Regulators urge removing sunset on Vermont's telecom siting law as filings spike

Representative Kathleen James opened the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee's Jan. 14 hearing on H.527 by saying the panel would continue testimony on a bill to extend the sunset on 30 VSA 248a, the statute that establishes an expedited, statewide review process for telecommunications siting in Vermont.

Greg Faber of the Public Utility Commission, who manages processing for §248a filings, told the committee the statute was designed to streamline siting decisions that have statewide and multistate effects rather than leaving every case to town-by-town review. "The 248a is an expedited review process. It was designed to be expedited," Faber said, explaining the statute's three project categories: de minimis modifications (typically antenna swaps adding up to 75 square feet or less), limited-size-and-scope projects (towers up to about 140 feet or modest earth disturbance) and large projects (taller towers or more than 10,000 square feet of earth disturbance).

Faber said the majority of petitions are de minimis and that medium and large projects must provide 60 days' advance notice to towns, adjoining landowners, regional planning commissions and state agencies, followed by a 30-day public comment period after filing. He outlined statutory decision windows (for example, the 30/60/90/180-day bands in the law) but warned that evidentiary hearings and due-process needs commonly extend cases well beyond those deadlines.

"We get about 140 applications a year. This year we're getting more," Faber said, adding that the three-year sunset creates recurring surges in filings as providers file in advance of possible legislative changes. He argued that the cyclical workload and the short legislative review window hinder agencies from investing time in rulemaking and make providers reluctant to propose changes: "We would recommend just getting rid of the sunset completely. The three-year cycle ... creates a lot of uncertainty."

Hunter Thompson, director of telecommunications and connectivity at the Vermont Department of Public Service, told lawmakers the department's goal is coverage, not simply more towers. Thompson described the department's outreach for the last renewal, including an online survey and six listening sessions, and reported that department data show a marked increase in filings: "I actually have some notes here where we have seen an increase of 174 total petitions in 2025," he said, versus 72 in 2024, and that new towers rose to 19 in 2025 from 9 the year before.

Thompson summarized common consumer contacts to the department (billing and porting issues, and reports of lack of service) and said the office receives outage notifications through 9-1-1 commission channels. He also noted that radio-frequency emissions are federally preempted and outside the state siting review: equipment that meets federal RF guidelines cannot be rejected under state siting law for RF reasons.

On public-safety infrastructure, Thompson said modifications to towers hosting public-safety equipment (for example on Mount Mansfield) require explicit sign-off from public-safety operators before work proceeds. He described the department's drive-test mapping and public online tools that allow citizens to search antenna locations and related petitions.

Committee members asked whether statute changes could require providers to site infrastructure in dead zones; Thompson said the department encourages filling dead zones with smaller (about 50-foot) towers and that an engineering study suggested about 50% of dead zones could be addressed with smaller installations, but he cautioned that requiring developers to build in specified dead zones might be impractical and could lead providers to decline projects.

Several members raised oversight and transparency questions if public funds are used to subsidize tower construction in low-profit areas; Thompson said the state has requested money for subsidized towers in past budgets but that details and proposals vary.

Both the PUC and the Department of Public Service said they support renewing the statute and, preferably, removing the three-year sunset to avoid cyclical surges and administrative strain. The committee chair noted the senate is considering a separate bill that would eliminate the sunset and said the committee would hear additional witnesses this week, including wireless providers and environmental advocates, before deciding whether to move H.527 forward.

The committee took a short break and planned to resume at 10:30 a.m. with testimony from wireless providers.

Ending: The next formal steps are scheduled testimony from wireless carriers and other interested parties; committee members were invited to request additional witnesses before a potential vote.