DERBY, Vt. — A federal plan to build a line of video-surveillance towers along Vermont’s northern border with Canada has raised questions of the balance between security and privacy.
he proposal, detailed earlier this month by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, calls for eight camera sites across the towns of Derby, Franklin, Highgate, Richford and Troy — along with two sites in Champlain, N.Y.
Under the agency’s preferred plan, towers equipped with video cameras would be installed in Derby, Franklin, Richford and Troy. Antennas bearing the equipment would be added to existing buildings in the village of Derby Line and in Highgate.
Each tower would hold four cameras, with two remote-control devices split between them, allowing an operator to swivel 360 degrees horizontally and 180 degrees vertically.
The cameras, part of a broader program used by federal agents since 1996, would capture both standard and infrared images, day and night. Federal officials say they began talking with state, local and tribal agencies about the idea in December 2018.
The surveillance system would let the agency watch over remote, rural areas without sending Border Patrol agents into the field, according to a draft document detailing the plan.
“Without the 24/7 surveillance capability, there is the probability that cross-border violations will increase,” the draft says.
But James Lyall, the executive director of ACLU of Vermont, said on Friday the proposal “should be forcefully rejected.”
“Vermonters value their privacy and are proud to live in vibrant, welcoming, and tight-knit communities. (The Border Patrol’s) proposed surveillance towers would accelerate the gradual militarization of our region and threaten the privacy, civil liberties, and safety of countless local residents,” he said in a statement.
Some local officials, though not opposed to the idea, believe it could give rise to fears about privacy.
“If they can take these cameras and aim them right straight at the border without infringing on people’s privacy rights, I think that’s OK,” said state Rep. Brian Smith, R-Derby, who is also vice chairman of the Derby Selectboard.
If the cameras were recording residents going about their business, he said, it would be an “invasion of privacy.”
A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson, Mike Niezgoda, declined to respond to a question about privacy concerns. He did email a series of links to documents and what appeared to be sections of an FAQ page. None pertained to the issue of privacy. The tower proposed in Smith’s town would be 120 feet tall, according to the draft plan, standing in a grassy stretch referred to as Letourneau Field.
“Rolling topography, vegetation and trees, farmsteads and power lines would partially obscure the (surveillance) tower from vantage points along the existing roads in this sector,” the draft says, noting that a small wind turbine attached to a nearby silo similarly does not detract from the rural vista.
A 5-foot pole would be attached to the existing border crossing facility in Derby, too.
Smith said he thinks Border Patrol agents in the area do good work, and he likes their presence in Derby. But he wants to know more about what exactly the cameras will be pointed at and wishes federal officials would meet more with the local selectboard. He said the board hasn’t yet been approached about the tower proposal.
State Sen. Russ Ingalls, R-Essex/Orleans, said the video system could lessen the caseload of Border Patrol agents.
“If they can visualize without having to rush out there, it saves on everything,” said Ingalls, whose Senate district includes tower sites in Derby, Troy and Richford. “It saves on gas; it saves on people power.”
Like Smith, Ingalls said that if the cameras are solely used to monitor the border line, he has no concerns about the proposal.
But, he said, “if these towers were in any way observing citizens, or if they were on the interstate watching speeding cars … I would have a problem with that.”
Ingalls said he’s sure some area residents will take issues with the plans. Vermont communities have a history of fighting efforts to build cellphone towers.
The Valley News contributed to this report.