[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39988-39989]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17225]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
First Responder Network Authority
[Docket Number 131219999-8730-04]
RIN 0660-XC009
Withdrawal of Notice of Intent To Prepare Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statements and Amendment of Record of Decisions
for Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements
AGENCY: First Responder Network Authority, National Telecommunications
and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent; withdrawal.
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SUMMARY: The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) is
(1) withdrawing its Notice of Intent to Prepare Supplemental
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements (SPEISs) and Conduct
Scoping for the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN), and
(2) amending five (5) records of decision to remove the references to
the FirstNet Authority's intent to prepare the SPEISs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eli Veenendaal, First Responder
Network Authority, National Telecommunications and Information
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 3122 Sterling Circle,
Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80301 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C.
1401 et seq.) created and authorized the FirstNet Authority to take all
actions necessary to ensure the building, deployment, and operation of
an interoperable NPSBN. As part of NPSBN deployment, the FirstNet
Authority is required to comply with the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA) and the implementing
regulations issued by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR
parts 1500-1508) (CEQ Regulations) to assess the environmental effects
of its proposed actions prior to making a final decision and
implementing the action.
To support NEPA compliance, the FirstNet Authority prepared and
finalized five regional programmatic environmental impact statements
(PEISs) that analyze the potential environmental impacts of the
deployment and operation of the NPSBN at a programmatic level.\1\
However, prior to completing the PEISs and issuing corresponding
records of decision (RODs), the FirstNet Authority was still in the
process of revising the FirstNet Authority Procedures for Implementing
the National Environmental Policy Act (FirstNet Authority NEPA
Procedures) and identified a potential need to account for these
changes in the PEISs and RODs.\2\
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\1\ Notice of Availability of a Final Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement for the East Region of the Nationwide Public Safety
Broadband Network, 82 FR 49785 (Oct. 27, 2017); See also Notice of
Availability of a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
for the South Region of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband
Network, 82 FR 45806 (Oct. 5, 2017); See also Notice of Availability
of a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the
Central Region of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, 82
FR 41594 (Sept. 1, 2017); Notice of Availability of a Final
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the West Region of
the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, 82 FR 33870 (July
21, 2017); Notice of Availability of a Final Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement for the Non-Contiguous Region of the
Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, 82 FR 29825 (June 30,
2017).
\2\ Revised National Environmental Policy Act Procedures and
Categorical Exclusions, 82 FR 28621 (June 23, 2017) (proposing and
seeking public comment on revised FirstNet Authority Procedures for
Implementing NEPA).
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Consequently, on September 25, 2017, the FirstNet Authority
published a notice of intent (NOI) in the Federal Register to prepare
SPEISs to address the potential impact of the FirstNet Authority NEPA
Procedures as well as the process the FirstNet Authority would follow
to assess potential environmental impacts of the NPSBN deployment at
the site specific-level.\3\ Similarly, the FirstNet Authority also
included comparable language relating to its intent to prepare SPEISs
in each of the RODS.\4\
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\3\ Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping for the
Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, 82 FR 44556 (Sept. 25,
2017).
\4\ FirstNet Authority, Final Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement and Record of Decisions for West Region, Central Region,
South Region, East Region, and Non-Contiguous Region, https://website.azurewebsites.us/network/peis-content (discussing the intent
to prepare a SPEIS in section 3.4.1--Tiered Site Specific Analysis
of each ROD).
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Subsequently, on February 1, 2018, following the issuance of the
NOI and RODs for each region, the FirstNet Authority completed the
regulatory process for and published in the Federal Register a notice
responding to comments and finalizing its proposed modifications to the
FirstNet Authority NEPA Procedures.\5\ The revised FirstNet
[[Page 39989]]
Authority NEPA Procedures describe the process and review criteria the
FirstNet Authority will follow to comply with NEPA and CEQ Regulations
for proposed actions related to NPSBN deployment.\6\ In particular, the
FirstNet Authority NEPA Procedures define the roles and
responsibilities of the FirstNet Authority and its applicants and
describe the criteria and process for determining the appropriate level
of NEPA review and making environmental determinations and final
decisions for site-specific reviews of FirstNet Authority actions
related to the NPSBN.\7\
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\5\ Revised National Environmental Policy Act Procedures and
Categorical Exclusions, 83 FR 4632 (Feb. 1, 2018) (responding to
comments and finalizing revisions to FirstNet Authority Procedures
for Implementing NEPA).
\6\ FirstNet Procedures for Implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act (January 2018), https://www.firstnet.gov/content/notice-revised-national-environmental-policy-act-procedures-and-categorical-exclusions.
\7\ See id.
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Accordingly, the FirstNet Authority has reviewed and determined
that the revisions to the FirstNet Authority NEPA Procedures do not
significantly impact any of the environmental analyses in the PEISs and
that the information anticipated to be presented in the SPEISs related
to the process for conducting site-specific reviews has already been
sufficiently included in the revised FirstNet Authority Implementing
Procedures. Thus, to avoid duplicative analysis and the unnecessary use
of resources, the FirstNet Authority is (1) withdrawing its Notice of
Intent to Prepare SPEISs and Conduct Scoping for the NPSBN, and (2)
amending five (5) records of decision to remove the references to the
FirstNet Authority's intent to prepare SPEISs, including section
3.4.1--Tiered Site Specific Analysis, in each of the documents.\8\
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\8\ The amended RODs for each of five regions are available at
www.firstnet.gov.
Dated: August 7, 2018.
Elijah Veenendaal,
Attorney-Advisor, First Responder Network Authority.
[FR Doc. 2018-17225 Filed 8-10-18; 8:45 am]
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