STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Kelly NCPC File No. 6941
WILLIAM F. BOLGER CENTER INSTALLATION OF WIRELESS ANTENNAS 9600 Newbridge Drive Potomac, Montgomery County, Maryland Submitted by the United States Postal Service May 28, 2009
Abstract The United States Postal Service has submitted preliminary and final building plans for the placement of four separate telecommunication installations with a combined total of 21 transmitting and receiving antennas and necessary supporting equipment. The antennas will be mounted on the existing penthouses of the William F. Bolger Center in Potomac, Maryland. Commission Action Requested by Applicant Approval of preliminary and final building plans pursuant to 40 U.S.C. § 8722(b)(1).
Executive Director’s Recommendation The Commission: Approves the preliminary and final building plans for the installation of 21 transmitting and receiving antennas and associated support equipment at the William F. Bolger Center, as shown on NCPC Map File No. 3108.00(38.30)42771, for a period not to exceed five years. Recommends that the applicant secure and control access to the building roof areas and post radio frequency exposure notices at all rooftop access points, delineate exposure zones in a highly visible fashion, and post drawings and warning signs on the penthouse walls and/or doorways indicating areas where the maximum radiofrequency radiation exposure could exceed 100 percent of permissible limits. * * *
NCPC File No. 6941 Page 2
PROJECT DESCRIPTION Site The William F. Bolger Center is located at 9600 Newbridge Drive in Potomac, Maryland. The campus occupies approximately 83 acres in southern Montgomery County. It is bordered on the north by Democracy Boulevard and on the east by Newbridge Drive. South and west of the Center are residential neighborhoods. The Center was originally established as the United States Postal Service (USPS) Management Academy and was renamed in 1984 to honor the 65th Postmaster General, William F Bolger. Currently, the Center is used as a hotel and conference center. The hotel facility features 477 guestrooms and a 70,000 square foot conference room. The hotel is also home to an annex of the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
I-270
USPS William F. Bolger Center Campus
Capital Beltway
LOUDOUN COUNTY
WASHINGTON, DC FAIRFAX COUNTY I-95
REGIONAL LOCATION
The proposed antennas are to be located on the penthouses of the main building.
Democracy Boulevard Newbridge Drive
William F. Bolger Center main building
WILLIAM F. BOLGER CENTER LOCATION
NCPC File No. 6941 Page 3
Proposal The United States Postal Service has submitted preliminary and final building plans for two existing wireless telecommunication installations and two new telecommunication installations upon the rooftop of the William F. Bolger Conference Center. The existing antennas consist of two separate antenna installations. One installation has six DAPA 58010 antennas transmitting at 19301945 MHz and the second installation has six RR90-11-00DBL antennas transmitting at 851-866/935-940 MHz. The proposed project consists of two separate antenna installations with a total of nine antennas being added to the existing building’s 53.3 inches upper and lower penthouses. Six antennas (model 800-10121) are proposed to be mounted to the existing upper penthouse at 75 feet above ground level with a transmit frequency of 869.04-935-940 MHz. Two antennas will be mounted to the northern portion of the upper penthouse; two antennas will be mounted to the southern portion of the upper penthouse; and two antennas will be mounted to the western portion of the upper penthouse. The antennas to be located on the northern and western upper portions of the penthouse DAPA Antenna will replace two abandoned antennas currently located at those Model 58010 locations. A 10 x 20 foot equipment platform is proposed to be mounted to the western portion of the building rooftop. Coaxial cables are proposed to be routed along the building rooftop on PVC sleepers from the equipment platform to the antennas. A portion of the coaxial cable run will be routed through the interior of the building in the attic. In addition, three KMW brand antennas, with dimensions of 72 inches by 6.2 inches and transmitting at 2110-2120 MHz, are proposed to be mounted to the building’s lower penthouse wall at 62 feet above ground level. One antenna will be located on the southeastern corner of the lower penthouse and the remaining two antennas will be located near the northeastern corner of the lower penthouse. An 8 x 8.4 foot equipment platform is proposed for the interior of the building penthouse. Utilities are proposed to be routed from the basement to the roof through an abandoned chimney located on the northern portion of the building. The existing and proposed antennas will be painted to match the building.
