“It’s a done deal,” said Selectman Peter Warren as he and approximately 40 other attendees filed into a meeting room to hear a decision on whether the Devens plant operated by Evergreen Solar would be allowed to continue manufacturing solar cells and panels while working to reduce noise that has plagued residents for months. And, sure enough, with only one dissenter, the Devens Enterprise Commission (DEC) voted Tuesday to renew the factory’s temporary operating license through October. DEC stipulated that Evergreen Solar must keep to an aggressive noise abatement plan that results in total compliance with DEC noise rules by mid-August.
The vote came one day before the company’s temporary certificate of occupancy was set to expire and followed several days of intense negotiations that involved not only DEC officials, who ultimately have the power to impose penalties, but also Harvard selectmen, Evergreen Solar executives, and residents of Old Mill and Ayer roads, who have been most affected by the noise.
“This has been a tremendous exhibit of cooperation amongst a number of parties, not the least of which are Evergreen and the neighbors who have been impacted by this noise problem,” said DEC Chairman William Marshall, in comments preceding the vote.
Marshall also praised the work of Harvard selectmen, four of whom attended the meeting. Several participants said Selectman Leo Blair had played a lead role in negotiations with the company, which included one-on-one discussions with Evergreen Solar Chief Executive Officer Richard Feldt, with whom he shares a background in manufacturing. Many, if not most of the conditions imposed by DEC were hammered out in sessions with Feldt and presented to Harvard residents in a special public hearing held July 13, where they were approved by the selectmen.
“I’m very pleased, and relieved,” said Blair after DEC’s Tuesday meeting. “Corporations need to be good neighbors and they need to do the right thing, but I’ve worked a lot with these guys [at Evergreen Solar], and I’ve spent many, many hours in negotiation with them. They are going far and above what they have to do. That tells me a lot.”
Blair and Harvard Board of Selectman Chairman Ron Ricci have been particularly critical of the company in weeks past. In June, at Blair’s urging, the selectmen asked DEC to restrict Evergreen Solar’s hours of operation, and at a later public hearing, Blair called for shutting down the plant entirely until its noise was abated.
The 12-page resolution approved by DEC Tuesday requires Evergreen Solar to get its noise under control by August 17 and to demonstrate by September 17 that under a “worst case scenario” (i.e., with all of its equipment running at its loudest level) the Devens plant will not produce more than 38 decibels of noise, as measured at “the quietest time of day,” at Dunroven Farm on 62 Old Mill Road, or at “any location in the neighborhood.”
Once Evergreen Solar has met DEC’s noise standards, it must monitor itself and report any new violations to DEC. The company has also established a hot line that residents can call to report violations. Should violations occur, Evergreen will have five days to correct them. Should it fail to do so, the company is required to shut down the plant.
The abatement plan actually suggests that Evergreen Solar’s noise level could fall well within DEC standards in the end, an outcome Feldt says he’d like to achieve. “I’m pleased with the way this has turned out,” Feldt said after the vote, “and I’m sorry we got to this position in the end. But I’m committed to fixing it and committed to going above and beyond what we have to do to be compliant.”
The plant must achieve three milestones on its way to a “worst case” scenario test:
- Levels at the quietest time of day (typically 4 a.m.) must be reduced to 42 decibels (about the level of a “quiet room,” according to the American Speech Language Hearing Association) by July 27.
- Nighttime noise levels must be at or below 38 decibels by August 17.
- After August 17, noise levels at abutting residences must remain at or below 43 decibels throughout the day and 38 decibels throughout the night, which are the levels that DEC requires in its regulations.
In its findings, DEC said that Evergreen Solar’s efforts have already lowered noise at Harvard sites by an average of 2 decibels (a barely noticeable effect according to sound experts), but mitigation at the plant itself has been much more substantial, halving the sound output of some fans and blowers. Evergreen Solar will conduct tests weekly at its own expense, with oversight from DEC and residents.
Jay Wallace, co-owner of Dunroven Farm and one of the most outspoken residents, has agreed to participate in daily meetings of the plant’s noise reduction committee. Feldt says all neighbors are welcome.
The vote to extend Evergreen Solar’s temporary certificate of occupancy was 8 to 1. John Oelfke, a DEC board member from Shirley, voted against the measure. Harvard board member Jim DeZutter voted in favor of the resolution. Two board members, including Harvard’s Ed Hamilton, were absent.
