[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 49 (Monday, March 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13317-13318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05584]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Telecommunications Program: Notice of Availability of a 
Programmatic Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Programmatic Environmental 
Assessment of USDA Rural Utilities Service's Financial Support for 
Deployment of the Telecommunications Programs to Rural America.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS, Agency), an agency of the 
United States Department of Agriculture, issued a Programmatic 
Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the development of a more efficient 
and effective environmental review process for the RUS 
Telecommunications Program on March 1, 2016. The Notice of Availability 
of a Programmatic Environmental Assessment was published on March 2, 
2016, in the Federal Register at 81 FR 10575. The PEA provides a broad 
environmental analysis of the Agency's preliminary decisions and 
includes a tiered, site-specific analysis at the project level that 
would be completed before Agency dispersal of funds and/or applicant 
construction. Since publication of the Agency's Environmental Policies 
and Procedures (7 CFR part 1970) in the Federal Register (81 FR 11000) 
on March 2, 2016, RUS has updated the PEA with citations to the 
Agency's new environmental rule. These changes are administrative and 
not substantive, therefore supplementation of the PEA is not required.

DATES: Written comments on the PEA must be received on or before March 
31, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written comments by physical mail or 
electronic mail to: Mr. Richard Fristik, Senior Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Water and Environmental Programs/Engineering and 
Environmental Staff, Rural Utilities Service, 1400 Independence Ave. 
SW., Mail Stop 1571, Room 2240, Washington, DC 20250, fax: (202) 690-
0649, or email: [email protected].
    To obtain copies of the PEA or for further information, contact: 
Mr. Richard Fristik at the contact information provided in this Notice. 
A copy of the PEA is available for downloading through the Rural 
Development homepage at: http://www.rd.usda.gov/publications/environmental-studies/assessments/programmatic-environmental-assessment. Additional information about the Agency and its programs is 
available on the Internet at http://www.rd.usda.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the PEA, please 
contact Mr. Richard Fristik, Senior Environmental Protection 
Specialist, Water and Environmental Programs/Engineering and 
Environmental Staff, Rural Utilities Service, 1400 Independence Ave. 
SW., Mail Stop 1571, Room 2240, Washington, DC 20250, telephone: (202) 
720-5093, fax: (202) 690-0649, or email: [email protected]. 
Parties wishing to be placed on the PEA's mailing list for future 
information and to receive copies of the PEA should also contact Mr. 
Fristik.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: RUS issued a PEA for the development of a 
more efficient and effective environmental review process for its 
Telecommunications Program on March 1, 2016. The PEA provides a broad 
environmental analysis of the Agency's preliminary decisions and 
includes a tiered, site-specific analysis at the project level that 
would be completed before Agency dispersal of funds and/or applicant 
construction. Since publication of the Agency's Environmental Policies 
and Procedures (7 CFR part 1970) on March 2, 2016, RUS has updated the 
PEA with citations to the Agency's new environmental rule. These 
changes are administrative and not substantive, therefore 
supplementation of the PEA is not required.
    The RUS Telecommunications Program provides a variety of loans and 
grants to build and expand broadband networks in rural America. Loans 
to build broadband networks and deliver service to households and 
businesses in rural communities provide a necessary source of capital 
for rural telecommunications companies. Grant funding is awarded based 
on a number of factors relating to the benefits to be derived from the 
proposed broadband network project, as specified in applicable program 
regulations.
    Eligible applicants for RUS loans and grants include for-profit and 
non-profit entities, tribes, municipalities, and cooperatives. The 
Agency particularly encourages investment in tribal and economically 
disadvantaged areas. Through low-cost funding for telecommunications 
infrastructure, rural residents can have access to services that will 
close the digital divide between rural and urban communities. Once 
funds are awarded, RUS monitors the projects to make sure they are 
completed in accordance with program conditions and requirements.
    The application process for requesting financial assistance for the 
various Telecommunications programs varies slightly from a competitive 
grant program, individual project proposals, or multi-year ``loan 
design'' applications. The Agency seeks to synchronize and create 
environmental review efficiencies for future project-level 
environmental review compliance for the various programs, commensurate 
with the potential environmental impacts. The Agency also seeks to 
establish proper sequencing of certain agency preliminary decisions 
(i.e., obligation of funds and/or approval of interim financing 
requests) with subsequent tiered, site-specific project environmental 
reviews.
    The PEA is intended to expedite the funding, deployment, and 
expansion of broadband infrastructure in rural America. The PEA 
includes detailed descriptions and analyses of the direct, indirect, 
and cumulative impacts associated with broadband infrastructure 
technologies and construction methods, such as impacts to water 
resources, terrestrial resources, historic and cultural resources, air 
and climate resources, noise, threatened and endangered species, 
electromagnetic radiation, and Environmental Justice issues. Use of the 
PEA analyses thereby saves project-level processing time, ensuring 
consistent and accurate environmental evaluations while avoiding 
unnecessary duplication and repetition in project-level planning and 
evaluation. Use of the PEA enables project-level compliance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act 
(ESA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and other 
requirements to focus on the remaining relevant site-specific issues, 
expediting planning, analysis, compliance,

[[Page 13318]]

documentation, and ultimately project-level decisions.
    The PEA is available for public review at the digital and physical 
addresses provided in this Notice. Questions and comments should be 
sent to RUS at the mailing or email addresses provided in this Notice. 
RUS should receive written comments on the PEA on or before March 31, 
2016 to ensure that they are considered in its environmental impact 
determination.
    Any final action by RUS related to the broadband portion of the RUS 
Telecommunications Program will be subject to, and contingent upon, 
compliance with all relevant presidential executive orders and federal, 
state, and local environmental laws and regulations in addition to the 
completion of the environmental review requirements as prescribed in 
the Agency's Environmental Policies and Procedures.

    Dated: March 7, 2016.
Keith B. Adams,
Assistant Administrator--Telecommunications Program, Rural Utilities 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-05584 Filed 3-11-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE P