I'd love to be able to support the local farmers. But I will not, because I can't live with these cannons going off in our neighborhood.”

Steve Maher

Is there a way around this so it's not disturbing the whole neighborhood? Just come in and talk to us, that's all.”

Gary Mataronas

Weeks after an Old Main Road woman first complained about the noise made by crop cannons near her home, members of the Little Compton Town Council on Thursday directed the town clerk to send a cease-and-desist order to the offending farmer or farmers, the first step in what could be a series of fines and other enforcement action. Only one problem: They don't know who they're dealing with yet.

“I don’t know who it is, and I feel for the guy because he’s trying to make a living,” councilor Gary Mataronas said. “But also, he’s got to be conscious of the neighbors around him.”

The council’s action, which besides authorizing the cease-and-desist order also formed a working group to study the issue, comes as complaints about crop cannons escalate across the community.

Kate Almy first complained about the devices last month. She said the cannons, which use propane to create loud reports designed to keep birds away from corn as it matures, make her life miserable every summer and have been as bad as ever this year.

"The sound is unbearable," she said late last month. "I’m always waiting for the cannon to be fired, and the shot is awful. It’s shocking ... I’ve got the air conditioners on, two TVs, the door is closed, and the windows aren’t open. Still, I can hear them. It’s like a bomb going off.”

After Almy's first appearance before the council, town clerk Carol Wordell was instructed to send a notice of her complaint to nearby farmers and property owners. Wordell reported Thursday that though two responded, "I only got verbal responses. No one claimed ... the crop cannons to be theirs. I asked for written comments and they said they would give (them) to me ... I got (them) from no one."

Since then, the council has heard from close to a dozen other residents across town, who wrote in separate letters that the sound created by the devices is having a serious impact on their quality of life.

Getting to the root of the matter, though, could be difficult as no one has yet claimed responsibility for the cannons, which are allowed under local regulations and the Rhode Island Right to Farm Act as long as their volume does not exceed 55 decibels during the day and 50 overnight. Several residents said that while they sympathize with farmers trying to protect their livelihood, they don't believe regulations should protect what they say are the excessive, sometimes constant blasts created near their homes.

Seaspray Way resident Steve Maher gave the council an anecdote Thursday, saying that he was once enjoying a cup of coffee outside when a gentleman doing survey work in the area stopped his motorcycle in front of his house. The man, a combat veteran, promptly hit the deck when he was surprised by the blast of a nearby cannon, and then another a few minutes later.

"Nobody's going to hit the the deck ... if it's as quiet as a refrigerator," said Maher.

"I'd love to be able to support the local farmers. But I will not, because I can't live with these cannons going off in our neighborhood."

Working group established

Town Solicitor Anthony DeSisto suggested the cease-and-desist order as a way to "keep the ball rolling" even as the height of corn season comes to a close over the next month or so. Under statute, the farmer would then have a right to come in for a work session with the town. If town officials aren't satisfied with the outcome, it could then pursue enforcement actions.

"I'm assuming that the defense, if it got to court, would be that a crop cannon is a necessary function of operating a farm of that nature," DeSisto said. When "there's been a notification under the statute, the next step is enforcement. If the issue persists, subsequent offenses could carry fines, including $100 for the second offense, $200 for the third, $300 for the fourth and $500 for the fifth and subsequent offenses.

The council's action on Thursday also included the formation of a working group to discuss applicable laws, the situation in Little Compton, and give the farmer or farmers involved the opportunity to meet. That group will consist of town administrator Tony Teixeira and councilors Mataronas and Bob Mushen. DEM representative Ken Ayers may consult and farmers Skip Paul and Tyler Young, and resident Steve Maher, have been invited to participate.

We're "just asking this guy to come in," Mataronas said. "Is there a way around this so it's not disturbing the whole neighborhood? Just come in and talk to us, that's all."