PORT TOWNSEND – A Jefferson County hearing examiner has approved the construction of a 150-foot T-Mobile monopole cell phone tower in Port Hadlock.
The decision was made on Tuesday after a public hearing on April 27, where a handful of Jefferson County residents spoke out against the project, citing health concerns.
Port Townsend residents, including Hannah McFarland and Paul Richmond, said they feared an increase in tumors among people who lived near the tower or used cell phones.
Hearing examiner Stephen Causeaux said during the hearing that he could not consider comments about potential health hazards while deciding whether or not to approve the project.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 states that Congress determines health hazards.
“Until Congress changes that act, there’s not a lot I can do,” Causeaux said at the April hearing.
The project had already met the standards of the Federal Communications Commission with the submission of a report called a non-ionizing electromagnetic exposure analysis, also part of the Telecommunications Act, Causeaux said then.
In his decision, Causeaux wrote:
“Residents appearing in opposition to the tower attempted to present evidence regarding the health hazards associated with [cell towers] and specifically the emissions from towers.
“However, residents had no evidence that the proposed tower would not meet the emissions standards set forth in the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.”
He continued by saying the act preempts existing county law on the subject, which has no cell tower health stipulations other than references to Telecommunications Act references.
“Of course I’m very disappointed, but I’m not surprised,” McFarland said.
“It’s unfortunate the cell phone industry is able to go like a steamroller and the public is not allowed to comment because of the way the Telecommunications Act is written.”
