Noise Complaint – Rule 012
On September 28, 2015, Mr. Allan Doell (“Mr. Doell”) submitted a complaint to the AUC concerning the noise emissions from the ENMAX Substation No. 8 (the “Substation”), owned by ENMAX Power Corporation (“ENMAX”). The Substation was initially constructed in 1981 and the permit and licence was last amended in 2009. As part of its last amendment application, the sound level from the Substation was predicted to be 56 dBA Leq nighttime in compliance with the permissible sound level specified in AUC Rule 012: Noise Control (“Rule 012”).
Mr. Doell resided in unit 703 of a condominium building (the “Doell Residence”). The condominium board president also submitted a letter on the record of the proceeding that stated: “Our association understands that this complaint goes beyond that of a single tenant.” … and … “This noise issue affects all tenants owning condominiums on the north side of the building.”
In support of the complaint, Mr. Doell filed a sound level survey conducted by a noise expert, which concluded that the noise from the Substation exceeded the permissible sound level at the Doell Residence.
ENMAX Response
The AUC directed that ENMAX respond to the noise complaint before the AUC determined whether additional process steps would be necessary.
Pursuant to that direction, ENMAX submitted a report on March 16, 2016, prepared by Innova, which concluded that the sound levels from the Substation did not comply with the nighttime permissible sound level of 56 dBA Leq. Innova recommended that ENMAX implement specific mitigation measures, including:
(a) Maintenance to address noisy fans; and
(b) Fabrication and installation of acoustic louvres, silencers, and new fans.
Post-Remediation Sound Survey
Following the conclusion of those mitigation measures, ENMAX completed a post-remediation noise study.
ENMAX submitted that the existing nighttime ambient sound level exceeded the assumed nighttime ambient level of 51 dBA Leq specified in Rule 012 and that it consequently used an adjusted permissible sound level based on a Class A2 ambient monitoring adjustment, resulting in a nighttime permissible sound level of 63 dBA.
On November 7, 2016 ENMAX provided a further update, stating that the complainant, Mr. Doell, had sold his condominium unit and left the building. ENMAX also stated that it would work with the condominium board to complete a post-remediation noise study.
The AUC explained that a Class A2 ambient monitoring adjustment is an adjustment to the basic sound level for nighttime and is applicable if the measured ambient sound level is not representative of the assumed ambient sound environment.
The AUC noted that an application must be submitted to the AUC for approval before a Class A2 adjustment is allowed.
AUC Disposition of Complaint
The AUC found that since Mr. Doell no longer resided at the residence subject of the complaint, the only outstanding complaint was that of the condominium board.
The AUC found that at the time of the initial noise study, the nighttime noise emissions from the Substation exceeded the nighttime permissible sound level of 56 dBA Leq at receptor location R1 (the Doell Residence, Unit 703).
The AUC accepted that the noise remediation efforts undertaken by ENMAX resulted in a sound emissions reduction of 4.5 dBA at receptor R1.
The AUC found that because the condominium board was satisfied with the noise reductions from the Substation, no outstanding complaint existed. The AUC concluded that the complaint had been resolved and closed the proceeding.
Because ENMAX had not made a formal application to adjust the permissible sound level (Class A2 adjustment), the AUC held that the previously-approved daytime and nighttime permissible sound levels would remain in place.
