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NEPA and NHPA Review Required for “small cell” wireless telecommunications facilities (sWTFs)

ZERO5G Posted on by

15 February 2020 | Note from Anne Arundel, Maryland County Council Member| Re: October 8, 2019 FCC Order|

 

 

“As a result of the court’s decision and this rule revision, deployments of small wireless facilities are subject to review to the same extent as larger wireless facilities pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)5 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).”

-FCC / DA 19-1024

Link To October 8, 2019 Order

Link to FCC Document

Link To NEPA      National Environmental Policy Act

Link To NHPA     National Historic Preservation Act 

 

Link To Source – 40 CFR § 1500.1 – Purpose.

§ 1500.1 Purpose.
“(a) The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is our basic national charter for protection of the environment. It establishes policy, sets goals (section 101), and provides means (section 102) for carrying out the policy. Section 102(2) contains “action-forcing” provisions to make sure that federal agencies act according to the letter and spirit of the Act. The regulations that follow implement section 102(2). Their purpose is to tell federal agencies what they must do to comply with the procedures and achieve the goals of the Act. The President, the federal agencies, and the courts share responsibility for enforcing the Act so as to achieve the substantive requirements of section 101.
(b) NEPA procedures must insure that environmental information is available to public officials and citizens before decisions are made and before actions are taken. The information must be of high quality. Accurate scientific analysis, expert agency comments, and public scrutiny are essential to implementing NEPA. Most important, NEPA documents must concentrate on the issues that are truly significant to the action in question, rather than amassing needless detail.
(c) Ultimately, of course, it is not better documents but better decisions that count. NEPA’s purpose is not to generate paperwork – even excellent paperwork – but to foster excellent action. The NEPA process is intended to help public officials make decisions that are based on understanding of environmental consequences, and take actions that protect, restore, and enhance the environment. These regulations provide the direction to achieve this purpose.”

 

 

Evaluating Compliance with FCC Guidelines for Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields; Regulations & Guidelines for RF Radiation

Link

 

 

 

 

Tower and Antenna Siting – FCC

“Building new towers or collocating antennas on existing structures requires compliance with the Commission’s rules for environmental review.  These rules ensure that licensees and registrants take appropriate measures to protect environmental and historic resources, and that the agency meets its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to consider the potential environmental impact of its actions, as well as under other environmental statutes such as the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  A new tower construction requires:

In 2018, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau held a workshop to provide a general overview of the process.

Collocations may also require compliance with these same processes. See the Collocation Agreement and other sections below for more information about collocations that require compliance with NEPA, NHPA, FAA and ASR rules.  The Commission’s October 2014 Infrastructure Report and Order includes some NEPA and NHPA exclusions specific to DAS and Small Cell deployments.”

Link To Source

 

 

Link To NEPA Strategies

 

 

 

Protect Families, Communities, Nature from 4G-5G microwave irradiating WTFs!

 

 

Take Action – USA

 

 

Thank you to BF for contributing documents for this post to Zero5G!

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