To provide that the deployment of a small personal wireless service facility is not subject to requirements to prepare certain environmental or historical preservation reviews, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · May 19, 2023
Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
The RAPID Act would streamline federal approval processes for deploying small wireless service facilities, primarily cell towers and antennas, by exempting these projects from two major environmental review requirements. Specifically, the bill would exclude small wireless facilities from the National Environmental Policy Act's environmental impact assessment requirements and from the National Historic Preservation Act's historic preservation review process. The legislation also establishes a 45-day deadline for Native American tribes to respond to wireless deployment notifications, after which they are presumed to have no concerns, though tribes can overcome this presumption by demonstrating the wireless company failed to follow proper outreach procedures. The bill defines small facilities as those with antennas no larger than 3 cubic feet in volume and specifically excludes underground wiring infrastructure. The measure is designed to speed up wireless infrastructure deployment without establishing new funding requirements or implementation timelines.
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