Draft Twilight Tower Plan Could Get Preservation Interests' Backing
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation doesn't see huge red flags raised by the FCC's proposed ACHP program comment about antenna collocation not needing National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 review, which could bring long-discussed collocation on twilight towers closer to reality. The agency's draft public notice (PN), on this month's meeting agenda (see 1711220026), "seems to be a reasonable first start," ACHP Office of Federal Agency Programs Director Reid Nelson told us. The FCC has a wide array of other broadband infrastructure deployment issues it could tee up next, experts said.
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The FCC, ACHP and various other preservation stakeholders have talked for years about twilight towers -- those built between March 2001 and March 2005 and lacking evidence of having gone through Section 106 historic preservation review -- and how to allow collocation without requiring those towers go through a Section 106 review, Nelson said. The FCC during those discussions suggested a variety of approaches to open them up to collocation, Nelson said. He said there hasn't been full consensus among the FCC and historic preservation interests, but the new draft framework "falls within the parameters" of the types of things discussed. He said the FCC draft isn't a brand new approach but rather an attempt at packaging together ideas preservation interests have batted around with the agency. None of what the FCC proposes presents problems "that are insurmountable," Nelson said, calling it "a reasonable framework" for negotiation.
The program comment would add a Section 106 exclusion for some types of twilight tower collocations, according to the draft PN. Justifying that exclusion is the limited reliability of Section 106 review documentation from March 2001 to March 2005, the lack of FCC rules specifically regarding Section 106 review when those towers went up, and the unlikely odds a Section 106 review would find adverse effects from the towers "that are not yet known after 12 years or more." It also says the existing review process would put too-big burdens on participants, given the large number of twilight towers and the potential collocations that could be installed on them.
The draft also provides a variety of circumstances in which the collocation would still need to go through the Section 106 process, including the mounting of an antenna that would exceed the existing tower height by more than 10 percent or adding an appurtenance to the tower body that would stick out more than 20 feet. Section 106 review also would be necessary if the proposed antenna mounting would involve excavation outside the current tower site or if the tower is subject to a pending environmental review or related FCC proceeding involving Section 106 compliance.
ACHP sees a way forward, but state and tribal interests could feel otherwise and surely will want to be engaged in the process, Nelson said. He didn't discuss what terms might need adjusting from an ACHP standpoint, saying the agency is reviewing the draft.
Wireless advocates are hopeful for twilight tower resolution. The draft PN is "a major breakthrough," Wireless Infrastructure Association President Jonathan Adelstein told us. Given the demands of increased capacity, making thousands of towers available for collocation is a major need, he said. He said the issue, discussed for years, finally moved forward because of stronger leadership at the FCC, with Chairman Ajit Pai pushing streamlining of rules and Commissioner Brendan Carr tasked with overhauling wireless infrastructure rules (see 1710260038). Adelstein said opposition to collocation has been based more on theoretical problems with towers than actual ones.
The FCC proposal likely won't get strong pushback, said Tech Knowledge Director and former Wireless Bureau Chief Fred Campbell. "This is a cleanup item," largely extending the existing process to towers that had been skipped over, Campbell said.
Campbell said possible infrastructure agenda items the agency could look at next include pole attachment and antenna siting issues, plus using municipal light poles for microcell antennas. Adelstein said WIA is working with CTIA on a proposal for a tribal construction notification system. He also said a potential priority of the agency could be streamlining the deployment of small cells in rights of way. But tackling twilight towers first made sense given how long discussion has gone on, Adelstein said.
Carr in a statement Friday said the agency is "continuing to make progress on the wireless infrastructure front. Last month, we addressed pole replacements and, on December 14, we will move forward with a concrete solution for Twilight Towers. I am continuing to review the FCC’s record and identifying additional steps we can take in the near term to further expedite the deployment of wireless infrastructure.”