Sec. 2. Streamlining the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service process for broadband facility location applications
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In this section: The term broadband facility means any communications plant, equipment, supplies, cable, wire, box, device, meter, tower, pole, duct, conduit, or other facility related to the provision of advanced telecommunications capability (as defined in section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ( 47 U.S.C. 1302 )). The term covered land means— public land administered by the Secretary of the Interior; and National Forest System land administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.
The term Department concerned means the Department of which the Secretary concerned is the head. The term organizational unit means— within the Bureau of Land Management— a State office; a district office; or a field office; and within the Forest Service— a regional office; the headquarters; a management unit; or a ranger district office. The term Secretary concerned means— the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public land; and the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System land.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall issue regulations— to streamline the process for considering applications to locate or modify broadband facilities on covered land administered by the Secretary concerned; to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the process is uniform and standardized across the organizational units of the Department concerned; and to require that the applications described in paragraph
(1)be considered and granted on a competitively and technologically neutral, non-discriminatory basis. The regulations issued under subsection
(b)shall include— procedures that require the tracking of applications described in subsection (b)(1), including— identifying the number of applications— received; approved; and denied; in the case of an application that is denied, describing the reasons for the denial; and describing the amount of time between the receipt of an application and the issuance of a final decision on an application; minimum terms of not less than 5 years for leases with respect to the location of broadband facilities on covered land; a policy under which an easement, license, or other authorization to locate a broadband facility on covered land renews automatically on expiration, unless the authorization is revoked for good cause; and fees for— submitting an application described in subsection (b)(1), based on the cost to the Department concerned of considering such an application; and granting an easement, license, or other authorization to locate or modify a broadband facility on covered land, based on the cost to the Department concerned of any maintenance or other activities required to be performed by the Department concerned as a result of the location or modification of the facility. In issuing regulations under subsection (b), the Secretary concerned shall consider— how discrete reviews in considering an application described in subsection (b)(1) can be conducted simultaneously, rather than sequentially, by the organizational units of the Department concerned that must approve the location or modification; and how to eliminate overlapping requirements among the organizational units of the Department concerned with respect to the location or modification of a broadband facility on covered land administered by those organizational units. The Secretary concerned shall, with respect to the regulations issued under subsection (b)— communicate the regulations to the organizational units of the Department concerned; and ensure that the organizational units of the Department concerned follow the regulations.
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Sec. 2
Streamlining the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service process for broadband facility location applications
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