'Health hazard' ruling settles nothing

On Oct. 14, the Brown County Board of Health declared the Shirley Wind Farm in the town of Glenmore to be a human health hazard.

The board then handed off the ruling to the county Health Department and the county corporation counsel.

In the meantime, neither Duke Energy Renewables nor county residents know what the declaration means for them.

We basically have a statement without an accompanying policy or action plan or … something that resembles a way forward.

Neighbors of the wind farm have contended for years that they have suffered ill effects from the wind turbines.

Press-Gazette Media reporter Paul Srubas reported that three families have moved from their homes instead of putting up with illnesses they say are caused by the low-frequency noise of the wind turbines.

The board in October said the turbines make an inaudible sound that sickens even those who live outside the 1,250-foot boundary required by the Wisconsin Wind Siting Council, an advisory body with members appointed by the state Public Service Commission.

The ruling is remarkable for several reasons.

First, the county is in uncharted territory. Audrey Murphy, Health Board president, said Brown might be the first county in the state, and maybe even the nation, to declare a wind farm a public health hazard.

Second, the declaration runs counter to last month's Wind Siting Council report that concluded: "Although there are several publications arguing that noise from wind turbines directly causes adverse health effects in humans, based upon the peer-reviewed literature, it appears at this time that there is insufficient data to validate this scientific conclusion."

Third, even with the apparent precedent-setting ruling by the Health Board, nothing has been done since and the county appears to be unsure of what should happen.

It would have been reasonable to expect Brown County to be prepared for a "what's next" type of announcement right after the Board of Health declared the wind farms a health hazard.

Maybe it's because of the precedent-setting nature of the ruling that nothing has happened. The county has no template to operate on, no other governmental experts inside or outside of Wisconsin to turn to, and it's cautiously weighing its next move.

We, like many Brown County residents and, presumably Duke Energy, are waiting on Brown County to clarify what this designation means.