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Home My WebLink About2025-02-07 Environmental Sound Assessment - Dish Wireless Modeling Specialties fakfinwMINOW&AID Y -Y Goug 8heade9,CCM 30 M.plea,Road wo.tro, inn aroaaa pn: � yea 046.0918 f l.." . wnv,n:rdFnbeantl�j.,Yari�>o,-uor, February 7, 2025 The Town of North Andover,Massachusetts RE: Environmental Sound Assessment—Dish Wireless Facility 122 Foster Street Dish Wireless, LLC operates a cellular facility on an existing Everest Infrastructure (Everest) wireless communication facility at 122 Foster Road in North Andover. Modeling Specialties, an environmental consulting firm located in Westford, Massachusetts, conducted an assessment of environmental sound before the installation and after the equipment went on the air. Dish's PRE-installation analysis of expected sound was the subject of a Modeling Specialties letter-report dated February 15, 2024. The results of the Dish Wireless plans concluded that "no proposed sources of Dish Wireless sound have the potential to affect the sound at any property line receptor". Modeling Specialties was not surprised that the follow-up Post-Installation study was not requested, due to the clarity of the modeling conclusions. Nevertheless, because the study was conducted over my signature, I took an opportunity under hot late summer conditions to visit the facility to confirm the installation was operating as planned. My apologies to both the Dish and Everest teams for not contacting you at the time of the visit. It was not clear(at that visit) that the powered Dish Wireless equipment was not yet supporting a live network. Some equipment cabinets have a ventilation system that provides a steady flow of ambient air past the electronics. (My review of the Dish Wireless cabinet details did not identify any indication of variable power ventilation.) Some equipment cabinets do have ventilation fan power that varies along with its sound based on the equipment thermal load. For that reason, I took the opportunity to visit the site under its powered condition on a day that I happened to be in the area with exceptionally warm weather for mid-September. The purpose of this letter is to belatedly report on the observations made at the follow-on visit on September 23, 2024. These observations took place approximately 3:00 pm under weather conditions that included clear, sunny, calm and 83'F. The Town of North Andover bylaw related to facility noise addresses environmental standards for wireless service facilities, including sound generated by the facility equipment. Section 8.9.4(e)(iv) provides that, "Ground-mounted equipment for wireless service facilities shall not generate acoustic noise in excess of 50 dB at the security barrier." The sound level measurement convention is used in this study, whereby "ground level" is taken to be 5 feet above the ground, representing the ears of a standing person. Receptors were selected based on the Environmental Protection Agency's characterization of"ambient air" as being any location which is available to the public without going through a secured fence/gate system. The Pre-Surveys took place when the existing wireless facilities (AT&T and Verizon) were operating in a baseline condition; meaning that equipment ventilation sounds were present in the absence of either generators or supplemental cooling systems. At most of the receptor locations the major source of ambient sound (traffic on Foster Street) was also screened out of the samples by pausing affected measurements during the traffic pass-by. Page 1 Survey Conditions This Post-Installation survey is intended to evaluate the sound from the Dish Wireless equipment under its potentially worst case. The visit took place under conditions to assure that if higher fan capacity is available, it would likely to be operating. Of course, the Dish Wireless worst-case conditions (high ambient temperature) are similar to the conditions that maximize sound from other carrier equipment. Carrier cabinet ventilation was observed at all carriers,but their operation did not include any generator or supplemental cooling sound (Dish Wireless has neither generator nor supplemental cooling units). This process was used to identify any potential effect that the Dish equipment might have on its environment. The site configuration that was observed is shown in Figure 1. praPllm �� A pyKt�F6R �' F ��Y�ea tip V f s F:trrv4J'�4�� tPSb`' bf}44 / r i Figure 1: Observed Site Layout showing Various Observation Locations The objective of the site visit was to evaluate the results of the Dish Wireless modeling study which related to the equipment's potential to affect the property line sound levels. Only one sound level measurement was made at the only location that is dominated by the Dish equipment sound. The series of observations are provided in the list below: Location 1: The sound level was measured to be about 50 dBA, dominated by Dish Wireless. Location 2: Observed sound was about half Dish equipment and half sound from other carrier(s). Location 3: Observed sound was dominated by another carrier's equipment(Dish not audible). Location 4: Observed sound included contributing sound from a pad-mount transformer(no Dish). Location 5: Observed sound included all carriers but was dominated by roadway traffic (no Dish). Page 2 Earlier surveys of the existing carrier sounds included receptors at all four sides of the sheep field that surrounds the monopine and facility equipment compound. The receptor on the east property line along the stone wall was demonstrated to be nearest and the most exposed to sound from the compound. The east P/L was used for this and other studies at this site as a surrogate for the facility compliance — meaning that if it meets the North Andover criteria then all more distant receptors would also comply. An annotated aerial photo in Figure 2 shows the locations and distances to all property line receptors. Conclusions of the Dish Wireless Post-Installation Survey The Dish Wireless Post-Installation site visit allowed the measurement of the Dish sound source which seemed to be from only one of its three small cabinets. The sound level was measured at a distance of about 3 feet from the cabinet to be about 50 dBA. Various other observations were made along the north fence of the Everest compound. The sound from Dish Wireless equipment was not a noticeable component of the sound observed at any other location. These observations confirmed the results of the Pre-Installation study "no proposed sources of Dish Wireless sound have the potential to affect the sound at any property line receptor". I certify that the analysis of sound levels is accurate and consistent with methods that are common to the acoustic analysis of such sources. I am qualified to make this statement based on training and experience in conducting analyses of environmental sounds. I am a Certified Consulting Meteorologist with more than 20 years' experience conducting environmental analyses in the technical areas of air quality, noise, and visual aesthetics. I have published refereed papers on various aspects of environmental noise. I have analyzed the noise emissions of major industrial projects such as power plants, wastewater treatment plants and manufacturing facilities. Related to these analyses, I have testified as a technical expert before the Energy Facility Siting Boards of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. I have also testified before many regional and municipal approval boards in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, Michigan, Illinois, and California including North Andover, MA. Respectfully, Modeling Specialties �_..) Douglas L. Sheadel, CCM Principal Page 3 E � e Base from Google Earth f# _ Ambient Measurement 0 Analyzed Location SCALE IN FEET 0 75 150 Figure 2: Aerial Image of Site Showing all Property Line Receptors