Hilltown Health leverages safe technology for healthier communities in Western MA and beyond
Eversource Begins Rollout of Smart Meters in Western MA, National Grid to Follow
Opt out is possible for a monthly fee. The Opt Out Bill making it possible to not receive a meter that will emit radiation both to your appliances (into the house) and to antennas on the street no matter your capacity to pay remains stalled in the MA Legislature. Vermont utilities continue to thrive despite the VT legislature prohibiting charging an opt out fee.
New Cell Tower Proposed in Colrain by Tarpon Towers and Verizon on Call Road
Quote from Recorder Feature on the Tower:
"Wozniak said the hearing would likely be a lengthy one as the Planning Board will have much to discuss regarding safety and access concerns. She said the proposed driveway to the site is only 14 feet wide and rather steep, going up 80 feet in height over a span of just 170 feet. This could be a challenge, not only for construction vehicles, but also for first responders that may need to access the site in the event of an emergency
“If you think about a fire truck going up a road with a high grade, I don’t think it’s doable,” Wozniak said.
Concerned about the tower and its impact on local residents and the adjacent Audubon sanctuary? Contact us: admin@hilltownhealth.org
National Grid to Double the Number of Poles, Increase Height to 45' and add wireless antennas for "Smart Grid" on Country Roads in Charlemont and Heath
Charlemont Board of Health recommends the Selectboard ask National Grid to accomodate resident with Electromagnetic Radiation Syndrome by installing fiber instead of antennas
At the Heath Pole Hearing, National Grid Representative Robert Ide described this "upgrade" as the "beginning of the smart grid." What does this mean? National Grid will be rolling out smart meters to replace our current electric meters with antennas designed to emit into the home to connect with "smart appliances" as well as to a wireless transmitter on each utility pole. This "mesh network" sends data wirelessly back and forth between your home and National Grid in real time. Hundreds of people across the US and internationally have been permanently disabled after their home or apartment building was outfitted with smart meters. And that is not the end of it . . . Verizon and other carriers have been following up the installation of larger three phase poles with the installation of 5G small cell antennas. Although Charlemont passed an important upgrade to their telecom by-law last year, there is currently NO SETBACK in place for 5G antennas, ie, they can be next to your window just like National Grid's wireless network will be for many residents.
Map of National Grid Project
Despite the residents whose health and property values will be negatively impacted by the tower hired an attorney who gave the ZBA clear grounds for denying the tower, the ZBA ultimately sided with AT&T despite numerous hearings and the majority of residents opposing the tower.
This Tower will be constructed on Newton Street, near Tractor Supply in Greenfield - close to Newton Elementary School, residential neighborhoods and right next to several homes which include young children and adults with pre-existing health conditions.
The applicant is Viridi Wireless
Their application packet is available here
Dig Deeper into Greenfield By-Laws & Zoning
Dr. Kent Chamberlin Webinar
Dr. Chamberlin, former Chair of the Dept. of Electrical Engineering at U. of New Hampshire, served on the NH 5G Commission. The webinar, held on 5/18/22 addressed the Conway application as well as broader issues.
Watch the recording:
A short video that looks at the lighter side of the FCC's refusal to comply with a court order to review 11,000 pages of scientific evidence about biological harm from wireless exposure
Now is the Time!
New cell towers are going up in Buckland, Conway, Heath and Greenfield - - now is the time to update town by-laws! If you live in a small town in Western MA, it is very likely your Telecom By-Law has not changed (much) for 20 years, leaving residents vulnerable to inapprorpriately sited wireless infrastructure. "More service" seems great until the tower goes up next door or the 5G antenna is hung outside your bedroom window causing health and property value impacts.
Now is the time to approach local Planning Boards to get ready for the spring, 2026 town meetings!
