Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act

This bill would exempt specific requests to modify existing wireless towers or base stations from certain federal environmental and historic preservation reviews. These exemptions would apply to projects involving the collocation, removal, or replacement of transmission equipment. By designating these activities as neither major federal actions nor undertakings, the bill proposes to bypass review requirements established by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the National Historic Preservation Act.

This bill affects entities involved in the modification of existing wireless towers or base stations, specifically those engaged in collocating, removing, or replacing transmission equipment. It also impacts federal agencies responsible for conducting environmental and historic preservation reviews, as certain projects would no longer be classified as major federal actions or undertakings under existing law.

• Exemption from environmental and historic preservation reviews. The bill excludes specific requests to modify existing wireless towers or base stations from review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the National Historic Preservation Act.
• Application to equipment modification and collocation. The exemptions apply to projects involving the collocation, removal, or replacement of transmission equipment on existing wireless infrastructure.
• Classification of major federal actions and undertakings. The bill specifies that covered modification projects are not considered major federal actions or undertakings, effectively removing them from the associated federal review processes.

The bill modifies the application of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the National Historic Preservation Act by excluding certain wireless tower and base station modification projects from being classified as major federal actions or undertakings. This change effectively exempts these specific collocation, removal, and replacement activities from the environmental and historic preservation reviews typically required under those statutes.

The bill aims to streamline the deployment of broadband infrastructure by exempting specific modifications to existing wireless towers and base stations from certain federal environmental and historic preservation review requirements.