Letters to the Editor re. Mayflower Wind Project, Published by the Falmouth Enterprise on January 14, 2022 – Falmouth Heights-Maravista Neighborhood Association

FHMNA President Dave Buzanoski and two Falmouth Heights residents submitted letters to the editor of the Falmouth Enterprise which were published on Friday, January 14, 2022. See the full text of Dave’s letter below, from page 5, and full text of the other two letters below.
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“Association’s Concerns About Mayflower Plan”

In response to The Enterprise editorial 12/31/21 “Mayflower Wind’s Power Lines”. The editorial summarized the basis of our neighborhood’s health and safety concerns reasonably well, and I agree with the comments that: “It [Heights’ landfall] might not be the best plan.”, and “Surely a safe landfall for power lines can be figured out.”

Mayflower Wind Energy is a joint venture between Shell Oil and Ocean Wind which has secured a lease of 127,000 acres on the continental shelf, 26 nm South of Martha’s Vineyard, on which they intend to erect 149 wind turbines. Mayflower plans to subsea trench the power cables from the wind field around the East end of Martha’s Vineyard, into Vineyard Sound, making landfall on Cape Cod. We recognize the need and demand for clean energy, and we DO NOT object to this portion of their project.

What we DO object to and oppose is Mayflower’s choice of Preferred and Alternate locations for onboarding of their 1200 megawatt (i.e., 1,200,000,000 watts), 345,000-volt power cables; both of which are in Falmouth Heights.

The Preferred Route is under Falmouth Heights Beach to a connecting vault in the beach parking lot, then trenched at depth of 1m the length Worcester Park (between the North and South bound lanes), then under the roadway of Worcester Ct., across Davis Straits, to Jones Rd., to Gifford St., then to either Lawrence Lynch substation, or to an alternate substation at Cape Cod Aggregates on Blacksmith Shop Rd.

The Alternate Route is under Falmouth Heights Beach to a connecting vault at the foot of Central Park Ave, then buried at a depth of 1m diagonally across Central Park Ballfield, then under the roadway of Crescent Ave., then (although not stated, one might speculate under the swing set at Crescent Park) to Falmouth Heights Rd., to Davis Straits, to Jones Rd., then as per the preferred route.

Both routes would traverse a pristine Falmouth public beach, open, green, parklands where our children and grandchildren play, a historic densely populated residential community, various residential and business zoned districts, a public elementary school property (Morse Pond School), and possibly Falmouth High School property, if the alternate substation is employed.

We contend that most public utilities would avoid, and not even consider invasively utilizing such a densely populated residential community. It is our firm opinion that these commercial / industrial cables do not belong in either of these locations.

Our greatest concern is the health and safety of our community for generations to come. EMFs are all around us, both naturally occurring and from such things as power lines, wiring, electric appliances, cell phones etc. What will be the long-term, cumulative effect of continuous exposure to non-ionizing EMFs in an already EMF loaded world?

In an article in 2016 the WHO commented, “It is not disputed that EMFs above certain levels can trigger biological effects. Experiments with healthy volunteers indicate that short-term exposure at levels present in the environment or in the home do not cause any apparent detrimental effects. Exposures to higher levels that might be harmful are restricted by national and international guidelines. The current debate is centered on whether long-term low-level exposure can evoke biological responses and influence people’s well-being.”

Long-term unknown effects are exactly our concern.

Respectfully submitted,

David Buzanoski, President
Falmouth Heights – Maravista Neighborhood Association
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“Far from Benign”, written by M. Patrice Hurley, was published January 14, 2022 on page 4.

This proposal defies zoning regulations by changing this residential setting to an industrial zone. It should be also noted that EMFs do cause cancer and childhood leukemia. While cabling is shielded and buried, would you want to run the risk of your health and those of your loved ones? Yes, EMFs exist in our daily lives, whether it’s our toaster, microwave, smartphone or simply sitting in the sun, but it’s an individual choice to do such and not one being forced upon taxpaying citizens of Falmouth by a large corporate giant. Let’s not forget that asbestos, lead paint and even tobacco were safe at one time.

Lastly, this is not just a Heights issue; it’s an issue for all citizens who are concerned about their health, their family, their quiet enjoyment and the values of their homes. Clean energy is an important factor in preserving the well-being of our planet. Mayflower should choose alternative routes with little to no impact on the lives of any citizen.

Miami Avenue

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“Full Disclosure Needed”, written by Jack Belcher, was published January 14, 2022 on pages 4 & 5.

The path chosen by Mayflower is purely an economic decision. Laying cable through parkland saves Mayflower millions of dollars. Yet they have done little to provide detail about how the construction will impact Worcester Court. There have been little to no statements or artist renderings of what the aftermath will look like.

Mayflower asserts there will be little or no impact on property values, environmental conditions or health of the residents. Let us say we trust them. They are very confident, so why not require them to assume liability for any loss of property value, disturbance to the environment or residual health issues of those who live in the area? They won’t because they don’t want to be held responsible. Why? Simply, their legal counsel does not want to take the gamble despite all the rhetoric that corporate Windflower has expressed. Even more importantly, were they even asked by the town manager or the select board?

The fact this was not openly discussed lends a question as to what promises have been made by Mayflower? Were there community benefits offered? Certainly we hope [they are] more substantial than sponsorship of the road race.

Lastly, there is an immense amount of money on the table and too much opportunity for influence. At a minimum there should be a full disclosure by the select board, the town manager and his staff of what Mayflower has offered to contribute.

Worcester Court