FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: March 16, 2000 Meribeth McCarrick at (202) 418-0654 FCC ANNOUNCES PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO COLLOCATING WIRELESS ANTENNAS ON EXISTING STRUCTURES Washington, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) have entered into a Programmatic Agreement to streamline procedures for review of collocations of antennas on existing towers and other structures under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), 18 U.S.C. §§ 470 et seq. This Programmatic Agreement is intended to relieve unnecessary administrative burdens on the Commission’s licensees, tower construction and management companies, State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs), and the Commission, while protecting the goals of the NHPA. Under the NHPA, federal agencies are required to consider the effects of federal undertakings on historic sites. Commission licensees and applicants must comply with NHPA procedures for facilities that may affect sites that are listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. This process includes consultation with the relevant SHPO to determine the potential adverse effect of the facilities' siting, as well as other procedures set out in the ACHP rules, 36 C.F.R. Part 800, Subpart B. Under the Programmatic Agreement, most collocations on existing structures are exempted from the procedures set forth in the ACHP rules. The Programmatic Agreement recognizes that the addition of a small antenna to a tower or other structure (that is not itself a historic property) should ordinarily have no adverse effect on historic properties. The Programmatic Agreement includes exceptions for collocations that are located within a historic district or on certain historic structures, as well as certain other situations. In addition, the Programmatic Agreement contains safeguards for bringing unusual situations where a collocation may have an adverse effect on historic properties to the Commission’s attention. FCC Contacts: Chris Gacek at (202) 418-7413 or e-mail at cgacek@fcc.gov or Jeff Steinberg at (202) 418-0896 or e-mail at jsteinberg@fcc.gov News media Information 202 / 418-0500 TTY 202 / 418-2555 Fax-On-Demand 202 / 418-2830 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov ftp.fcc.gov Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).