FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2010
DNR to host informational meeting on Verizon proposal to install a wireless facility near Winthrop
DNR and Verizon Wireless staff will attend August 16 meeting in Winthrop
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold a public meeting on August 16 to answer questions about a proposal by Verizon Wireless to build a communications facility on state trust land near Winthrop.
Monday, August 16, 2010
5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Liberty Bell High School Commons
18 Twin Lakes Rd.
Winthrop, WA
Staff from Verizon Wireless and DNR will be at the meeting to answer questions about the proposal. Verizon Wireless would use the facility to improve wireless coverage in the upper Methow Valley. The communications facility would be built on a parcel of state trust land atop Patterson Mountain, approximately 2 miles southwest of Winthrop. The proposed facility would be designed to minimize visual impacts and include a 50-foot pole with flush-mounted panel antennas and outdoor equipment cabinets.
Later this year, the Okanogan County Office of Planning and Development will review the proposal under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The county office will consider public comments as part of the required Conditional Use Permit process for the facility.
DNR… caring for your natural resources
DNR manages more than 5.6 million acres of state-owned forest, range, commercial, agricultural, conservation, and aquatic lands. Income from natural resources, leases and other uses of these state trust lands provide nontax revenue for public school and university construction, and other public facilities and services. DNR is administered by Peter Goldmark, the 13th Commissioner of Public Lands since statehood in 1889.
Media Contact: Bob Redling, Senior Communications Manager, 360-902-1149 bob.redling@dnr.wa.gov
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