2 Neighbors Blame Ailments on Plant’s Noise : Oxnard: Claims for damages say the city is partially liable for allowing the facility to operate.

The high-pitched whining produced by the electric plant on Diaz Avenue in Oxnard has gradually decreased in the past two months, but Bruce Shepard said the ringing in his ears has not.

“It rings in my head all the time, wherever I go,” said Shepard, who owns a salvage yard next to the Sith Industries facility, which began operating on a trial basis in April.

Initially, Shepard complained to company officials and the City Council about headaches and nausea that he believes were caused by high-frequency sound waves emitted from the plant.

But now, it is the ringing in his head that worries him. “When I try to watch television I hear ringing,” he said.

Earlier this month, Shepard and Emma Ibarra, who lives next to the plant, filed claims against the city, contending that it is partially liable for allowing the plant to operate.

The claims do not specify how much money Shepard and Ibarra demand in compensation, and Shepard declined to make an estimate. But both say the plant noise has impaired their hearing.

Despite the claims and complaints from other residents, city officials said the facility has satisfied all the requirements to obtain a permit to begin full, on-line operations.

The permit may be issued within the next two weeks, city officials said.

City Planner Matthew Winegar said the city is aware of the complaints from neighbors and hopes that plant officials can address the concerns before the permit is issued.

He said, however, that it is possible that the facility will not be able to resolve all the complaints.

“Essentially, they have complied with all the noise-level requirements,” Winegar said, adding that such permits are approved administratively by the community development director.

Dave Hermanson, the facility manager, rejected Shepard’s allegations, saying none of his employees have complained of headaches, nausea or hearing problems due to plant noise.

He said, however, it is common for a cogeneration plant to emit some noise during the initial start-up phase. Hermanson said the company has already made several modifications to lower the sound level from 85 decibels to below 62 decibels.

(Sixty decibels is roughly equivalent to the sound of a noisy office. Seventy is equivalent to the sound of normal traffic.)

Councilwoman Dorothy Maron visited the facility soon after the plant began operating, but she said she is not convinced that she experienced the ailments Shepard and Ibarra claim to suffer.

“The feeling that I had was not a normal or usual feeling,” she said. “But I’m not sure if it was purely psychological or real.”

Maron said she plans to visit the site again today.

Winegar said the city surveyed nine adjacent property owners and found that two are unsatisfied with the noise level near the plant.

The facility is in a mostly industrial neighborhood and generates electricity and steam by burning natural gas.

City Atty. Gary Gillig declined to comment on the claims, but said his office has issued an opinion, saying the city has no legal reason to withhold the permit.

“At this point, they have complied with a whole series of requirements by the city,” Gillig said.

For Kevin McCulloch and his sister Kelly Mendoza, the plant has been a source of headaches almost since it began operations. “It is reduced but it’s just an obnoxious noise,” said Mendoza, who works at her brother’s towing business on East 5th Street near the plant.

McCulloch said he has complained about the plant several times to city officials. Thursday, he said city planning officials told him that the facility will probably receive a permit. McCulloch said he made his feelings known.

“It’s just an annoyance,” he said, referring to the plant noise.

In her claim, Ibarra said “the problem has not been the volume of the sound waves, but the frequency and the pressure.” In an interview, Ibarra said she has experienced headaches, nausea and a ringing in her ears.

In his claim, Shepard said the two security dogs he keeps at his business also have developed hearing problems.