Sponsor
Gus Bilirakis
Representative · R-FL
Representative · R-FL
The bill speeds and lowers the cost of placing or upgrading communications infrastructure in floodplains—benefiting carriers and local connectivity—at the expense of federal environmental and historic reviews, which raises risks of ecological, cultural, and distributional harms that local communities (especially disadvantaged ones) may have to absorb.
Communities served by FCC-regulated providers (rural and urban) can get communications facilities deployed or upgraded in floodplains faster because NEPA/NHPA reviews are removed for covered projects, speeding access to improved connectivity and resilience.
FCC-regulated carriers and tower owners (utilities/energy companies) face lower permitting time and compliance costs for floodplain projects, reducing project delays and expenses.
State and local governments and applicants (utilities/energy companies) gain clearer definitions of key terms (e.g., communications facility, Federal authorization), reducing regulatory uncertainty for floodplain deployments.
Residents living in or near floodplains (rural and urban) lose federal environmental review protections that could identify flood risks and ecological harms from communications projects, increasing the chance of local environmental damage and safety risks.
Disadvantaged and low-income communities in floodplains (often rural) may be disproportionately affected because removing federal review eliminates a mechanism that surfaces environmental justice concerns and local harms.
Local governments and communities with historic resources face increased risk that historic sites in floodplain areas could be altered or damaged without NHPA Section 106 review, threatening cultural heritage.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Exempts FCC-jurisdiction communications projects wholly inside federal floodplains from NEPA and NHPA review requirements.
Exempts certain communications facility projects located entirely inside federally defined floodplains from being treated as "major federal actions" under NEPA and from being "undertakings" under the National Historic Preservation Act. The exemption applies to FCC-jurisdiction deployment or modification of communications facilities that require an FCC permit, license, or approval and are carried out wholly within a floodplain as defined in federal regulation.
Official title: To provide that a project for the deployment or modification of a communications facility entirely within a floodplain is not subject to requirements to prepare certain environmental or historical preservation reviews.
Introduced April 10, 2025 by Gus Bilirakis · Last progress April 10, 2025