*Pages 1--1 from  Microsoft Word - 52220.doc*
 Federal  Communications  Commission  FCC  05-  176 
 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 


 Re:  Clarification  of  Procedures  for  Participation  of  Federally  Recognized  Indian  Tribes  and  Native  Hawaiian  Organizations  Under  the  Nationwide  Programmatic 
 Agreement 
 I  am  very  pleased  with  this  Declaratory  Ruling  because  it  provides  an  important  clarification  to  certain  provisions  of  the  Nationwide  Programmatic  Agreement  (NPA),  a 
 landmark  agreement  that  I  fully  support.  The  Order  strikes  the  right  balance  between  the  Commission’s  consultation  obligations  to  Indian  tribes  and  Native  Hawaiian 
 organizations  (NHOs)  under  Section  106  of  the  National  Historic  Preservation  Act  of  1966  and  the  need  for  certainty  when  Indian  tribes  and  NHOs  have  not  responded  in  a 
 timely  fashion  to  industry  and  Commission  contacts. 
 Resolution  of  this  issue  is  long  overdue,  given  that  winter  is  fast  approaching  and  the  construction  season  is  ending  across  much  of  the  northern  United  States.  We  need  to 
 encourage  wireless  infrastructure  deployment,  and  not  unnecessarily  stand  in  its  way.  Given  the  public  interest  considerations  and  our  consultation  efforts  to  date,  I  am  pleased 
 that  we  have  agreed  to  immediately  clear  the  enormous  backlog  of  tower  siting  requests. 
 While  I  know  that  there  have  been  challenges  for  all  parties  involved  in  the  initial  implementation  of  the  NPA,  I  am  very  encouraged  by  reports  from  both  industry  and 
 tribes  and  NHOs  regarding  the  extent  of  consultation  that  has  taken  place  over  the  past  several  months.  Indeed,  approximately  95%  of  the  577  federally  recognized  tribes  have 
 availed  themselves  of  the  Tower  Construction  Notification  System  (TCNS).  These  are  very  positive  developments,  and  they  should  not  be  forgotten  in  our  resolution  today  of 
 the  “lack  of  response”  issue. 
 Recognizing  the  efforts  of  so  many  to  implement  the  NPA,  I  fully  appreciate  the  concerns  that  were  raised  regarding  the  uncertainty  created  when  Indian  tribes  and  NHOs 
 fail  to  reply  to  industry  and  Commission  efforts  to  obtain  a  response  as  specified  in  the  NPA.  Once  I  heard  about  the  extent  of  these  concerns,  I  was  pleased  to  work  actively 
 with  my  colleagues  and  with  organizations  like  the  United  South  and  Eastern  Tribes,  the  National  Congress  of  American  Indians,  and  CTIA  to  come  up  with  an  approach  that 
 both  addresses  the  current  application  backlog  and  meets  the  needs  of  all  concerned  parties  going  forward.  I  fully  endorse  the  level  of  cooperation  and  understanding  that 
 helped  us  develop  the  approach  we  adopt  today  and  hope  it  serves  as  a  model  for  further  collaborative  efforts  under  the  NPA. 


 The  NPA  can  and  will  work.  We  have  taken  important  steps  forward  in  this  item,  and  we  should  continue  to  improve  the  consultation  process  through  periodic  reviews  of 
 the  notification  provisions  of  the  NPA.  Just  as  with  my  approach  to  the  issue  before  us  today,  I  commit  to  working  actively  with  industry  and  Indian  tribes  and  NHOs  to  ensure 
 that  consultation  under  the  NPA  works  as  smoothly  as  possible  in  the  future. 
1