II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2855 

To modernize and streamline the permitting process for broadband 

infrastructure on Federal land, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 

Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To modernize and streamline the permitting process for 

broadband infrastructure on Federal land, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Closing Long Overdue Streamlining Encumbrances To 

6 Help Expeditiously Generate Approved Permits Act’’ or 

7 the ‘‘CLOSE THE GAP Act’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Promulgation of regulations for streamlining purposes. 

Sec. 4. Online tracking of application progress. 

Sec. 5. Improving public safety on Federal land. 

Sec. 6. Previously disturbed rights-of-way exemption. 

Sec. 7. Wireless facility modifications. 

Sec. 8. Establishment of online portals. 

Sec. 9. Collection and retention of cost recovery fees. 

Sec. 10. Federal Land Management Agency Working Group. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY.—The term 

4 ‘‘communications facility’’ includes— 

5 (A) any infrastructure, including any 

6 transmitting device, tower, or support structure, 

7 and any equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, 

8 power sources, shelters, or cabinets, associated 

9 with the licensed or permitted unlicensed wire10 less or wireline transmission of writings, signs, 

11 signals, data, images, pictures, and sounds of 

12 all kinds; and 

13 (B) any antenna or apparatus that— 

14 (i) is designed for the purpose of 

15 emitting radio frequency; 

16 (ii)(I) is designed to be operated, or is 

17 operating, from a fixed location pursuant 

18 to authorization by the Federal Commu19 nications Commission; or 


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1 (II) is using duly authorized devices 

2 that do not require individual licenses; and 

3 (iii) is added to a tower, building, 

4 pole, cable, or other structure. 

5 (2) COMMUNICATIONS SITE.—The term ‘‘com6 munications site’’ means an area of Federal land 

7 available for communications use. 

8 (3) COMMUNICATIONS USE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘communica10 tions use’’ means the placement or operation of 

11 infrastructure for wireline or wireless tele12 communications, including cable television, tele13 vision, and radio communications, regardless of 

14 whether the placement or operation is pursuant 

15 to a license issued by the Federal Communica16 tions Commission or on an unlicensed basis in 

17 accordance with the regulations of the Federal 

18 Communications Commission. 

19 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘communica20 tions use’’ includes any ancillary activities, uses, 

21 or facilities directly related to the placement or 

22 operation of infrastructure for wireline or wire23 less telecommunications. 

24 (4) COMMUNICATIONS USE AUTHORIZATION.— 

25 The term ‘‘communications use authorization’’ 


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1 means a right-of-way, permit, or lease granted, 

2 issued, or executed by a Federal land management 

3 agency for the primary purpose of authorizing the 

4 occupancy and use of Federal land for the construc5 tion, placement, and operation of a communications 

6 facility. 

7 (5) COST RECOVERY FEE.—The term ‘‘cost re8 covery fee’’ means any fee collected by a Federal 

9 land management agency related to— 

10 (A) an application for a communications 

11 use authorization; or 

12 (B) the occupancy and use authorized by a 

13 communications use authorization pursuant to 

14 and consistent with authorizing law. 

15 (6) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 

16 means land managed by the Secretary concerned. 

17 (7) ELECTRONIC SF–299.—The term ‘‘electronic 

18 SF–299’’ means a version of Standard Form 299, or 

19 a substantially similar form, that has been digitally 

20 modified for online interaction. 

21 (8) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

22 means land under the jurisdiction and management 

23 of a Federal land management agency. 


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1 (9) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 

2 The term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ 

3 means— 

4 (A) the National Park Service; 

5 (B) the Bureau of Land Management; 

6 (C) the Bureau of Reclamation; 

7 (D) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

8 Service; 

9 (E) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and 

10 (F) the Forest Service. 

11 (10) ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT.—The term ‘‘orga12 nizational unit’’ means— 

13 (A) with respect to Federal land adminis14 tered by the Secretary of the Interior— 

15 (i) a State office; 

16 (ii) a district office; 

17 (iii) a field office; or 

18 (iv) a regional office; and 

19 (B) with respect to the Forest Service— 

20 (i) a regional office; 

21 (ii) the headquarters; 

22 (iii) an administrative unit; or 

23 (iv) a ranger district office. 

24 (11) PREVIOUSLY DISTURBED FEDERAL

25 LAND.—The term ‘‘previously disturbed Federal 


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1 land’’ means Federal land with respect to which a 

2 communications use authorization has been granted, 

3 issued, or executed. 

4 (12) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

5 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 

6 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re7 spect to Federal land under the jurisdiction and 

8 management of the Secretary of the Interior, 

9 acting through, as applicable— 

10 (i) the Commissioner of Reclamation; 

11 (ii) the Director of the National Park 

12 Service; 

13 (iii) the Director of the United States 

14 Fish and Wildlife Service; 

15 (iv) the Director of the Bureau of 

16 Land Management; and 

17 (v) the Director of the Bureau of In18 dian Affairs; and 

19 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re20 spect to National Forest System land, acting 

21 through the Chief of the Forest Service. 

