Hi all,
Quickly recirculating talking points, social guidance, and graphics ahead of this afternoon’s House Committee on Natural Resources hearing on H.R. 4824. This bill undercuts responsible oversight of federal lands, builds barriers to public
participation, and introduces regulatory uncertainty into the broadband permitting process, all under the guise of increase rural broadband access.
Link to google folder: https://goo.gl/HQaGdc
Please let me know if you have any questions. If your organization plans to do press on this, please also let me know.
-Justin
Talking Points (H.R. 4824):
The House Committee on Natural Resources today will hold a hearing on the “Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act of 2018” (H.R. 4824). Under
the guise of increasing rural access to broadband, this bill undercuts responsible oversight of federal lands, builds barriers to public participation, and introduce regulatory uncertainty into the broadband permitting process.
- THE BOTTOM LINE: With smart, innovative
policy, we can accelerate wireless broadband deployment without eliminating environmental reviews and building barriers to public participation in government decision-making.
Rolls back environmental reviews for broadband projects on public lands
- Everyone has the right to Internet access whether they live in Detroit, Michigan, or Bearcreek, Montana, but rapid broadband
deployment should not come at the cost of eliminating environmental reviews and public participation.
- Instead, this sidesteps environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by establishing a sweeping
Categorical Exclusion (CE) for “any project” in existing “operational right-of-way” on public lands.
- When utilized correctly,
agency CEs are designed to expedite review for categories of actions a federal agency has researched and demonstrated do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment. By contrast, this
legislative CE is not based on any consideration of actual impacts – it’s bad policy and poor governance.
Shortcuts public input
-
The NEPA process is critical to ensuring that federal agencies fully inform the public about the environmental, economic, and public health impacts prior to any major government decision. NEPA
recognizes that when the public and federal experts work together, better decisions are made.
-
By excluding broadband development from NEPA review, Congress risks shortcutting public input in government decision-making.
-
Any law that provides opportunities for public participation in government decisions that affect the environment and local communities shouldn’t be rolled back, it should be embraced.
Delegates permitting authority on federal lands to individual states, reducing regulatory certainty
- State agencies often operate under different substantive mandates and have little to no experience implementing the requirements
of federal environmental laws.
- Legislation such as H.R. 4258 allowing for the blanket transfer of authority to conduct NEPA review for broadband projects
to individual states would invariably result in the creation of a patchwork permitting regime devoid of regulatory certainty.
- Delegation of permitting authority to individual states would also invariably result in less
thorough environmental review of broadband infrastructure projects at the very time when the ability of broadband providers to respond to natural disasters like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria (as well as the wildfires in California) has been increasingly
tested.
- As these extreme weather events become more frequent, it is essential that the
expansion of broadband access is done in such a way that ensures their resiliency and adequate functioning during natural disasters. NEPA is an essential component of this process.
The largest barrier to infrastructure development isn’t NEPA – it’s funding
- More fundamentally, this bill continues to peddle the pervasive and demonstrably false narrative that NEPA is the primary
source of project delay.
- For decades, Congress and the federal government have starved state and local governments of badly need money to finance
infrastructure upgrades, effectively stalling projects before they can even be started.
- For example, the Army Corps of Engineers has $97 billion in projects that have cleared all environmental reviews but
remain stuck because of a lack of funding. Currently, the Corps’ budget is $5 billion a year.
- CRS, the Treasury Department, and the Inspector General for the Department of Transportation have all repeatedly concluded
that “[T]here is little data available to demonstrate that NEPA currently plays a significant role in delaying federal actions.”
Scapegoating NEPA will not result in increased broadband access. It will only result in fewer protections for our environment and public health.
A far more powerful tool for speeding environmental reviews would be to increase funding for understaffed permitting agencies at the Department
of the Interior, BLM, and Forest Service.
Social Guidance:
Facebook:
[ATTACHED GRAPHIC 1]: Everyone has the right to Internet access
whether they live in Detroit, Michigan, or Bearcreek, Montana, but rapid broadband deployment should not come at the cost of eliminating environmental reviews and public participation.
[ATTACHED GRAPHIC 2]: Shortcutting environmental reviews won’t
speed up broadband deployment – it will only result in less thorough environmental review of broadband infrastructure projects at the very time when the ability of broadband providers to respond to natural disasters like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria
has been increasingly tested.
As extreme weather events become more frequent, we must ensure broadband infrastructure is resilient and adequately functions during natural disasters.
NEPA is an essential component of this process. @RepJohnCurtis #ProtectYourVoice
Twitter:
[ATTACHED GRAPHIC 1]: Everyone has the right to Internet access
whether they live in Detroit, Michigan, or Bearcreek, Montana, but rapid broadband deployment should not come at the cost of eliminating environmental reviews and public participation.
[ATTACHED GRAPHIC 2]: HAPPENING NOW: House @NatResources is holding
a hearing to roll back bedrock protections for our environment under the guise of increasing rural broadband access. Tell Congress to OPPOSE HR 4824. #ProtectYourVoice
With smart, innovative policy, we accelerate wireless broadband deployment without eliminating environmental reviews and building barriers to
public participation. @RepJohnCurtis #ProtectYourVoice
Environmental reviews and the NEPA process is often the only opportunity for citizens to voice concerns about a federal project’s impact on their
community. #ProtectYourVoice
As extreme weather events become more frequent, we must ensure broadband infrastructure is resilient and adequately functions during natural disasters.
NEPA is an essential component of this process. @RepJohnCurtis #ProtectYourVoice
Justin McCarthy
Digital Director, NEPA Campaign
The Partnership Project
1101 Connecticut Ave NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20036 USA
T: (202) 650-0327
C: (540) 312-3797
E: jmccarthy@partnershipproject.org
The Partnership Project, a registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit, is a collaborative effort of over 20 of the country’s most influential advocacy organizations.