Last week the Lovettsville, VA Town Council tabled an EME survey of the area surrounding the town’s water tower pending further consideration, according to Loudonnow.com.
The town water tower hosts two wireless carriers, AT&T and Sprint, and the Town Council greenlit a Verizon site to be installed in the coming months. The potential for additional radiation from a third carrier prompted residents to voice their concerns over the radiation generated by the existing sites. Residents also claim that the radiation has impacted their health.
Loudonnow.com reports that not everyone in attendance agreed that the concerns are worth the $3,500 price quoted by Millennium Engineering for the RF survey. One resident suggested that the $3,500 would be more than the Verizon installation was worth to the town.
There is no consensus on which part of the Lovettsville budget would cover the services. Town Manager Rob Ritter identified set asides for outside engineering and consulting in the Utility Fund for FY2020. The Utility Director suggested the revenues from AT&T and Sprint could cover the cost without impacting the Utility Fund and noted that, “After the Verizon antennas are installed, there will be no additional room on the tower,” according to the website.
No one is certain how to proceed or what to do if an engineering survey did reveal that the carriers’ collective emissions exceeded exposure limits defined by the National Environmental Policy Act beyond reporting the conditions to the FCC. While each carrier is responsible for its own emissions, there is not a well-defined process for resolving an aggregate overage.
The townsfolk will keep waiting for resolution as their representatives defer the discussion to an undetermined future date.
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