HomeMy WebLinkAbout18-000 - No number - Resolution urging FCC to Update Regulations Approved 5/15/2018RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA URGING
THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TO
UPDATE REGULATIONS ADDRESSING RADIO FREQUENCY
EMISSIONS OF WIRELESS FACILITIES AND IN PARTICULAR
SMALL WIRELESS FACILITIES LOCATED IN PUBLIC RIGHTS-
OF-WAY; DIRECTING THE COUNTY ATTORNEY TO
ARRANGE FOR FILING THIS RESOLUTION IN APPROPRIATE
PROCEEDINGS WITH THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION AND TO ARRANGE FOR DISTRIBUTION TO
THE FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, THE
FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES AND NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES; PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, St. Lucie County, FL is comprised of approximately 600 square miles with a
population of approximately 300,000; and
WHEREAS, increased usage of wireless communications services have resulted in greater
deployment of wireless communications facilities within the County; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, Florida adopted the Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Deployment
Act, codified in Subsection 337.401(7), Florida Statutes ("the Act"), which addresses municipal
and county regulations for new wireless communications technology known as small wireless
facilities to be placed in public rights-of-way; and
WHEREAS, Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are considering
legislation and regulations, respectively, addressing the deployment of small wireless
communications infrastructure in public rights-of-way, including the FCC Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking entitled: Accelerating Wireless Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to
Infrastructure Investment, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry, 32 FCC rcd 3330,
WT Docket No. 17-79 (2017)("Wireless NPRM/NOI"); and
WHEREAS, Section 332(c)(7) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, provides
in pertinent part, that "[n]o State or local government or instrumentality thereof may regulate
the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis
of the environmental effects of radiofrequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply
with the Commission's regulations concerning such emissions." (47 U.S.C. §332(c)(7)(B)(iv)).
Pursuant to this federal statute, the County, States and local governments throughout the United
1
States, are preempted from taking into consideration the health effects of radiofrequency
emissions ("rf") when regulating the placement of wireless facilities or small wireless facilities
with their jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, the County's residents have expressed significant concerns with the health
effects of radio frequency emissions associated with wireless facilities, particularly small wireless
facilities placed in public rights-of-way often in very close proximity to residents' homes, places
of work, and where they recreate, including potentially within a few yards of beaches, schools
and parks frequented by children; and
WHEREAS, the County employs methods to avoid providing certain environmental
related services nears residents with particular sensitivities, for example, the County does not
perform spraying for mosquitos nears homes where residents have indicated a particular
sensitivity to such pesticides; and
WHEREAS, County residents urged the Board of County Commissioners to adopt a
moratorium on small cell facilities until there was a comprehensive review of the health effects
of such facilities being placed in the public rights-of-way or to adopt a mechanism to prohibit
such facilities near their homes; and
WHEREAS, the FCC is required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, among
other things, to evaluate the effect of emissions from FCC -regulated transmitters on the quality
of the human environment, and on August 1, 1996, the Commission adopted the National Council
on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) recommended Maximum Permissible
Exposure limits for field strength and power density for the transmitters operating at frequencies
of 300 kHz to 100 GHz. In addition, the Commission adopted the specific absorption rate (SAR)
limits for devices operating within close proximity to the body as specified within the ANSI/IEEE
C95.1-1992 guidelines. (See Report and Order, FCC 96-326); and
WHEREAS, the FCC adopted a proceeding in 2013 to reassess rf exposure limits entitled:
Reassessment of Federal Communications Commission Radiofrequency Exposure Limits and
Policies and Proposed Changes in the Commission's Rules Regarding Human Exposure to
Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields; R&O; Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking;
Reassessment of FCC's Radiofrequency Exposure Limits and Policies, Notice of Inquiry (ET Docket
No. 13-84 and ET Docket No. 03-137 (March 29, 2013) ("RF Notice of Inquiry"); and
WHEREAS, on January 7, 2013, the FCC's Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (IAC),
comprised of state, local government and Indian tribal representatives from around the country,
submitted IAC Recommendation 2013-1, urging the FCC to adopt the RF Notice of Inquiry, and
on November 13, 2003, the FCC's IAC submitted IAC Recommendation 2013-11, providing further
comments noting the importance of moving forward with the RF Notice of Inquiry because of
6
increased concerns with rf emissions; and
WHEREAS, numerous states, local governments and Indian tribes have urged the FCC to
revisit and to update FCC standards for rf emissions, with input and support from other federal
agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration;
and
WHEREAS, on October 2, 2017, the National League of Cities (NLC), National Association
of Counties (NACo), National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA),
and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), on behalf of their respective constituencies, jointly
submitted a letter to the FCC Commissioners urging that the FCC to take action to perform a
comprehensive review of rf emission standards, particularly with respect to small cell
technologies, so as to provide "badly needed assistance to local government officials when faced
with questions regarding RF emissions and the public's health and safety." Letter dated
October 2, 2017, filed in ET Docket No. 13-84; and
WHEREAS, on February 7, 2018, the National League of Cities met with FCC
Commissioners regarding small cell deployment and again called on the FCC to update its rf
exposure data, to allow local officials to "respond to residents' concerns about the safety of this
infrastructure, which is often much closer to pedestrians and residents than traditional wireless
infrastructure." Letter from National League of Cities dated February 9, 2018, filed in dockets
Nos. 17-79 and 13-84.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie
County, Florida:
1. The Board hereby incorporates the above Whereas clauses.
2. The Board urges the FCC to take action as diligently as possible to update its 1996
standards and to perform a comprehensive review of the standards for rf emissions particularly
in light of the deployment of small cell technologies in public rights-of-way in close proximity to
residents' homes, schools, workplaces, and places of recreation.
3. The Board directs the County Administrator to arrange for filing this Resolution in
appropriate FCC proceedings, to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the Florida Congressional
Delegation, to the Florida Association of Counties, and to the National Association of Counties
for consideration for adoption at its 2018 annual conference.
3
After motion and second, the vote on this resolution was as follows:
Chair Frannie Hutchinson AYE
Vice Chair Linda Bartz AYE
Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky AYE
Commissioner Anthony Bonna AYE
Commissioner Cathy Townsend AYE
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 15TH day of May, 2018.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSI-OrS
ATTEST: ST. LUCIE UNTY, FLO A
gy
Deput lerk Chair
# 5105864 v1
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND
CORRECTNESS:
BY:
Y County Attorney