Senators John Barrasso [R-NY] and Kyrsten Sinema [I-AZ] have introduced the Closing Long Overdue Streamlining Encumbrances to Help Expeditiously Generate Approved Permits Act (S. 2855), dubbed the CLOSE THE GAP Act, which would streamline the permitting process for broadband infrastructure buildouts on Federal lands. The bill promotes online application tracking for broadband infrastructure, provides exemptions from both the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and establishes a working group between each Federal land management agency to coordinate and expedite the review of applications. The bill was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, on which Senator Barrasso sits as the Ranking Member.
