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FCC Rejects Environmentalists' Gulf Coast Tower Petition
April 12, 2006 at 1:37 PM (PT)
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The FCC has turned down environmentalists' petition demanding a moratorium on the construction of communications towers on the GULF COAST due to the towers' effect on migratory birds.
The Commission ruled that the petitioners, including the FOREST CONSERVATION COUNCIL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, and AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY, had "failed to justify their request for a moratorium on tower construction in the GULF COAST region under the applicable legal standard, and that such a moratorium would harm the public interest by hindering the availability of commercial and public safety communications in the region."
The FCC also turned down the petitioners' request for submission of environmental impact assessments for nearly 5,900 towers because no specific allegations for the individual towers were filed, but noted that some of the issues in the petition are being considered in a separate rulemaking proceeding and that the FCC "intends to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in this proceeding in the near future examining the effects of communications towers on migratory birds."

