“Montgomery County, Maryland appealed the Small Cell Order based on the RF issue and its case has been consolidated in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with numerous appeals challenging other parts of the same order. Specifically, Montgomery County is asking the Ninth Circuit to determine whether the FCC violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Proce- dure Act by failing to conduct an environ- mental analysis of the RF standards and potential 5G health risks, or explain why it did not consider whether its own existing RF standards will be protective of human health in a new 5G world.”
Excerpt from the article Putting the Cart Before the Horse – The FCC’s “5G First, Safety Second” Policy by Montgomery County Lawyers
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In 2019, Montgomery County Maryland filed historic legal action against the FCC’s streamlining rules on small cells regarding health risks from radiofrequency radiation.
The Montgomery County Legal Brief asked how the FCC could force cell towers in front of homes, allowing thousands of cell antennas into residential areas when the FCC had not finalized it’s official inquiry on human exposures to cell phone radiation. At the time the County filed the brief, the FCC had an open inquiry asking if FCC limits needed to be updated. It had been open since 2013. Yet the FCC had never completed it.
Quote by Montgomery County lawyer during oral arguments 2/2022
“If the new 5G environment, in fact, poses health risks, any prior rollout of 5G will have potentially injured citizens of Montgomery County and other municipalities, including sensitive populations like children, that cannot be undone. Such a result would be unconscionable.” -(page 55) 19-70147 Montgomery County, Maryland in their Brief
Watch Montgomery County vs the FCC Oral Arguments in Pasadena 2/2020 in the video above.
Links and Resources
- The Montgomery County Brief from 2019: 19-70147 Montgomery County, Maryland in their Brief
- The Amicus brief for the County case filed by The Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council in Montgomery County, Maryland v. FCC. It is focused on flaws in the FCC exposure standards to humans and wildlife pertinent to small cells and 5G.
- The Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council Amicus Brief, and Appendix
- Link to watch a video of the Montgomery County Lawyers present their argument in court on 2/2020
- Link full hearing on 2/20 that included dozens of Cities filing against the FCC regarding its small cell rules. Montgomery County was involved in this filing and also had a separate case regarding the radiofrequency radiation issue
News Stories on the Lawsuits by Cities
The 9th Circuit Backs the FCC in Small Wireless Appeal
5G wireless pits cities against telecoms and their friends in the FCC