22 (13) STANDARD FORM 299.—The term ‘‘Stand23 ard Form 299’’ means the form developed by the 

24 Administrator of General Services under section 

25 6409(b)(2)(A) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and 


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1 Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(b)(2)(A)) 

2 or any successor form. 

3 (14) UNDERSERVED BROADBAND LOCATION.— 

4 The term ‘‘underserved broadband location’’ means 

5 any location that lacks access to broadband service 

6 with a speed of not less than— 

7 (A) 100 megabits per second for 

8 downloads; and 

9 (B) 20 megabits per second for uploads. 

10 (15) UNSERVED BROADBAND LOCATION.—The 

11 term ‘‘unserved broadband location’’ means any lo12 cation that lacks access to broadband service with a 

13 speed of not less than— 

14 (A) 25 megabits per second for downloads; 

15 and 

16 (B) 3 megabits per second for uploads. 

17 (16) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘working 

18 group’’ means the Federal Land Management Agen19 cy Working Group established by section 11(a). 

20 SEC. 3. PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS FOR STREAM21 LINING PURPOSES. 

22 (a) REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding section 6409 of 

23 the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 

24 (47 U.S.C. 1455), not later than 1 year after the date 


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1 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall 

2 promulgate regulations— 

3 (1) to ensure, to the maximum extent prac4 ticable, that the process is uniform and standardized 

5 across applicable organizational units; 

6 (2) to require that applications to locate or 

7 modify communications facilities on covered land be 

8 considered and granted on a competitively neutral, 

9 technology neutral, and nondiscriminatory basis; and 

10 (3) to require that the cost recovery fee for lo11 cating or modifying covered facilities on covered land 

12 be— 

13 (A) calculated and assessed on an annual 

14 basis; and 

15 (B) based solely on costs incurred by the 

16 organizational unit in processing applications 

17 and overseeing any construction related thereto. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations promulgated 

19 under subsection (a) shall— 

20 (1) include procedures for the tracking of appli21 cations described in subsection (a)(1), including— 

22 (A) identifying on a publicly available 

23 website the number of applications— 

24 (i) received; 

25 (ii) approved; and 


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1 (iii) denied; 

2 (B) in the case of an application that is 

3 denied, requiring that the applicant be provided 

4 with— 

5 (i) a written decision describing the 

6 reasons for the denial; and 

7 (ii) an opportunity to cure or appeal 

8 the denial; and 

9 (C) describing the period of time between 

10 the receipt of an application and the issuance of 

11 a final decision on an application; and 

12 (2) provide for minimum lease terms of not less 

13 than 30 years for leases with respect to the location 

14 of communications facilities on covered land. 

15 (c) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In promul16 gating regulations under subsection (a), the Secretary con17 cerned shall consider— 

18 (1) how discrete reviews in considering an ap19 plication described in paragraph (1) of that sub20 section can be conducted simultaneously, rather than 

21 sequentially, by any organizational units that must 

22 approve the location or modification; and 

23 (2) how to eliminate overlapping requirements 

24 among the organizational units with respect to the 

25 location or modification of a communications facility 


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1 on covered land administered by the organizational 

2 units. 

3 (d) COMMUNICATION OF STREAMLINED PROCESS TO

4 ORGANIZATIONAL UNITS.—The Secretary concerned 

5 shall, with respect to the regulations promulgated under 

6 subsection (a)— 

7 (1) communicate the regulations to the applica8 ble organizational units; and 

9 (2) ensure that those organizational units follow 

10 the regulations. 

11 (e) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 

12 (1) REAL PROPERTY AUTHORITIES.—Nothing 

13 in this section provides any executive agency or or14 ganizational unit with any new leasing or other real 

15 property authorities not in existence before the date 

16 of enactment of this Act. 

17 (2) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section, 

19 including any action taken pursuant to this sec20 tion, affects a decision or determination made 

21 by any executive agency before the date of en22 actment of this Act to sell, dispose of, declare 

23 excess or surplus, lease, reuse, or redevelop any 

24 Federal real property pursuant to title 40, 

25 United States Code, the Federal Assets Sale 


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1 and Transfer Act of 2016 (40 U.S.C. 1303 

2 note; Public Law 114–287), or any other law 

3 governing real property activities of the Federal 

4 Government. 

5 (B) AGREEMENTS.—No agreement entered 

6 into pursuant to this section obligates the Fed7 eral Government to hold, control, or otherwise 

8 retain or use real property that may otherwise 

9 be deemed as excess, surplus, or that could oth10 erwise be sold, leased, or redeveloped. 

