The National Weather Service has violated federal and state laws in the sitting and construction of a Doppler radar tower on Sulphur Mountain in the Upper Ojai Valley in Ventura County, California, according to a new study released by the Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College.
Local residents requested this study be conducted because of their serious concerns regarding the physical and economic impact of the NEXRAD radar tower. The study makes a number of highly critical claims:
* The National Weather Service violated federal law in locating and constructing the tower
* A reasonable basis exists to support the fear and concern over health risks
* Local property values have fallen to a point where some residences are now unsaleable
* The tower is incapable of performing in the role claimed for it
"The ill-advised decision to place the tower has already resulted in much unnecessary expense," the study concludes. "Now because the residents are resorting to filing legal actions to assert their rights against the federal government, the American taxpayer may well be exposed to millions of dollars in damages."
The experts responsible for developing the information for the Rose Institute report were:
* Jack Frederick Paris, Ph.D
* ., former Chief Weather Officer of the Air Weather Service of the United States Air Force and Director of Spatial Information, Visualization and Analysis at California State University, Monterey Bay Gary E. Kovall, J.D.
* , an environmental law attorney in private practice and former vice chairman of the American Bar Association Environmental Quality Committee of the Natural Resources Section and a member of the California Hazardous Waste Management Authority Anthony F. Fucaloro, Ph.D.
* , Vice President and Dean of the Faculty at at Claremont McKenna College and a member of the California Scientific Advisory Review Committee and the Air Resources Board Peter S. Crane
, a licensed and certified real estate appraiser formerly with Chase Manhattan Mortgage Company and the Ojai Valley National Bank
The Rose Institute is California's leading think tank analyzing political, demographic, and fiscal data and trends. Claremont McKenna College is a highly selective independent liberal arts college educating leaders in business and public affairs. CMC enrolls nearly 1,000 students and is a member of The Claremont Colleges.
Copies of the Rose Institute's Sulphur Mountain Radar study may be obtained by calling (909) 621-8159. Rose Institute director Alan Heslop (909) 621-8159 is available for comments.