16 U.S.C. § 8453: Public lands telecommunicatio…

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior can make cooperative agreements to handle work about communications sites on lands and waters managed by federal land agencies. These agreements can cover things like running use permits, doing needs studies and planning, making fair and technology-neutral management plans, training people, getting or improving access and building sites, or any mix of those tasks. Within one year after January 4, 2025, the Secretary must do a full study to see if fees charged for using these communications sites could go into a special account and be spent only on communications site work on lands and waters the Secretary manages.

Title 16, §8453

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Cooperative agreements for the Department of the Interior (b) Omitted

The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements to carry out activities related to communications sites on lands managed by Federal land management agencies, including—

(1)administering communications use authorizations;

(2)preparing needs assessments or other programmatic analyses necessary to establish communications sites and authorize communications uses on or adjacent to Federal recreational lands and waters managed by a Federal land management agency;

(3)developing management plans for communications sites on or adjacent to Federal recreational lands and waters managed by a Federal land management agency on a competitively neutral, technology neutral, nondiscriminatory basis;

(4)training for management of communications sites on or adjacent to Federal recreational lands and waters managed by a Federal land management agency;

(5)obtaining, improving access to, or establishing communications sites on or adjacent to Federal recreational lands and waters managed by a Federal land management agency; and

(6)any combination of purposes described in subparagraphs (1) through (5).

(c)Assessment of rental fee retention authority

Not later than 1 year after January 4, 2025, the Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive assessment to evaluate the potential benefits of rental fee retention whereby any fee collected for the occupancy and use of Federal lands and waters authorized by a communications use authorization would be deposited into a special account and used solely for activities related to communications sites on lands and waters managed by the Secretary.

Editorial Notes

Codification Section is comprised of section 143 of Pub. L. 118–234. Subsec. (b) of section 143 of Pub. L. 118–234 amended section 1761a of Title 43, Public Lands.

§8453 Public Lands Telecommunications Cooperative Agreements

Summary

Title 16, §8453

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Citations & Metadata