72 inches
KMW Antenna (HB-X-AW-19-65)
NCPC File No. 6941 Page 4
NCPC File No. 6941 Page 5 Elevation
NCPC File No. 6941 Page 6 Rooftop Plan
NCPC File No. 6941 Page 7
PROJECT ANALYSIS Staff finds that the proposed work meets the general criteria of Section 3 of the NCPC Antenna Guidelines, and recommends approval of the proposed antenna installation, for a period of five years, including approval of the supporting equipment necessary for the operation of the antennas. The applicant will locate the antennas to minimize their appearance and they will not be readily apparent to the public at ground level. The proposal is consistent with the Commission’s Antenna Guidelines and with the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that encourages placement of commercial antennas on federal property. Radiofrequency Radiation Analysis In accordance with NCPC’s submission guidelines, USPS has submitted information about radiation patterns for the proposed antennas and for the existing antennas. The USPS submission documents show that the proposed antennas will not adversely affect human health and safety on the ground. The lack of potential hazards is partially attributed to the distance of the antennas above ground. Since the antennas are located higher than 62 feet above the ground, no adverse emission levels will be encountered by the general public and the antennas do not exceed the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s) occupational or general population exposure limits at ground level. However the worse-case predicted power density will exceed the FCC’s occupational limit within two feet of the panel antennas and the FCC’s general population limit within eight feet of the panel antennas. Due to this potential exposure level, the radiofrequency report recommends posting of notices and delineation of areas exceeding exposure limits. No rooftop areas are accessible to the general public. Staff advises that the Commission recommend that applicant secure and control access to the building roof areas and post radio frequency exposure notices at all rooftop access points, delineate exposure zones in a highly visible fashion, and post drawings and warning signs on the penthouse walls and/or doorways indicating areas where the maximum radiofrequency radiation exposure could exceed 100% of permissible limits. CONFORMANCE Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital Staff finds the proposed antennas comply with the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital, in particular the Federal Environment Element, which indicates that federal actions in the region should conform to the following policy: Evaluate the possibilities for joint-use of antennas and collocating antennas to reduce aesthetic impacts and limit the area of radiofrequency (RF) exposure. Federal agencies should also evaluate the cumulative effect of multiple transmitters at one location to ensure that the combined radiofrequency emissions continue to meet Federal Communications Commission guidelines. Relevant Federal Facility Master Plan The proposed antennas are consistent with the William F. Bolger Center Master Plan, approved by the Commission on September 3, 1998, as shown on NCPC’s Map File Number 3108.00(05.12)40552.
NCPC File No. 6941 Page 8
National Environmental Policy Act The United States Postal Service has determined that the proposed antennas adhere to the conditions of their Categorical Exclusion 775.6(b)13 under its implementing procedures for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for acquisition, installation, operation, removal or disposal of communications systems, computers, and data processing equipment. As a result of the project location in the environs, NCPC does not have independent NEPA responsibility. National Historic Preservation Act The United States Postal Service has determined that the proposed antennas do not have an adverse affect on any building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The proposed project was evaluated against the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for the Collocation of Wireless Antennas (Collocation Agreement) that would have allowed the antennas to be constructed without consultation with the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). However, as a result of the facility’s age, the conditions of the Agreement could not be met and therefore the project was required to be submitted to the Maryland SHPO. In correspondence dated February 13, 2009, the Maryland SHPO concurred with USPS’s determination of no adverse affect, stating that the proposed installation “given the nature of the proposed work – installations of equipment and antennas on this 50 year old building which already houses antennas on it’s roof and penthouses, the project is unlikely to impact any character defining features of this property. Thus, based upon the information presented in the form 621, the Trust believes that the proposed undertaking will have no adverse effect on historic properties.” Also, as a result of the conditions of the Collocation Agreement not being met, the project was required to be submitted to Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) to allow them to evaluate direct and visual effects on religious and cultural significance to Tribal Historic Properties that may be affected by the collocation. The project information was submitted to the Federal Communication Commission’s Tower Construction Notification System (TCNS) which identified the Tuscarora Nation and the Shawnee Tribe as parties that needed to be consulted. The Tuscarora Nation has a TCNS exclusion indicating, “If the Applicant/tower building receives no response from the Tuscarora Nation within 30 days after notification through TCNS, the Tuscarora Nation has no interest in participating in pre-construction review for the site. The Applicant/tower builder, however, must immediately notify the Tuscarora Nation in the even archaeological properties or human remains are discovered during construction.” No additional response was received from the Tuscarora Nation and the 30-day exclusion period has expired. The Shawnee Tribe responded through TCNS that they would like to comment on the proposed project. Additional information was provided to the Shawnee Tribe stating that the project was a rooftop collocation with no ground disturbance. The Shawnee Tribe responded on January 27, 2009 stating that the Shawnee Tribe’s THPO concurred with the determination that no known historic properties will be negatively impacted by the proposed project. As a result of the project location outside the District of Columbia, NCPC does not have independent NHPA responsibility.