DOCKET NO. 173 - An application of Springwich Cellular Limited Partnership for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a telecommunications facility and associated equipment located in the Town of Beacon Falls, Connecticut.

Connecticut Siting Council

April 11, 1996

DECISION AND ORDER

Pursuant to the foregoing Findings of Fact and Opinion, the Connecticut Siting Council (Council) finds that the effects associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance of a cellular telecommunications tower and equipment building at the proposed alternate site in Beacon Falls, Connecticut, including effects on the natural environment; ecological integrity and balance; public health and safety; scenic, historic, and recreational values; forests and parks; air and water purity; and fish and wildlife are not disproportionate either alone or cumulatively with other effects when compared to need, are not in conflict with the policies of the State concerning such effects, and are not sufficient reason to deny the application and therefore directs that a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need, as provided by General Statutes § 16-50k, be issued to Springwich Cellular Limited Partnership, Inc., for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a cellular telecommunications tower, associated equipment, and building at the proposed alternate site, located within a 61 acre parcel at 664 Rimmon Hill Road, Beacon Falls, Connecticut. We find the effects on scenic resources and the environment from the primary site to be more significant than the effects from the alternate site, and therefore deny certification of the primary site.

The facility shall be constructed, operated, and maintained substantially as specified in the Council’s record in this matter, and subject to the following conditions:

1. The tower shall be constructed as a monopole, no taller than necessary to provide the proposed communications service and sufficient to accommodate tower sharing, at a tower height not to exceed 160 feet above ground level.

2. The Certificate Holder shall prepare a Development and Management (D&M) Plan for the site in compliance with Sections 16-50j-75 through 16-50j-77 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. The D&M Plan shall be submitted to and approved by the Council prior to the commencement of facility construction and shall include plans for the tower and tower foundation; specifications for the placement of all antennas to be attached to the tower; plans for the equipment buildings, security fence, emergency generator and fuel tank; plans for the access road and utility line installation from Rimmon Hill Road; plans for site clearing, grading, and vegetative screening; and plans for water drainage and erosion and sedimentation controls consistent with the Connecticut Guidelines for Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control, as amended. The D&M Plan shall also include the results of soil boring tests and a blasting plan if blasting of rock is deemed necessary. This blasting plan shall also be filed with the Towns of Beacon Falls and Seymour one week in advance of any blasting activity.

3. Upon the establishment of any new State or federal electromagnetic radio frequency power density standards applicable to frequencies of this facility granted herein, this facility shall be brought into compliance with such standards.

4. The Certificate Holder shall provide the Council a recalculated report of electromagnetic radio frequency power density if and when circumstances in operation cause a change in power density above the levels originally calculated and provided in the application.

5. The Certificate Holder shall permit public or private entities to share space on the proposed tower for fair consideration, or shall provide any requesting entity with specific legal, technical, environmental, or economic reasons precluding such tower sharing.

6. If the facility does not initially provide, or permanently ceases to provide, cellular services following completion of construction, this Decision and Order shall be void, and the Certificate Holder shall dismantle the tower and remove all associated equipment or reapplication for any continued or new use shall be made to the Council before any such use is made.

7. Unless otherwise approved by the Council, this Decision and Order shall be void if all construction authorized herein is not completed within three years of the effective date of this Decision and Order or within three years after all appeals to this Decision and Order have been resolved.

8. The Certificate Holder shall notify the Council upon completion of construction and commencement of commercial operation, and provide the final cost to construct the facility.

Pursuant to General Statutes § 16-50p, the Council directs that a copy of the Findings of Fact, Opinion, and Decision and Order be served on each person listed below, and notice of issuance shall be published in The New Haven Register, the Beth-Wood News, the Waterbury Republican-American, and the Naugatuck Daily News.

By this Decision and Order, the Council disposes of the legal rights, duties, and privileges of each party named or admitted to the proceeding in accordance with Section 16-50j-17 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.

The parties and intervenors to this proceeding are: