POSSIBLE INTERFERENCE WITH EMERGENCY SERVICES
Concerns have been expressed as to how the proposed wind turbines could affect fire and emergency medical service (EMS) radio transmissions. At present, Greenbrier County fire and ambulance departments transmit using a repeater system. In other words, a remote receiver receives a transmission from a low-power portable (or mobile) radio on one frequency then transmits the signal at a higher power, often on another frequency. To minimize possible harmful interference with the National Radio Astronomy Observatories (NRAO), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established a National Radio Quiet Zone in 1958. Parts of Greenbrier County fall within the Quiet Zone causing Fire/EMS radios to operate at a lower frequency. As a result, radio transmission is difficult in many places and there are several "dead spots" in the Greenbrier valley. Members of various departments around the county report radio interference as an on-going problem during storms or during various parts of the year. For example, transmission is usually more difficult for some departments during spring and summer when the tree leaves are out as opposed to fall and winter when the trees are bare.
There are various fire/EMS transmission towers around Greenbrier County. The fire/EMS departments around the Williamsburg area transmit from towers on Muddy Creek Mountain and Keeney's Knob. According to the Greenbrier County 911 Center's application with the FCC, the tower on Keeney's Knob is 1202 feet tall, and the tower on Muddy Creek Mountain is 880 feet tall. This leads to the following questions. How can 400 ft. turbines, placed on ridges with elevations of about 4000 feet that tower over these dwarfed transmission fire/EMS towers NOT cause radio interference? If tree leaves interfere with radio signals, won't turbines?