The FCC adopted a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), adopting a series of permitting reforms that aim to modernize the agency’s approach to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. The Commission adopted rules to: (1) determine that the actions associated with space-based operations are not major Federal actions (MFA); (2) codify the statutory definition of MFA, the prerequisite to trigger federal agencies’ NEPA obligations in the Commission’s rules and clarify which Commission actions are MFAs; (3) revise the FCC’s NEPA rules to ensure they comport with the amended NEPA statute and accelerate the federal permitting process; and (4) streamline other aspects of the Commission’s NEPA rules, including the FCC’s requirements for categorical exclusions, environmental assessments, environmental impact statements, joint agency actions, and emergency situations. In a dissent, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez warned that the new rules may exempt too many wireless deployments.
In the FNPRM, the FCC seeks additional comment on the Commission’s National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) framework, including how the Commission’s licensing of spectrum relates to the definition of an “undertaking,” which is the trigger for NHPA review, as well as whether to adopt efficiencies in the NHPA process. Comments will be due 30 days after the item is published in the Federal Register and reply comments will be due 45 days after publication.
