Statement In Public Meeting On Tower Sitings In Vermont With FCC Chairman Kennard

Hardwick, Vermont

March 9, 1998

Chairman Kennard, we welcome you to our state. Vermont is Ground Zero for the movement to restore local choice in tower siting decisions.

I am one of five Senators who voted against the Telecommunications Act of 1996. That bill had many flaws, and one major defect was the federal preemption language that turns the federal government into the National Zoning Nanny, to use one magazine’s term for this trend. The 1996 law will stifle the voices of local communities in deciding where these towers will be built.

The State of Vermont, Governor Dean, the Vermont Environmental Board, local zoning officials, Mayors and citizens throughout the state, communities like Hardwick, Thistle Hill, Addison, Cabot, and many others are concerned that they have lost control over the location of telecommunications towers.

As I have told the Senate, I do not want Vermont turned into a giant pincushion with 200-foot towers sticking out on every mountain and in every valley. That might sit well in some states, but not in Vermont. The 1996 law undermines local control, just as it undermines the quality of life we treasure in Vermont.

It is important that Vermont not be left out of the telecommunications age -- but Vermonters want to determine where these towers are located. Vermont communities also can benefit from new technologies that make towerless cellular phone service possible.

A New Hampshire company called Sanders -- no relation to Bernie, but a firm owned by Lockheed Martin -- has developed a cellular phone system that does not need towers.

Their technology would work especially well in our state. It has been pilot tested in Southern California -- in rural areas and in urban areas. It worked perfectly.

Vermont’s Act 250 carefully balances the interests of development with our state’s other interests, including our environment, health issues, resource conservation and the protection of Vermont’s natural beauty. During this crusade, citizens in other states have heard a great deal about our Act 250, and many have asked us for copies of it to consider in their own states.

The backbone of Vermont’s beauty is our Green Mountains surrounded by magnificent views and valleys, rivers, and streams, and lakes. Vermonters do not want scenic vistas marred by ad hoc towers bristling with antennas and bright lights. This is a community issue, and this is a personal issue. I know exactly how the citizens of Hardwick feel. I do not want the magnificent view that Marcelle and I enjoy from our front yard in Middlesex to be defaced by a huge metal tower.

Without federal preemption, Vermonters would be able to work with these companies to suggest acceptable alternate locations. There is no practical incentive for these firms to consult with communities if they are empowered to just sweep into town and plop down towers, willy-nilly, next to our backyards.

I appreciate the network of Vermonters -- such as Janet Newton of Thistle Hill -- who have been in touch with thousands of concerned citizens throughout the nation over the Internet. I have not seen such an effective Internet army of citizens since the Internet network that we established to build support for a ban on anti-personnel landmines.

This new Internet army of citizens, centered right here in Vermont, has mobilized to master these issues, to monitor the regulatory process, and to build support for a legislative solution. I have introduced a bill, S. 1350, which would repeal the federal preemption provisions of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Jim Jeffords has joined as the leading Republican cosponsor of this bill, and Bernie Sanders has introduced counterpart legislation in the House.

Janet Newton and her troops have used this grassroots campaign to build support and cosponsorships for our legislation, and we are grateful for -- and greatly impressed by -- all they are doing to win this battle.