Initial reaction by some Native American groups to the FCC’s proposal to streamline small cell siting and permitting was muted, Inside Towers reported. Now, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF) oppose much of the proposal and urge Commissioners to vote against it.
The plan to be voted on Thursday, would eliminate the federal environmental and historic preservation reviews for small cell siting not on Tribal land or reservations. For large cell deployment, the plan is to streamline the historic preservation requirements and the Section 106 Tribal Review process, Inside Towers reported.
The overall approach would be detrimental to tribal governments, their culture, and historic resources, say both groups. “We believe it strikes the wrong balance between the trust responsibility and historic and environmental concerns on the one hand, and the economic interests of the telecommunications industry on the other, and we believe it in critical part is unlawful,” say the NCAI and the USET SPF in a filing to the agency.
They support the current system “which has accelerated the telecommunications” build-out over 15 years. For example, when the agency “complained about potentially consulting on thousands of sites,” NCAI and USET supported the Tower Construction Notification System; they call it an “elegant solution,” which says if industry can resolve issues with concerned Tribal Nations, then the FCC would not have to engage in consultation for any given site.
“This facilitated the rapid deployment of the telecommunications infrastructure, even though industry likes to portray it as an impediment in an effort to cut its costs,” say the NCAI and USET. “Industry has and will continue to make tremendous profits. This is appropriate. However they, and not tribes, should bear the cost of this dramatic expansion of the telecommunications infrastructure.”
March 19, 2018
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