AMHERST — Before work on geothermal wells begins on the University of Massachusetts campus, residents in the Farview neighborhood are making a final appeal that the project, expected to start by the end of November, be relocated to a site at least 500 yards more distant from their homes.

“UMass has moved this project forward without any meaningful engagement with the neighborhood directly affected by it, demonstrating lack of transparency and disregard for our very reasonable concerns,” reads a portion of the letter, signed by 30 residents who live on Fairfield Street, Farview Way, Moorland Street, Old Town Road and Valley Lane, sent to UMass officials on Monday.

But after a meeting with UMass officials at the Old Chapel in October, where they were able to ask questions and learn more about various campus projects, outreach on behalf by Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, it appears unlikely that the wellfield would be relocated from Lot 31 to Lot 26, the more distant site.

UMass sent Comerford a response written by Nancy Buffone, associate vice chancellor for University Relations.

“The university is bound by the commonwealth’s executive order 594 that requires all new buildings over 20,000 gross square feet to use only efficient electric or renewable thermal technologies for all new space heating and cooling needs,” Buffone wrote. “To achieve this, we are using geothermal energy production at this site as part of a district system supporting the Sustainable Engineering and Computer Sciences laboratories. This system is a vital part of the effort for a cleaner, healthier world for future generations to come. The two buildings will prioritize low energy use, minimize the use of fossil fuels and serve as a model for the state’s carbon neutrality goals.”

Through feasibility assessments and geologic testing, Buffone wrote that the campus determined that Lot 31, separated from the Farview neighborhood by Lot 68, was the best match for the geothermal wellfield, also meeting strict engineering and environmental requirements, and also being in proximity to the North Chiller Plant.

Buffone noted the decibels measured are also a generally safe noise level that people can be exposed to without causing hearing damage, 68 decibels when 150 feet away with a clear line of sight and with no tree or brush to mitigate the sound.

“With a robust tree line separating campus from the neighborhood and over 220 feet to the nearest home, the decibel levels will be further reduced,” Buffone wrote.

But Becky Miller, one of the lead petitioners, said concern remains.

“We find this response to us and to Senator Comerford’s office wholly unhelpful,” Miller said.

And many questions are left unanswered, according to the neighborhood letter: “We applaud the university’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions and the promise of geothermal energy. But the university has not answered why they chose to site the project within yards of homes in our neighborhood, what measures they were taking to mitigate noise and vibration both during the drilling period and ongoing, or whether the drilling could pose a threat to the foundations of our houses.”

Josna Rege, another resident of the Farview neighborhood, spoke at the town’s Conservation Commission in October, urging the commission to address any potential impacts on wetlands and contamination of water from the geothermal project, as well as to ask for an environmental impact statement and feasibility studies from UMass, and whether the university is in compliance with state’s Department of Environmental Protection geothermal drilling best practices.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.