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Witness tells House committee §248a is failing towns, urges rulemaking or move to Act 250
Summary
Annette Smith of Vermonters for Clean Environment told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee that 30 VSA §248a’s advance-notice and contested-case procedures leave neighbors and towns without meaningful participation; she urged PUC rulemaking or shifting land-use siting to Act 250 to restore accessible public process.
Annette Smith, executive director of Vermonters for Clean Environment, told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee on Jan. 15 that the statutory process created by 30 V.S.A. §248a leaves towns and neighbors unable to participate effectively in cell-tower and other siting cases. The testimony was delivered as the committee continued consideration of H527, a bill to extend the statute’s sunset.
Smith described the advance-notice period under §248a as the community’s main opportunity to engage with a developer but warned that those notices and comments are directed to the developer rather than to the Public Utility Commission (PUC). "You in the advance notice, you're just telling the developer," she said, adding that municipalities can ask the developer or the Department of Public Service to attend local meetings…
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