Charlemont, MA Strengthens Their Telecom By-Law and Passes a Smart Meter Moratorium
After three years of work by the Planning Board, Hilltown Health and Franklin Regional Council of Governments, a major update was passed at the Charlemont, MA Town Meeting. Some of the highlights include:
- Defining 5G and requiring a hearing for "small cell" applications
- Strengthening insurance requirements and shifting the burden away from the town and to the carrier in the event of lawsuits following injury to residents
- Requiring that carrier applications include real "dropped call data" rather than computer generated (and easily fudged) "propagation maps" when a Big Tech carrier wants to show a gap in service
Perhaps even more concerning than the roll out of small cell antennas in close proximity to homes, schools and businesses, the MA Department of Public Utilities has ordered the rollout of "smart meters" by National Grid (2024) and Eversource (2025). Charlemont has passed a one year smart meter moratorium to provide time for the town and concerned residents to explore the possibility of running a "smart grid" through the existing municipally owned fiber network, greatly reducing energy consumption, reducing fire and hacking risks and eliminating microwave radiation being emitted into the home to harvest and re-sell personal data from "smart" appliances.
Live in the Hilltowns and want to connect with neighbors who are savvy to EMF health impacts?
Conway Site
The red circle in the image is 500 meters/1640 feet from the tower which is the distance determined by the New Hampshire 5G Commission needed to be reasonably safe for most people. Within the red circle, there are homes under the tree cover as well as vulnerable wildlife populations. Some of these residents do not want to be injured by the tower but know that from a legal point of view it is unwise to speak of the health effects in the public hearing. Lawyers hired by abutters in recent Vertex tower applications in the Hilltowns advise objecting to towers based on the telecom bylaws of the town. If the Conway Planning Board rejected the tower based on the harm it will cause to people and wildlife, this would open the town to a lawsuit by Vertex because the 1996 Telecom Act, largely written by telecom lobbyists, says local governments can not object based on "environmental effects." Of course, there are many societies now and in the past which have legalized harm to innocent people in the name of "the greater good" or simply for the profit of a few. Fortunately, there are still many other valid grounds for rejecting the tower.
Conway Wireless Communication Facilities By Law
Conway Wireless Communication Facilities By Law with comments
Ashfield
The previous cell tower application in Ashfield was proposed for 2nd field on left. AT&T has withdrawn the application following a lawsuit by abutters after the Planning Board approved the tower with conditions.
Newsflash: Town of Heath Rejects 180 Foot AT&T Cell Tower and is now being sued by AT&T. Meanwhile, AT&T withdraws application for Cell Tower in Ashfield following lawsuit by residents
Hilltown Health is collaborating with town officials in Western Massachusetts to update their by-laws to maintain homerule regarding 5G small cells being rolled out in cities around the U.S.
Why is this important?
Towns with “outdated” telecommunications by-laws (meaning they just address cell towers but not “small cells”, DAS, etc.) will be in trouble if they get a "small cell" application from Verizon, AT&T etc. because they won’t be able to update their statutes fast enough to beat the “shot clock” the FCC has put into place for how quickly towns need to respond to carrier applications. Then any subsequent applications will get the same green light because other carriers can plead "discrimination" if they are handled differently.
In fact, citizens and town leaders around the country are mobilizing to stop and slow down the roll out of 5G because:
- There has been no testing for health effects
- Initial studies show the potential for serious environmental and biological harm
- Global warming will be accelerated by the electricity demands of storing and re-selling everyone's personal data generated from the "internet of things" along with the power required to generate microwave radiation from all our connected objects (doritos bags, basketballs, clothing, vacuums, ice scrapers, etc.)
- Having a cell antenna in your front yard, besides endangering your family's health, will reduce your property value.
Download a color fact sheet with clickable links
Download a printable b/w fact sheet
Randolph, MA 5G Sample Ordinance
Email from Weston (a town that waited too long to update their by-laws)
Legal Alert Urging Towns to Begin Coalition-Building re: 5G
Be Careful What You Wish For: 5G and the Hilltowns, humorous essay
Success!
