Connecticut Administrative Code › Title 16 - Public Service Companies › 50j - Community Antenna Television and Telecommunications Towers › Rules of Practice › Article 5 - Community Antenna Television and Telecommunications Towers › Part 1 - Rules of Practice › Section 16-50j-72 - Exceptions

Current through July 10, 2024
(1)
Exemptions.
A facility or any modification to a facility that the
						Council, or its designee, has determined satisfies the criteria of this section
						shall be deemed not to have a substantial adverse environmental effect and
						shall not require a certificate pursuant to Section
						16-50k
						of the Connecticut General Statutes. Facilities or modifications to facilities,
						including, but not limited to, change-outs and installations of antennas on
						existing telecommunications towers, existing radio towers, functioning
						smokestacks, functioning water tanks and on or in existing buildings, upon
						Council acknowledgment or acknowledgment of its designee, may qualify for such
						exemption.
(2) A community
					 antenna television tower or telecommunications tower and associated equipment
					 installed adjacent to a damaged or inoperable existing tower and associated
					 equipment in order to maintain continuity of community antenna television
					 service or telecommunications shall not constitute a facility provided that:
(A) such tower and associated equipment shall
					 be removed at the earliest practicable time but in no event later than one year
					 after installation, unless otherwise approved by the Council or unless exempt
					 under subsection (b) of this section in which event the existing damaged or
					 inoperable tower and associated equipment shall be removed no later than one
					 year after installation of the new tower and associated equipment;
(B) the owner or operator of such tower and
					 associated equipment shall give the Council, the property owner of record, if
					 the property owner of record is different from the owner or operator of such
					 tower and associated equipment, and the chief elected official of the
					 municipality in which the tower and associated equipment is located, written
					 notice of the installation or proposed installation of such tower and
					 associated equipment. The owner or operator of such tower and associated
					 equipment shall provide the Council with proof of service of the written notice
					 to the property owner of record, if the property owner of record is different
					 from the owner or operator of such tower and associated equipment, and the
					 municipality in which the tower or associated equipment is located. Notice to
					 all parties shall include the following:
(i)
					 the location of such tower and associated equipment;
(ii) the reason for its installation; and
(iii) the estimated time such
					 tower and associated equipment shall remain in place.
(C) the notice shall be given at the earliest
					 practicable time but not later than 48 hours after the installation of such
					 tower and associated equipment; and
(D) the owner or operator of such tower or
					 associated equipment shall restore the site to its original condition as nearly
					 as practical, subject to such other conditions as ordered by the Council, or
					 its designee.
(b) None of the following shall
					 constitute a modification to an existing community antenna television or
					 telecommunications tower that may have a substantial adverse environmental
					 effect:
(1) Routine general maintenance and
					 one-for-one replacement of facility components that is necessary for reliable
					 operation;
(2) Changes on an
					 existing site that do not:
(A) increase the
					 tower height;
(B) extend the
					 boundaries of the site by any dimension;
(C) increase noise levels at the site
					 boundary by 6 decibels or more, or to levels that exceed state and local
					 criteria;
(D) add radio frequency
					 sending or receiving capability which increases the total radio frequency
					 electromagnetic radiation power density measured at the site boundary to or
					 above the standards adopted by the Federal Communications Commission pursuant
					 to Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, and the State
					 Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, pursuant to Section
					 22a-162
					 of the Connecticut General Statutes;
(E) cause a significant adverse change or
					 alteration in the physical or environmental characteristics of the site;
					 and
(F) impair the structural
					 integrity of the facility, as determined in a certification provided by a
					 professional engineer licensed in Connecticut, or
(3) Replacement of an existing CATV tower or
					 telecommunications tower and associated equipment with a tower that is no
					 taller than the tower to be replaced and that does not support public service
					 company or state antennas, or antennas to be used for public cellular radio
					 communications emitting total radio frequency electromagnetic radiation power
					 density measured at the site boundary to or above the standard adopted by the
					 Federal Communications Commission pursuant to Section 704 of the
					 Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, and the State Department of Energy
					 and Environmental Protection pursuant to Section
					 22a-162
					 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
(c) Placement of community antenna television
					 towers and head-end structures, telecommunications towers, and associated
					 telecommunications equipment, owned or operated by the state or a public
					 service company, as defined in Section
					 16-1 of
					 the Connecticut General Statutes, or used in a cellular system, as defined in
					 the code of Federal Regulations Title 47, Part 22, as amended, on any existing
					 non-facility tower, shall not constitute a substantial adverse environmental
					 effect when the changes on the existing non-facility tower:
(1) Have received an acknowledgment from the
					 Council that such a facility would not cause a significant change or alteration
					 in the physical and environmental characteristics of the site;
(2) Do not extend the boundaries of the site
					 by any dimension;
(3) Do not
					 increase noise levels at the site boundary by 6 decibels or more, or to levels
					 that exceed state and local criteria;
(4) Do not increase the total radio frequency
					 electromagnetic radiation power density measured at the site boundary to or
					 above the standard adopted by the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to
					 Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, and the State
					 Department of Energy and Environmental Protection pursuant to Section
					 22a-162
					 of the Connecticut General Statutes; and
(5) Have received all municipal zoning
					 approvals and building permits, where applicable.
(d) The temporary use of telecommunications
					 equipment shall not constitute a facility provided that:
(1) The temporary use is necessary to provide
					 emergency or essential telecommunications service to areas of local disaster or
					 events of statewide significance.
(2) Any provider of temporary
					 telecommunications service for an event of statewide significance shall provide
					 to the Council for its approval 30 day advance written notice of the
					 development of such temporary service. The provider shall also provide the
					 property owner of record, if the property owner of record is different from the
					 provider, and the chief elected official of the municipality in which the
					 temporary facility is to be located, advance written notice not less than 30
					 days prior to the installation. Such notice shall include:
(A) The location of the temporary
					 telecommunications equipment;
(B) A
					 letter from the property owner of record, if the property owner of record is
					 different from the provider, authorizing use of the property for the temporary
					 telecommunications service;
(C) The
					 height and power density of the temporary telecommunications
					 equipment;
(D) The noise levels of
					 the temporary telecommunications equipment measured at the property
					 lines;
(E) The estimated time the
					 temporary telecommunications equipment shall be in use, including the
					 approximate start and end dates; and
(F) The specific reasons for the
					 installation, including, but not limited to, the nature of the event.
(3) Any provider of temporary
					 telecommunications service at an area of a local disaster shall provide to the
					 Council written notice not later than 48 hours after the deployment including:
(A) The location of the temporary
					 telecommunications equipment;
(B) A
					 letter from the property owner of record, if the property owner of record is
					 different from the provider, authorizing use of the property for the temporary
					 telecommunications service;
(C) The
					 height and power density of the temporary telecommunications
					 equipment;
(D) The noise levels of
					 the temporary telecommunications equipment measured at the property
					 lines;
(E) The estimated time the
					 temporary telecommunications equipment shall be in use, including, but not
					 limited to, the hours of operation of the temporary telecommunications
					 equipment and conditions that would render the use of the temporary
					 telecommunications equipment no longer necessary; and
(F) The nature of the emergency.
(4) In no event shall temporary
					 use of telecommunications equipment exceed 30 days unless the Council and the
					 property owner of record, if the property owner of record is different from the
					 provider, grant approval for an extension.