PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Requires the Forest Service to write rules no later than 1 year after December 20, 2018, to speed up and standardize how applications are handled for placing or changing communications equipment on National Forest System land. The rules must make the process uniform across Forest Service offices and ensure decisions are competitively neutral, technology neutral, and not discriminatory. They must require tracking of applications (how many are received, approved, or denied; reasons for denials; and how long decisions take), set minimum leases of at least 15 years, set fees based on the Forest Service’s costs for reviewing applications and for any work the agency must do, and favor quicker review for locations in already disturbed rights-of-way. The rules should allow concurrent reviews by different Forest Service units and remove overlapping requirements. The Secretary must tell all Forest Service units about the rules and make sure they follow them. The Treasury must hold fees in a special account for the Forest Service. Fees may be collected only if money is provided in advance by Congress, must be cost-based, and must be competitively and technology neutral. Money in the account may be used, as Congress provides, to do needs assessments, make site management plans, train staff, and improve access to sites. No other new funding is authorized. The rules do not give any agency new leasing or property powers, and they do not stop or change existing laws about selling, disposing of, or redeveloping Federal property.

Title 43, §1761a

Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Definitions

In this section: (1) Communications facility

(2)Communications site

The term “communications site” means an area of covered land designated for communications uses.

(3)Communications use

The term “communications use” means the placement and operation of a communications facility.

(4)Communications use authorization

The term “communications use authorization” means an easement, right-of-way, lease, license, or other authorization to locate or modify a communications facility on covered land by the Forest Service for the primary purpose of authorizing the occupancy and use of the covered land for communications use.

(5)Covered land (6) Forest Service

The term “covered land” means National Forest System land.

(7)Organizational unit

The term “organizational unit” means, within the Forest Service—

(A)a regional office;

(B)the headquarters;

(C)a management unit; or

(D)a ranger district office.

(b)Regulations

Notwithstanding section 1455 of title 47 or section 606 of the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–141), not later than 1 year after December 20, 2018, the Secretary shall issue regulations—

(1)to streamline the process for considering applications to locate or modify communications facilities on covered land;

(2)to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the process is uniform and standardized across the organizational units of the Forest Service; and

(3)to require that the applications described in paragraph (1) be considered and granted on a competitively neutral, technology neutral, and non-discriminatory basis.

(c)Requirements

The regulations issued under subsection (b) shall include the following:

(1)Procedures for the tracking of applications described in subsection (b)(1), including—

(A)identifying the number of applications—

(i)received;

(ii)approved; and

(iii)denied;

(B)in the case of an application that is denied, describing the reasons for the denial; and

(C)describing the amount of time between the receipt of an application and the issuance of a final decision on an application.

(2)Provision for minimum lease terms of not less than 15 years for leases with respect to the location of communications facilities on covered land.

(3)A structure of fees for—

(A)submitting an application described in subsection (b)(1), based on the cost to the Forest Service of considering such an application; and

(B)issuing communications use authorizations, based on the cost to the Forest Service of any maintenance or other activities required to be performed by the Forest Service as a result of the location or modification of the communications facility.

(4)Provision for prioritization or streamlining of the consideration of applications to locate or modify communications facilities on covered land in a previously disturbed right-of-way.

(d)Additional considerations

In issuing regulations under subsection (b), the Secretary shall consider—

(1)how discrete reviews in considering an application described in subsection (b)(1) can be conducted simultaneously, rather than sequentially, by any organizational units of the Forest Service that must approve the location or modification; and

(2)how to eliminate overlapping requirements among the organizational units of the Forest Service with respect to the location or modification of a communications facility on covered land administered by those organizational units.

(e)Communication of streamlined process to organizational units

The Secretary shall, with respect to the regulations issued under subsection (b)—

(1)communicate the regulations to the organizational units of the Forest Service; and

(2)ensure that the organizational units of the Forest Service follow the regulations.

(f)Deposit and availability of fees

(1)Special account

The Secretary of the Treasury shall establish a special account in the Treasury for the Forest Service for the deposit of fees collected by the Forest Service under subsection (c)(3) for communications use authorizations on covered land granted, issued, or executed by the Forest Service.

(2)Requirements for fees collected

Fees collected by the Forest Service under subsection (c)(3) shall be—

(A)collected only to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts;

(B)based on the costs described in subsection (c)(3); and

(C)competitively neutral, technology neutral, and nondiscriminatory with respect to other users of the communications site.

(3)Deposit of fees

Fees collected by the Forest Service under subsection (c)(3) shall be deposited in the special account established for the Forest Service under paragraph (1).

(4)Availability of fees

Amounts deposited in the special account for the Forest Service shall be available, to the extent and in such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriation Acts, to the Secretary to cover costs incurred by the Forest Service described in subsection (c)(3), including the following:

(A)Preparing needs assessments or other programmatic analyses necessary to designate communications sites and issue communications use authorizations.

(B)Developing management plans for communications sites.

(C)Training for management of communications sites.

(D)Obtaining or improving access to communications sites.

(5)No additional appropriations authorized

Except as provided in paragraph (4), no other amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section.

(6)Cooperative agreement authority

Subject to the availability of appropriations made in advance for such purposes, the Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements to carry out the activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (4).

(g)Savings provisions

(1)Real property authorities

Nothing in this section, or the amendments made by this section, shall be construed as providing any executive agency with any new leasing or other real property authorities not existing prior to December 20, 2018.

(2)Effect on other laws

Nothing in this section, or the amendments made by this section, and no actions taken pursuant to this section, or the amendments made by this section, shall impact a decision or determination by any executive agency to sell, dispose of, declare excess or surplus, lease, reuse, or redevelop any Federal real property pursuant to title 40, the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 (40 U.S.C. 1303 note; Public Law 114–287), or any other law governing real property activities of the Federal Government. No agreement entered into pursuant to this section, or the amendments made by this section, may obligate the Federal Government to hold, control, or otherwise retain or use real property that may otherwise be deemed as excess, surplus, or that could otherwise be sold, leased, or redeveloped.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 606 of the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act of 2018, referred to in subsec. (b), is section 606 of div. P of Pub. L. 115–141, which amended section 1455 of Title 47, Telecommunications, and enacted provisions set out as notes under section 1455 of Title 47. Codification Section was enacted as part of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, and not as part of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

2025—Subsec. (f)(6). Pub. L. 118–234 added par. (6). 2019—Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 116–94 added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Fees collected by the Forest Service under subsection (c)(3) shall be— “(A) based on the costs described in subsection (c)(3); and “(B) competitively neutral, technology neutral, and nondiscriminatory with respect to other users of the communications site.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Definition of “Secretary” “Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture, see section 2 of Pub. L. 115–334, set out as a note under section 9001 of Title 7, Agriculture.

§1761a Streamlining the Forest Service Process for Consideration of Communications Facility Location Applications