WASHINGTON-Bell Atlantic Mobile refuses to throw in the towel on antenna siting and continues to fight for sites the company claims are necessary for coverage. In two cases, opponents see their actions as intransigent and perhaps even threatening. In another case, BAM has been successful in getting Congress to back its efforts.
Rock Creek Park
On Sept. 17, the National Park Service responded to an Aug. 6 letter from Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the telecom subcommittee, regarding NPS’ failure to make final decisions on BAM’s desire to site two towers within Rock Creek Park. The letter states that a proposed deadline of this Wednesday “is impossible to meet.”
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association has been citing Rock Creek Park, an urban Washington, D.C., park, as an example of Park Service foot dragging since December 1996 when CTIA sent a letter to President Clinton asking him to spur the NPS and other federal agencies to site wireless facilities on federal lands. Of all of the federal agencies, the wireless industry has had the most problems with the Park Service.
In July, the Superintendent of Rock Creek Park, sent a letter to BAM saying that an environmental assessment needed to be completed before it could be determined whether BAM could site its towers within Rock Creek Park. In its most recent letter, NPS said the EA will evaluate compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. Additionally, the EA will be put out for public comment. There has been significant public opposition from residents near Rock Creek Park who claim negative environmental, health and aesthetic impacts if the towers are sited within the park.
George Washington Parkway
The NPS letter also said that an EA was being conducted for a site located along the George Washington Parkway. This surprised some antenna siting activists who claim that a multisite tower that will be more aesthetically in tune with the area is being built on private land across the street from the George Washington Parkway site. BAM acknowledged the existence of the Unisite tower but said it was keeping its George Washington Parkway site application active. “We are pursuing covering that area … We do not have an agreement with Unisite,” said BAM spokesperson Audrey Schaefer.
Brookhaven, Pennsylvania
In what some see as the most egregious example of how far BAM will go to get an antenna sited, the company has sued the Brookhaven Borough Council because the council rejected two sites. In addition to suing the council, an attorney representing BAM sent letters to everyone who protested against the sites forwarding them a copy of the suit. The protesters were labeled “party protestants” which Nancy Stork said indicated that they had protested against the antenna siting. Additionally the letter “suggested you consult an attorney at once to review the enclosure.”
Stork said the letter was not inflammatory but Debra Champion and Kurt Grotz said in a general e-mail message that “damages will include an overturning of our local government’s denial, attorney’s fees and lost revenue the tower could have made over the past two years.”
Champion admitted in an interview that she uses a cellular phone for emergencies but said she protested the antenna siting because she does not believe ubiquitous coverage is necessary. “If you can’t [place a call], keep driving and place the call again,” Champion said. Brookhaven is 1.6 square miles, Champion said. “Wherever they put it, it would be in someone’s face.”
