then stopped coming," Punch said. "Later, we were contacted and told that they had reorganized and that the work group was no longer needed."
Punch said Clevey essentially drafted his own report.
Clevey still holds his post at the State Energy Office, which is now under the Michigan Economic Development Corp. umbrella. He did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
Michigan's current recommendations about wind turbine regulations are that they be based on "the best available scientific evidence."
In the summer of 2011, Punch, Rosenman and one other member of the TWG published their own report on wind turbine noise levels. In that report, they call for noise levels not to exceed 40 decibels. That 40 dBA noise limit was based in part on the recommendation of the World Health Organization, which makes its recommendations with a view toward protecting the health of the public, and not toward satisfying wind industry interests.
According to copies of emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, Clevey's predecessor John Sarver came up with the old 55 dBA recommendation on his own. Based on his comments in an email dated June 16, 2011, Sarver came up with the 55 dBA limit after another, earlier, work group (which met prior to 2008) produced eight drafts of possible regulations but failed to reach what Sarver referred to as a "consensus."
"The guidelines were developed by me with input from members of the WWG," Sarver said in the email. "There was never a consensus on a variety of issues."
In the email Sarver added that the wind working group never endorsed his guidelines.
In an email dated June 24, 2011, Clevey said that the State Energy Office and the Michigan Public Service Commission support the educational purposes of the work group, which he asserts in the email had no legal authority to set government policy.
"100 percent of the group's work is for educational purposes," Clevey wrote in the email.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
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July 6, 2012, MichiganVotes.org Weekly Roll Call
The Michigan Legislature has entered a summer recess. Many bills were passed in the legislative sessions just before the break.
Y = Yes, N = No, X = Not Voting
Senate Bill 1041: Subject legislator communications to FOIA
Introduced by Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D), to expand government document disclosure requirements required under the Freedom of Information Act to include legislators and legislative offices. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
Senate Bill 1049: Ban reimbursement of lame duck politician’s travel
Introduced by Sen. John Gleason (D), to prohibit a school and local elected official from traveling to a conference or seminar at public expense during the “lame duck” period if he or she has been defeated in a primary general election, or if the official is term limited, after the filing deadline for the election to replace him or her. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
Senate Bill 1053: Allow double dipping by certain “retired” state employees
Introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn (R), to allow retired executive or legislative branch employees to go back to work, collect a paycheck, and also continue to collect pension checks, if a department director or legislative majority leader claims the individual has “specialized expertise” that is said to justify the higher expense. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
Senate Bill 1063: Prohibit gender identity/sexual orientation discrimination
Introduced by Sen. Rebekah Warren (D), to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” to the characteristics that define membership in a protected class against whom it is a crime to discriminate under the Michigan civil rights law. This would make it a crime to deny employment, housing, use of public accommodations, public services, and educational facilities to another person on the basis of a perception that the person has a particular sexual orientation or gender identity. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
Senate Bill 1074: Establish new state fair
Introduced by Sen. Joe Hune (R), to establish an annual state fair promoting “all phases” of the state’s economy, at a location to be determined by a state commission. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
Senate Bill 1087: Revise school vaccination age
Introduced by Sen. Judy Emmons (R), to change from 6th grade to 7th grade the year in which public school students are required to have been given certain vaccinations (with specified exceptions). Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 5521: Require public schools maintain student health information
Introduced by Rep. Lisa L. Howze (D), to require public schools to maintain in a secure manner medical background and history information for each student, and emergency contact information; mandate that school physical education personnel have CPR training, and the legislature to provide money for this; mandate that public schools have automated external defibrillator devices; and more. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 5527: Require “corporate welfare” executive drug testing
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R), to require drug testing for business executives whose firms receive subsidies from the state. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 5529: Give “biobased” products state purchasing preference
Introduced by Rep. Paul Muxlow (R), to require the state to give preference in purchasing and procurement to “biobased” products (meaning ones produced with natural materials rather than plastic, including petroleum and natural gas-based substances). Contracts would have to be given to providers of equivalent “biobased” products, rather than to the lowest bidder, if the price was not more than 5 percent higher. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 5531: Give state PSC oversight over Detroit water/sewer system
Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R), to extend the jurisdiction of the state Public Service Commission to include regulating the operations of the Detroit water and sewer system, which is used by most communities in the region. Specifically, the bill extends the jurisdiction to a system that serves “more than 25 percent” of the state population. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 5532: Ban discounts for cash vs. card purchases
Introduced by Rep. Thomas Stallworth, III (D), to prohibit retail merchants including gas stations from offering discounts for cash purchases, vs. purchases made with a credit or debit card. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
House Bill 5534: Lower high school graduation standards
Introduced by Rep. Phil Potvin (R), to eliminate the foreign language requirement from the high school graduation curriculum requirements adopted in a 2006 law. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
Interested in a cumulative list of all weekly Roll Call Report Votes for 2012?
SOURCE: MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Please visit https://www.michiganvotes.org.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
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