11 SEC. 4. ONLINE TRACKING OF APPLICATION PROGRESS. 

12 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con13 gress that communications projects (as defined in section 

14 41001 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m)) should be, 

15 under title XLI of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m et 

16 seq.), considered a high priority as having an increased 

17 regional or national economic significance. 

18 (b) COMMUNICATIONS PROJECTS AS COVERED

19 PROJECTS.—Section 41001 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 4370m) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

22 (18) as paragraphs (5) through (19), respectively; 

23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(4) COMMUNICATIONS PROJECT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘commu2 nications project’ means any construction 

3 project carried out at a communications site. 

4 ‘‘(B) OTHER TERMS.—For purposes of 

5 this paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(i) COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY.— 

7 The term ‘communications facility’ in8 cludes— 

9 ‘‘(I) any infrastructure, including 

10 any transmitting device, tower, or 

11 support structure, and any equipment, 

12 switches, wiring, cabling, power 

13 sources, shelters, or cabinets, associ14 ated with the licensed or permitted 

15 unlicensed wireless or wireline trans16 mission of writings, signs, signals, 

17 data, images, pictures, and sounds of 

18 all kinds; and 

19 ‘‘(II) any antenna or apparatus 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(aa) is designed for the 

22 purpose of emitting radio fre23 quency; 

24 ‘‘(bb)(AA) is designed to be 

25 operated, or is operating, from a 


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1 fixed location pursuant to author2 ization by the Federal Commu3 nications Commission; or 

4 ‘‘(BB) is using duly author5 ized devices that do not require 

6 individual licenses; and 

7 ‘‘(cc) is added to a tower, 

8 building, pole, cable, or other 

9 structure. 

10 ‘‘(ii) COMMUNICATIONS SITE.—The 

11 term ‘communications site’ means an area 

12 of Federal land available for communica13 tions use. 

14 ‘‘(iii) COMMUNICATIONS USE.— 

15 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The term 

16 ‘communications use’ means the 

17 placement or operation of infrastruc18 ture for wireline or wireless tele19 communications, including cable tele20 vision, television, and radio commu21 nications, regardless of whether the 

22 placement or operation is pursuant to 

23 a license issued by the Federal Com24 munications Commission or on an un25 licensed basis in accordance with the 


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1 regulations of the Federal Commu2 nications Commission. 

3 ‘‘(II) INCLUSIONS.—The term 

4 ‘communications use’ includes any an5 cillary activities, uses, or facilities di6 rectly related to the placement or op7 eration of infrastructure for wireline 

8 or wireless telecommunications. 

9 ‘‘(iv) FEDERAL LAND.—The term 

10 ‘Federal land’ means land under the juris11 diction and management of a Federal land 

12 management agency. 

13 ‘‘(v) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT

14 AGENCY.—The term ‘Federal land man15 agement agency’ means— 

16 ‘‘(I) the National Park Service; 

17 ‘‘(II) the Bureau of Land Man18 agement; 

19 ‘‘(III) the Bureau of Reclama20 tion; 

21 ‘‘(IV) the United States Fish and 

22 Wildlife Service; 

23 ‘‘(V) the Forest Service; and 

24 ‘‘(VI) the Bureau of Indian Af25 fairs.’’; and 


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1 (3) in paragraph (7)(A) (as so redesignated)— 

2 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

3 inserting ‘‘communications projects,’’ after 

4 ‘‘carbon capture,’’; and 

5 (B) in clause (i), by striking subclause (II) 

6 and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(II) is likely to require a total invest8 ment— 

9 ‘‘(aa) in the case of a commu10 nications project, of any amount; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) in the case of any other ac12 tivity, of more than $200,000,000; 

13 and’’. 

14 SEC. 5. IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY ON FEDERAL LAND. 

15 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall direct the head 

17 of each Federal land management agency under the juris18 diction of the Secretary concerned to establish a new cat19 egorical exclusion from the requirements of title I of the 

20 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

21 4331 et seq.) for projects involving an existing commu22 nications facility that would improve public safety on Fed23 eral land, such as— 

24 (1) providing backup power for the communica25 tions facility; 


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1 (2) improving supporting infrastructure at the 

2 communications facility; or 

3 (3) providing more reliable or redundant con4 nection capabilities using the communications facil5 ity. 

6 SEC. 6. PREVIOUSLY DISTURBED RIGHTS-OF-WAY EXEMP7 TION. 

8 No review shall be required under the National Envi9 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

10 or division A of subtitle III of title 54, United States Code, 

11 as a condition of granting a communications use author12 ization for the occupancy and use of previously disturbed 

13 Federal land. 

14 SEC. 7. WIRELESS FACILITY MODIFICATIONS. 

15 Section 6409(a) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and 

16 Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(a)) is amended 

17 by striking paragraph (3). 

