Truro, Mass., Violating Pollution Standards

Ring Pollution?

Bay State Threatens Town Over Bell Noise


Can an antique town bell pollute the environment?

Regulatory stupidity jumps off the charts in Massachusetts, as the state threatens legal action against the town of Truro, over a ringing controversy.

Hey, bloated ranks of state workers need something to do, don't they?

There's no doubt life in Cape Cod's scenic and quaint Truro was being damaged beyond repair by this menacing bell.

Sure, town officials might have become carried away in having it ring every quarter hour and there's no doubt the decibel level can be adjusted further.

But why get the Bay State involved, with letters threatening action, over something townspeople could surely figure out on their own?

This is classic Kerry-esque government in action, sticking its nose in every mundane public affair without good cause.



(Cape Cod Times- 20 April 2005- Eric Williams)


TRURO - Stopping short of regulatory action, the state Department of Environmental Protection has advised the town of Truro to tone down the town hall bells.

The town responded to complaints by measuring the decibel level of the chimes and bells and found they didn't comply with the town rules. (File Photo: VINCENT DeWITT/Cape Cod Times)

In a letter from the DEP's southeast regional office, Gregg Hunt, chief of the agency's compliance and enforcement section, recognized that the town had already taken measures to limit bell noise, but urged additional action.

"The Department believes additional mitigation measures are required," stated the letter, suggesting that the town reduce both the duration of sound emissions and the intensity of the sound coming from the bells.

Specific state suggestions included limiting the hours of operation of the bells to business hours, having only hourly bells and installing louvers or clear plastic panels in the screened openings of the bell tower.