SNOHOMISH — Four powerful new AM radio towers are expected to start broadcasting this summer in the Snohomish River Valley despite residents’ having fought the controversial project for years.
“We will have them on the air toward the end of July,” said Andy Skotdal, whose family owns KRKO-AM 1380.
S-R Broadcasting Company Inc. received a construction permit for the towers from the Federal Communications Commission on Friday. The ruling disappoints opponents who believe that the towers will lower their property values and cause health problems.
“It’s definitely going to have a long-term negative impact on the Snohomish River Valley,” said Rick Reed, an opponent.
The company already had been preparing a 40-acre site south of Snohomish to add the towers after the project received approval from Snohomish County last year. Three towers are expected to be 199 feet tall, and the other 349 feet tall.
The new towers will increase KRKO’s broadcasting power from 5,000 watts to 34,000 watts during the day and to 50,000 watts at night, Skotdal said. That means the station will be able to reach listeners all the way from Tacoma to Mount Vernon during the day.
Meanwhile, opponents still hope to stop the county from approving two other radio towers proposed near the four towers. The Skotdal family wants to build the two other towers to put a proposed new frequency at 1520 AM. The new signal is expected to reach all of Snohomish County during the day and some cities at night.
“For Everett, it’s important to have multiple media voices,” Skotdal said.
The two towers won’t get a county permit until any potential health risks cited by opponents are addressed. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests that electromagnetic energy from AM radio towers increases the likelihood of leukemia in those who live nearby, opponents say.
If the county rejects the two 199-foot-tall towers, opponents may try to appeal the federal permits for the four other towers, Reed said.
Reed leads a grass-roots group called the Stewards of the Land and Community that mailed brochures to thousands of Snohomish-area residents earlier this year to fight the radio towers. The group used the same method to fight growth plans for the Harvey Field airport in Snohomish.
“We feel betrayed by government officials we trust to protect the environment and public health,” he said.
Federal regulators already took potential health risks into account when they issued permits for the four towers, Skotdal said. His family has made changes in the project to alleviate any concerns addressed by opponents.
The project has had more than 40 hearings since 2000, Skotdal said. Now, it’s finally nearing an end.
“I am so appreciative for all the people who made this happen,” he said.
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