NEPA and NHPA Review Required for “small cell” wireless telecommunications facilities (sWTFs)
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 NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
Link To NHPA National Historic Preservation Act
Link To Source – 40 CFR § 1500.1 – Purpose.
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:
- Approval from the state or local governing authority for the proposed site;
- Compliance with FCC rules implementing the NEPA, which includes separate procedures for
- ESA; and,
- NHPA (including Section 106).
- Depending on the tower’s height and location, construction may also require:
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 NEPA Strategies
Protect Families, Communities, Nature from 4G-5G microwave irradiating WTFs!
Thank you to BF for contributing documents for this post to Zero5G!