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It can be too easy for even Northwest Corner residents, who are as a group highly aware of their natural surroundings, to take for granted access to a varied supply of produce of all kinds. Farm markets and stands now abound in the region, and supermarkets generally have a good, rotating supply of fruits and vegetables, in and out of season.
But for farmers, maintaining a sustainable relationship with the land has only become more challenging over recent years due to climate change, rising costs and, this year, a drought the intensity of which hasn’t been seen in years. For any who were unaware of this, the meeting of more than 40 farmers Aug. 24 (see story by Editor John Coston in Sept. 1 Lakeville Journal, www.tricornernews.com), hosted by Freund’s Farm in East Canaan, brought all these issues to light. Also bringing much-deserved attention was the presence of U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-5), U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh, and state Rep. Maria Horn (D-64), all of whom have some power to take action to support farmers in their critical work.
The farmers at the roundtable discussion came from urban as well as rural parts of the state, which is only encouraging from the point of view of those many of us who wish to support local food production. With distribution becoming more challenging after the worst onslaught of the pandemic, the more local products we can find the better. And what is more important to the health and vibrancy of a community than food?
It was also good to see ag students at the roundtable. Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village has one of the strongest agriculture education and FFA programs in the state, giving those students who have a family history or simply their own interest in farming the chance to make it their life’s work. Having local farms for all kinds of crops makes a region stronger in many ways. Still, it’s a hard path no matter the passion and love of the land of the farmer. The crops and the livelihoods of the farmers, as pointed out at the meeting by Falls Village farmer Dan Carr, are always vulnerable to the effects of climate change and extreme weather. Preparing for the future with the help of the government would mean less anxiety for those farmers, and better outcomes for consumers who depend on the farmers’ success for their food.
The more programs there are that connect schools to locally produced food, the more students will understand where the food they eat originates and how it arrives on their tables. These same students may then be more willing to consider growing their own food where possible, or supporting those local farmers who grow it.
Now is the time to support those local farmers, so take full advantage of the harvest that is coming in despite the drought and appreciate what went into growing that food. It will taste better and have higher nutrition than what will soon be available once winter sets in.
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Telecom Reg’s Best Kept On the Books
When Connecticut land-use commissions update their regulations, it seems like a no-brainer to jettison old telecommunications regulations adopted decades ago during a short-lived period when municipalities had authority to regulate second generation (2G) transmissions prior to the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) being ordered by a state court in 2000 to regulate all cell tower infrastructure as “functionally equivalent” services.
It is far better to update those regs instead, especially for macro-towers given new technologies like small cells. Even though only ‘advisory’ to the CSC, the preferences of towns by law must be taken into consideration in CSC decision making. Detailed telecom regs – not just a general wish list -- are evidence that a town has put considerable thought into where they prefer such infrastructure be sited without prohibiting service that many – though not all – citizens want and that first responders rely on for public safety.
Such regs come in handy when egregious tower sites are proposed in sensitive areas, typically on private land. The regs are a town’s first line of defense, especially when cross referenced to plans of conservation and development, P&Z regulations, and wetlands setbacks. They identify how/where the town plans to intersect with the CSC process. They are also a roadmap for service providers regarding preferred sites and sometimes less neighborhood contention. In fact, to have no telecom regs can weaken a town’s rights to protect environmental, scenic, and historic assets, and serve up whole neighborhoods to unnecessary overlapping coverage and corporate overreach. Such regs are unique to every town and should not follow anyone else’s boiler plate, especially industry’s.
Connecticut is the only state that has a centralized siting entity for cell towers. The good news is that applicants must prove need for new tower sites in an evidentiary proceeding and any decisions have the weight of the state behind them. The bad news is that the CSC used to be far less industry-friendly and rote in their reviews, which now resemble a check list. There is an operative assumption at CSC that if an applicant wants a tower, they must need it, otherwise why spend significant money to run the approval gauntlet? This reflects a subtle shift over the years at CSC from sincere willingness to protect the environment toward minimal tweaking of bad applications with minor changes. The bottom line is that towns really cannot rely on the CSC to do all the work for them.
What CSC issues telecom providers is a “certificate of environmental compatibility” after an evidentiary proceeding (not unlike a court case) with intervenors, parties, expert witnesses, and the service provider’s technical pro’s sworn in and subject to cross examination. Service providers get to do the same with any opposition from intervenor/party participants – like towns and citizens -- and their experts. It’s an impressive process whose ultimate goal is the fine balancing between allowing adequate/reliable public services and protecting state ecology with minimal damage to scenic, historic, and recreational values. They unfortunately often fall short of their mandate – like approving cell towers with diesel generators over town aquifers -- evidenced by CSC only rejecting about five cell towers in the past 15-20 years.
The CSC was founded in 1972 and clarified its mission in the 1980’s to prevent the state from being carved up willy-nilly by gas pipelines, high tension corridors, and broadcast towers. With the sudden proliferation of cell towers beginning in late 1990’s, it became the most sued agency in Connecticut by both an arrogant upstart industry if applications were denied and by towns/citizens when bad sites were forced on them. CSC gradually formed a defensive posture that drives their decisions toward industry with deeper pockets and attorneys on retainer.
For citizens, nothing can wreck one’s day like the CSC. It behooves towns to protect what little toolkit they have, and understand the legal parameters of the CSC’s playing field. The CSC is not a “normal” government agency where municipal/citizen redress is based on logic and local support. Their process is largely immune to everything but specific kinds of evidence – like town regs with setbacks/fall zones, radio frequency transmission signal strengths, sensitive areas identified, and detailed wildlife inventory, among others.
There is a current cell tower fight involving two intervening towns -- Washington and Warren; both with good cell tower regs – over a tower site within 1200’ of a Montessori School, near Steep Rock’s nature preserves with comprehensive geology/wildlife databases that include endangered, threatened and special concern flora and fauna, on established federal/state migratory bird flyways, within throwing distance to a historic site capable of being listed on the Underground Railroad, and with an access road on a blind curve entering a state highway that will permanently damage wetlands, vernal pools, and core forests. There are well credentialed environmental experts, including Dr. Michael Klemens, former chair of Salisbury’s P&Z, as well as the former director of migratory bird management at the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and an RF engineer testifying to alternative approaches, plus three attorneys representing intervenors. It is the most professional challenge I have seen at CSC since Falls Village successfully mounted one that protected Robbins Swamps several years ago.
The hearing is ongoing, with uncertain results. To see what it takes today to stop an inappropriate tower siting, see Docket #543 under “Pending Matters” at https://portal.ct.gov/csc before removing local cell tower regs – the lowest hanging fruit that any town can possess in case it’s needed.
B, Blake Levitt is the Communications Director at The Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council. She writes about how technology affects biology.