Last week, eight of us from EMF Safety for Vermont and Vermonters for a Clean Environment met with Sen. Becca Balint, who serves on the Senate Finance Committee, along with three Reps. from the Brattleboro area, Sibilia, Mrowicki and Gannon.  We were joined by Technology Safety Educator Cece Doucette.  We felt that the information we presented was well received.
Sen. Balint asked us to send information which we did.  She sent what we provided to Legislative Council for review.  Among the things we sent was information from Susan Clarke about court decisions issued last year that Susan says strip the FCC’s ability to regulate what she calls WTFs (Wireless Telecommunication Facilities).

Jan. 16: video of Vt. Health Dept. Report on RF Radiation, Senate Finance Committee: 

This Thursday at 1:30, the Senate Finance Committee has 5G on the agenda, with the Leg. Council attorney reporting back, likely providing her review of what role the state can play in regulating telecom infrastructure.  

Both the Senate Finance Committee and the House Energy & Technology Committee have bills before them to make Section 248a permanent.  I asked the House committee chair to testify and he said he will let me know when they are going to take it up.  Sen. Balint suggested that it might make sense for the House to go first.  We discussed bringing in experts and Sen. Balint suggested that it might make sense for the two committees to hold a joint hearing to hear from experts.  

Please make every effort to attend this Thursday’s meeting and report back on what you hear.  VCE has a conflict and as of this writing we will not be able to video record the hearing, and are looking for someone to do that and make sure the video gets posted in a timely manner.

This feels like progress, but we will likely need to push back on whatever is presented on Thursday if it does not track with the information we have received about the recent court rulings that supposedly strip the FCC of its ability to pre-empt state and/or local review.
Annette

SNIP:

So far I am aware that from the citizen perspective, Deb Moore, Steve Gorelick, Jim Hogue, Chris Pratt and Rob Williams were there along with John Brabant.  The snow kept the Brattleboro contingent away, and likely many others.

I’ve learned quite a bit in the last week or two about the way Vermont regulates the telecom industry.  We cannot do what most people are trying to do in other states with municipal ordinances — which I knew already because we are a Dillon’s law state — but until last Friday I did not realize just how bad it is.  

The only hook is Section 248a, which it turns out was written by industry, during the Douglas administration.  It ties the hands of the PUC, and is far more prescriptive than most legislation.  You can badger the towns and the PUC all you want but they can’t do anything.

 It’s all up to the legislature.

This is the legislation that has to change.

The two committees that have jurisdiction are House Energy & Technology and Senate Finance.  Both committees have bills sponsored by their committee members to end the sunset of Section 248a and make it permanent.  They are likely ready to simply pass it unchanged.  

So we have to get them to take testimony, and we have to be prepared with our own language to replace what is in it.

Sen. Lyons who chairs the Health & Welfare Committee said last week at the LCAR hearing that she is not going to take testimony.  At this time, Devra Davis, Paul Heroux, Cece Doucette, Theodora Scarotto and Camilla Reese are all willing to testify in Vermont, so we should just ignore the Health committees and put our focus on the members of the committees of jurisdiction of the PUC and bring that testimony into those venues.

Forget 5G for the moment.  This is about 2G, 3G, and 4G.  Antennas are being placed next to schools, in churches with daycare facilities, and the PUC has NO ability to say no in most of the cases that come before them.  It is my impression that the PUC is not happy with this situation, and if we can put some time into revising the legislation, we might get the support of the PUC to give them authority they don’t have, and we also can get authority for our municipalities.

Annette Smith

Executive Director

Vermonters for a Clean Environment

789 Baker Brook Road

Danby, VT 05739

(802) 446-2094

www.vce.org