The town of Shelburne, MA updated their telecom by-laws on May 1st, 2018 and then again in June, 2021 so that citizens have something to stand on when the first applications come in to install a 5G "small cell" network.
Download Shelburne's 2021 update
Not familiar with the issues?
Get some historical context with award winning journalists' article in The Nation: "How Big Wireless Made us Think That Cell Phones Are Safe: A Special Investigation"
Good introductory video (Dr. Erica Mallery Blythe, 15 minutes)
Environmental Health Trust
Multiple articles about 5G, Cell Towers, Effects on the Environment, etc.
Wired for Health During COVID-19!
In response to the increased screentime for many during COVID-19, Hilltown Health is launching a new program that "connects" people with ethernet cable and adapters on a donation basis for their devices and providing advice for anyone who needs help switching from wi-fi to a safer, more secure, and faster ethernet connection.
Contact us if:
- You want help switching
- You would like to donate ethernet cable or adapters
- You would like to receive ethernet cable and adapters
The Good News . . .
"Hilltown Health alerted me & my neighbors when a microwave tower was being fast tracked for installation right outside my front door. Hilltown Health worked with us to engage the local community so our voices would be part of the discussion. This ultimately led to a more appropriate location for the tower that did not infringe on our property rights or endanger our health."
- Laury Wills, Legate Hill Rd., Charlemont
"I have been sleeping so much more deeply since turning off my wi-fi at night and having much more vivid dreams. Thank you!"
- Susan Pelis, 2nd grade teacher, Sheffield Elementary School, Montague
"I was surprised to discover that a NH wireless provider wanted to install a microwave tower next to my home which would have led to property value loss and health/environmental impacts. Hilltown Health provided timely information, helped grow our group of supporters, and referred my neighbors and I to Attorney Michael Pill who has a wealth of experience protecting people from wireless harm. In the end, the application for the tower was withdrawn. Western MA is lucky to have a group like this advocating for safe technology, public health and the environment! I look forward to them helping Heath update our by-laws so that our town has more say around 5G deployment." - Amy Krane, Heath MA
From Our Blog
Letter to Charlemont Selectboard re: Mass Broadband Institute “Emergency” Router
Click here to sign on to this letter which will be presented Monday, May 8 at 6:30 pm to the Charlemont Selectboard. Thank you for considering it! May 7, 2023 Dear Charlemont Selectboard, We understand that you have likely never heard of this issue but it turns out that at the beginning of the pandemic,…
HAPS: Human and Pollinator Sanctuary Resolution
Hilltown Health has created a non-binding resolution which garnered enough signatures in the town of Shelburne, MA to be placed on the Town Warrant. Although the resolution did not pass this year, it provoked a broad public discussion during Town Meeting. The resolution seeks to discover if citizens prefer not to be irradiated from space…
Hilltown Health receives first grant!
Hilltown Health is grateful to the New England Grassroots Environment Fund for awarding a $250 grant to help HH create an event that helps raise awareness about the 5G rollout and what communities can do to help themselves. Learn more about the Grassroots Fund at grassrootsfund.org
An Intercepted Love Note: Big Pharma to Big Wireless
Dear Big Wireless, Ah, to be young again. Young like you. Did you know that 1 human year = 6.66 Billion Dollar Industry years? I wanted to say thank you. You’ve probably heard what’s been happening to me. Our reps are not as welcome in doctor’s offices and hospitals. Thirty five state attorney generals are…
Hilltown Health Participates in Pittsfield Cell Tower Educational Panel
Watch the video and check out the resources here: https://www.lee.ma.us/tri-town-health-department/news/safe-cell-tower-siting-zoom-educational-forum-october-19th
Heath & Ashfield Microwave News
My Turn in the Recorder, published Dec. 29, 2020 Link to Ashfield’s Cell Tower Hearing on March 3rd, 2021
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Hilltown Health
7 Conway Drive, #2
Greenfield, MA 01301