FACT SHEET: FEDERAL LEGISLATION ON WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS Federal Lands: Impacts of Blanketing the Wilderness and Backcountry with Cell Towers 19 Bills Currently Pending In Congress Key Policies Implemented By These Bills ● These bills would proliferate cell towers and ● “Streamline” permitting of cell towers on increase levels of radiofrequency radiation federal lands to fast-track deployment. [...] agency having ever assessed the impact of these facilities on our national resources.1 Impacts of Wireless Facilities On Federal Lands Category 1 Bills: Highest Scale Of Impact ● Radiofrequency (RF) radiation is a pollutant that harms animals and plants, with well- HR 6492 (EXPLORE Act omnibus bill, includes documented effects on trees, pollinators, S.2018 Connect Our Parks Act/ HR 5919/ S. [...] Sections 141 and 142 deploy wireless ● No US government agency has ever facilities in National Parks and recreational reviewed the science or assessed the areas of all federal lands2 impacts of RF on animals or plants.6 ● No US government agency has ever S.2855 promotes deployments on all federal determined safe levels of this pollutant for lands; eliminates National Environmental Policy animals o. [...] HR 5242/ S.2663 shortens shot clocks for USDA ● Implement a moratorium on wireless approvals of wireless facilities; waives all deployments on federal land until the federal requirements for attaching wireless federal government has (a) assessed the facilities in existing easements impact of radiofrequency on these environments and (b) created exposure Category 3 Bills: Moderate Scale of Impact li. [...] Service Chart does not include 8.8 million acres managed by radiation-in-the-united-states-exemplar-of-a- Department of Defense, as these lands are typically regulatory-gap/ outside the scope of the wireless bills described in In 2021, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, this document.
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