'Cannon' shakes up Bennington
Toolbox
By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff - Published: July 1, 2008
BENNINGTON — The town is trying to lower the boom on the hail cannon being used at the Southern Vermont Orchards on Carpenter Hill, but it might be some time until residents hear the sound of silence again.
Bennington Town Manager Stuart Hurd said on Monday that police had gone to the orchard to speak to a member of its management on Sunday night after the hail cannon went off during Sunday's thunderstorm.
"I understand his comments when contacted last night were simply (to) see his lawyer. So we're going to pursue with a citation whether under state or local law — that's what (Bennington Police Chief Richard Gauthier) is working on (Monday)," Hurd said.
The police had given a warning to the orchard's staff last week about using the cannon after 10 p.m. when the town's noise ordinance forbids sounds above 45 decibels.
The orchard is being represented by Bennington-based attorney Stephen Saltonstall, who said he doesn't believe the town has the right to regulate what is an agricultural activity.
"Farm activity is central to Vermont's culture as well as its economy. Sometimes there are conditions at a farm which neighbors may find disturbing but sometimes it's simply something that's necessary to protect the farming activity," he said.
A hail cannon is described by one manufacturer as a shock wave generator that uses sound, created by an explosive mixture of acetylene gas and air, to disrupt the formation of hailstones in storm clouds.
The manufacturer, Eggers, of New Zealand, said the cannon must be fired every few seconds into the storm clouds as they approach and pass, because it will not work on hail that has already been formed.
Saltonstall said his client, the Southern Vermont Orchard Corp., had lost a lot of money in 2007 due to hail damaging the apples. According to Saltonstall, his clients believe the cannon has made a difference this year.
The problem with the cannon is also described by Eggers: "This shockwave (is) clearly audible as a large whistling sound …" Initial Bennington police measurements measured the hail cannon's noise level at about 87 decibels, according to Hurd.
On June 23, Town Clerk Timothy Corcoran attended a Select Board meeting to talk to the board about the number of complaints he had received about the "boom" which can be heard from all over Bennington.
"I agree with them on it. I think the complaints are valid. There's gotta be something worked out. It just can't and won't go on the way it is. It would be one thing if the hail cannons had been there for 50 years and these people moved there knowing that, but (the neighbors) went there for quiet, peaceful quality of life and they get this," Corcoran said on Monday.
Saltonstall said his clients were not trying to create a disruption, they simply wanted to protect their orchard and their livelihood.
"This is not something they're doing every night or every day. We've had, unfortunately, this summer, some very bad thunderstorms," he said.
Vermont state law protects many agricultural practices that Saltonstall believes will not allow the town to take action against Southern Vermont Orchard.
Hurd disagrees. He said the town's noise ordinance is not tied to a zoning ordinance so it does not gain the exemption for agricultural practices. Hurd also questioned whether use of a hail cannon would be "acceptable farming practice" as defined by law.
Rep. David Zuckerman, chairman of the House Agricultural Committee and a strawberry farmer at Full Moon Farms in Burlington, said on Monday night he had not heard of hail cannons.
However, he said he understood how damaging a major storm, especially hail, can be to crops, especially fruit.
"I hope people who live in an agricultural area would understand that a lot of things happen on a farm that they may find disagreeable, but these things need to happen to keep that farm viable," he said.
Hurd said the town continued to hear from many residents who were disturbed by the noise of the cannons.
"As I told people who called here, people who e-mailed, 'We will do what we need to do to ensure the laws of the town and the state are enforced. I think it's unfortunate that the owners of the cannon would care so little about their neighbors and the community in which they live and are attempting to make a living," he said.
Saltonstall said he hoped that residents would see past their first impressions of the cannon.
"I'm hoping that we can resolve this in an orderly way, voices muted, and letting the courts decide," he said.
Contact Patrick McArdle at patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com.
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