WASHINGTON-Language that requires the National Park Service to issue permits to Bell Atlantic Mobile to site two towers in Rock Creek Park made its way into the federal budget. The provision also ensures that future antenna-siting applications will be completed within a four-month time period.
In the meantime, the park service issued the Rock Creek Park permits to Bell Atlantic on Wednesday.
“We are encouraged that significant progress has been made with respect to Rock Creek. We are also gratified that Congress has included the 120-day application processing language to prevent the type of delays that we experienced with this application in the future,” said Howard Woolley, vice president of government relations for wireless matters for Bell Atlantic Corp.
Rock Creek Park is the nation’s oldest urban national park and is used for recreation. In addition, thousands of commuters travel through the park. BAM said it has dead zones in the park because it has not been able to site the antennas necessary to improve coverage.
BAM, which has tried for almost five years to site the two towers, stepped up its efforts this year as the application was finally approved by the NPS.
In April, the National Capital Planning Commission rejected the application because of insufficient data. In July, the NCPC put off a decision until an independent consultant could evaluate the application.
CTIA has been citing Rock Creek Park as an example of NPS foot-dragging since December 1996, when the group sent a letter to the president asking him to spur the NPS and other federal agencies to site wireless facilities on federal lands.
