Residents, health-district expert say ReWorld plant’s low-frequency tones exceed state limits; company and its consultant dispute method

An acoustical expert retained by the Bristol-Burlington Health District testified that monitoring near the ReWorld (formerly Covanta) trash-to-energy plant in Bristol regularly recorded a low-frequency signal that, by his calculation, exceeded Connecticut’s discrete-tone standard and therefore constituted excessive noise.

Carl Anthony Cascio, an acoustical engineer and principal of Acoustical Technologies Inc., told the hearing that continuous measurements taken at a monitor sited near 639 Lake Avenue — about 975 feet from the plant stacks — show repeated peaks in the 125-hertz third-octave band. "I think the last calculation was 82% of those 15-minute periods have a value that's greater than 14," Cascio said, describing the metric the state regulations use to identify a "prominent discrete tone." He said that when the 125 Hz band is routinely above about 46 dBA, the discrete-tone criterion is met and the facility creates a nuisance under Connecticut law.

That technical finding was paired with first-hand testimony from nearby residents. Mary Ellen Fila Wazorko, who said she lives roughly 1.5 to 2 miles from the plant, described nearly continuous, rhythmic noise beginning in August 2023 that she and other neighbors traced to the plant. "It was like somebody flipped a switch," Wazorko said. She said the noise has disrupted sleep and family life; she testified that her physician prescribed sleeping pills and…