18 SEC. 8. ESTABLISHMENT OF ONLINE PORTALS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, each Federal land manage21 ment agency shall establish an online portal to accept an 

22 electronic SF–299. 

23 (b) COORDINATION.—The Federal land management 

24 agencies shall coordinate with each other to establish uniVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Sep 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2855.IS S2855

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1 form versions of the online portal required under sub2 section (a). 

3 SEC. 9. COLLECTION AND RETENTION OF COST RECOVERY 

4 FEES. 

5 (a) COLLECTION AND RETENTION OF COST RECOV6 ERY FEES ASSOCIATED WITH COMMUNICATIONS USE AU7 THORIZATIONS ON FEDERAL LAND AND FEDERAL LAND

8 MANAGEMENT AGENCY SUPPORT FOR COMMUNICATIONS

9 SITE PROGRAMS.— 

10 (1) SPECIAL ACCOUNT REQUIRED.—The Sec11 retary of the Treasury shall establish a special ac12 count in the Treasury for each Federal land man13 agement agency for the deposit of cost recovery fees 

14 received by the Federal land management agency re15 lating to communications use authorizations grant16 ed, issued, or executed by the Federal land manage17 ment agency. 

18 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR COST RECOVERY

19 FEES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

20 any cost recovery fees collected by a Federal land 

21 management agency pursuant to this section shall 

22 be— 

23 (A) collected only to the extent provided in 

24 advance in an appropriations Act; and 


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1 (B) imposed on a competitively neutral, 

2 technology-neutral, and nondiscriminatory basis 

3 with respect to other uses of the applicable 

4 communications site. 

5 (3) DEPOSIT AND RETENTION OF COST RECOV6 ERY FEES.—Cost recovery fees received by a Federal 

7 land management agency shall— 

8 (A) be deposited in the special account es9 tablished for that Federal land management 

10 agency under paragraph (1); and 

11 (B) remain available for expenditure under 

12 paragraph (4), to the extent and in such 

13 amounts as are provided in advance in appro14 priations Acts. 

15 (4) EXPENDITURE OF RETAINED FEES.— 

16 Amounts deposited in the special account established 

17 for a Federal land management agency under para18 graph (1) shall be used by the Federal land manage19 ment agency for activities relating to communica20 tions use authorizations or communications sites, in21 cluding the following: 

22 (A) Administering communications use au23 thorizations, including through cooperative 

24 agreements under subsection (b). 


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1 (B) Preparing needs assessments or other 

2 programmatic analyses necessary to establish 

3 communications sites and authorize communica4 tions uses on or adjacent to Federal land. 

5 (C) Developing management plans for the 

6 placement of communications sites on or adja7 cent to Federal land on a competitively neutral, 

8 technology-neutral, nondiscriminatory basis. 

9 (D) Training for management of commu10 nications sites on or adjacent to Federal land. 

11 (E) Obtaining, improving access to, or es12 tablishing communications sites on or adjacent 

13 to Federal land. 

14 (F) Hiring and training personnel to per15 form duties that will help— 

16 (i) to streamline permitting processes 

17 associated with communications use au18 thorizations and the use of communica19 tions sites for communications use on Fed20 eral land; and 

21 (ii) to reduce the time it takes for per22 mits relating to communications use au23 thorizations and the use of communica24 tions sites for communications use on Fed25 eral land to be approved. 


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1 (5) NO EFFECT ON OTHER FEE RETENTION AU2 THORITIES.—This subsection shall not limit or oth3 erwise affect fee retention by a Federal land man4 agement agency under any other authority. 

5 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.—The 

6 Secretary of the Interior may enter into cooperative agree7 ments to carry out the activities described in subsection 

8 (a)(4). 

9 (c) CLARIFICATION OF COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

10 AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.—Sec11 tion 8705(f) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 

12 (43 U.S.C. 1761a(f)) is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(6) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

15 The Secretary may enter into cooperative agree16 ments to carry out the activities described in sub17 paragraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (4).’’. 

18 SEC. 10. FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY WORKING 

19 GROUP. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a work21 ing group, to be known as the ‘‘Federal Land Management 

22 Agency Working Group’’. 

23 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group shall be com24 posed of 1 representative of each of the Federal land manVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Sep 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2855.IS S2855

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1 agement agencies, to be appointed by the Secretary con2 cerned. 

3 (c) DUTIES.—The working group shall— 

4 (1) periodically meet to coordinate and expedite 

5 the review of applications for communications use 

6 authorizations; and 

7 (2) coordinate with the Federal Communica8 tions Commission to use broadband location data 

9 created under section 802(c) of the Communications 

10 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)) to identify unserved 

11 locations that may need to use a Federal right-of12 way and prepare for potential communications use 

13 authorization applications. 

Æ 


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