I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4847 
To streamline the process for consideration of applications for the placement 
of communications facilities on certain Federal lands, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 19, 2018 
Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana (for herself and Ms. MATSUI) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Nat-
ural Resources, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To streamline the process for consideration of applications 
for the placement of communications facilities on certain 
Federal lands, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Broadband Deploy-
ment Streamlining Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. STREAMLINING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTE-
RIOR AND THE FOREST SERVICE PROCESS 
FOR CONSIDERATION OF COMMUNICATIONS 
FACILITY LOCATION APPLICATIONS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COMMUNICATIONS
FACILITY.—The term 
‘‘communications facility’’ includes— 
(A) any infrastructure, including any 
transmitting device, tower, or support structure, 
and any equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, 
power sources, shelters, or cabinets, associated 
with the licensed or permitted unlicensed wire-
less or wireline transmission of writings, signs, 
signals, data, images, pictures, and sounds of 
all kinds; and 
(B) any antenna or apparatus that— 
(i) is designed for the purpose of 
emitting radio frequency; 
(ii) is designed to be operated, or is 
operating, from a fixed location pursuant 
to authorization by the Federal Commu-
nications Commission or is using duly au-
thorized devices that do not require indi-
vidual licenses; and 
(iii) is added to a tower, building, or 
other structure. 
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(2) COMMUNICATIONS SITE.—The term ‘‘com-
munications site’’ means an area of covered land 
designated for communications uses. 
(3) COMMUNICATIONS USE.—The term ‘‘com-
munications use’’ means the placement and oper-
ation of communications facility. 
(4) COMMUNICATIONS USE AUTHORIZATION.— 
The term ‘‘communications use authorization’’ 
means an easement, right-of-way, lease, license, or 
other authorization to locate or modify a commu-
nications facility on covered land by the Department 
concerned for the primary purpose of authorizing 
the occupancy and use of the covered land for com-
munications use. 
(5) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 
means— 
(A) public land administered by the Sec-
retary of the Interior; and 
(B) National Forest System land. 
(6) DEPARTMENT
CONCERNED.—The term 
‘‘Department concerned’’ means the Department of 
the Interior or the Department of Agriculture. 
(7) ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT.—The term ‘‘orga-
nizational unit’’ means— 
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(A) with respect to public land adminis-
tered by the Secretary of the Interior— 
(i) a State office; 
(ii) a district office; or 
(iii) a field office; and 
(B) within the Forest Service— 
(i) a regional office; 
(ii) the headquarters; 
(iii) a management unit; or 
(iv) a ranger district office. 
(8) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec-
retary concerned’’ means— 
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-
spect to public land; and 
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-
spect to National Forest System land. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned 
shall issue regulations— 
(1) to streamline the process for considering ap-
plications to locate or modify communications facili-
ties on covered land of the Department concerned; 
(2) to ensure, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, that the process is uniform and standardized 
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across the organizational units of the Department 
concerned; and 
(3) to require that the applications described in 
paragraph (1) be considered and granted on a com-
petitively neutral, technology neutral, and non-dis-
criminatory basis. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued under 
subsection (b) shall include the following: 
(1) Procedures for the tracking of applications 
described in subsection (b)(1), including— 
(A) identifying the number of applica-
tions— 
(i) received; 
(ii) approved; and 
(iii) denied; 
(B) in the case of an application that is 
denied, describing the reasons for the denial; 
and 
(C) describing the amount of time between 
the receipt of an application and the issuance of 
a final decision on an application. 
(2) Provision for minimum lease terms of not 
less than five years for leases with respect to the lo-
cation of communications facilities on covered land. 
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(3) A policy under which a communications use 
authorization renews automatically on expiration, 
unless the communications use authorization is re-
voked for good cause; and 
(4) A structure of fees for— 
(A) submitting an application described in 
subsection (b)(1), based on the cost to the De-
partment concerned of considering such an ap-
plication; and 
(B) issuing communications use authoriza-
tions, based on the cost to the Department con-
cerned of any maintenance or other activities 
required to be performed by the Department 
concerned as a result of the location or modi-
fication of the communications facility. 
(d) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing regu-
lations under subsection (b), the Secretary concerned shall 
consider— 
(1) how discrete reviews in considering an ap-
plication described in subsection (b)(1) can be con-
ducted simultaneously, rather than sequentially, by 
any organizational units of the Department con-
cerned that must approve the location or modifica-
tion; and 
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(2) how to eliminate overlapping requirements 
among the organizational units of the Department 
concerned with respect to the location or modifica-
tion of a communications facility on covered land ad-
ministered by those organizational units. 
(e) COMMUNICATION OF STREAMLINED PROCESS TO 
ORGANIZATIONAL
UNITS.—The 
Secretary 
concerned 
shall, with respect to the regulations issued under sub-
section (b)— 
(1) communicate the regulations to the organi-
zational units of the Department concerned; and 
(2) ensure that the organizational units of the 
Department concerned follow the regulations. 
(f) DEPOSIT AND AVAILABILITY OF FEES.— 
(1) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall establish a special account in the 
Treasury for each Department concerned for the de-
posit of fees collected by the Department concerned 
under subsection (c)(4) for communications use au-
thorizations on covered land granted, issued, or exe-
cuted by the Department concerned. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR FEES COLLECTED.— 
Fees collected by the Department concerned under 
subsection (c)(4) shall be— 
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(A) based on the costs described in sub-
section (c)(4); and 
(B) competitively neutral, technology neu-
tral, and nondiscriminatory with respect to 
other users of the communications site. 
(3) DEPOSIT OF FEES.—Fees collected by the 
Department concerned under subsection (c)(4) shall 
be deposited in the special account established for 
that Department concerned under paragraph (1). 
(4) AVAILABILITY OF FEES.—Amounts depos-
ited in the special account for a Department con-
cerned shall be available, to the extent and in such 
amounts as are provided in advance in appropriation 
Acts, to the Secretary concerned to cover costs in-
curred by the Department concerned described in 
subsection (c)(4), including the following: 
(A) Preparing needs assessments or other 
programmatic analyses necessary to designate 
communications sites and issue communications 
use authorizations. 
(B) Developing management plans for 
communications sites. 
(C) Training for management of commu-
nications sites. 
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(D) Obtaining or improving access to com-
munications sites. 
(5) NO ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS AUTHOR-
IZED.—Except as provided in paragraph (4), no 
other amounts are authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out this section. 
SEC. 3. WIRELESS FACILITIES DEPLOYMENT ON FEDERAL 
PROPERTY. 
Section 6409(b) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and 
Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(b)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) TIMELY
CONSIDERATION
OF
APPLICA-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 270 
days after the date on which an executive agen-
cy receives a duly filed application for an ease-
ment or right-of-way under this subsection, the 
executive agency shall— 
‘‘(i) grant or deny, on behalf of the 
Federal Government, the application; and 
‘‘(ii) notify the applicant of the grant 
or denial. 
‘‘(B) EXPLANATION OF DENIAL.—If an ex-
ecutive agency denies an application under sub-
paragraph (A), the executive agency shall notify 
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