It’s official!!! The Commission’s revised antenna structure registration process is now in effect. We know that because the FCC has said so, in the Federal Register – and you can’t get more official than that. The notice announces that the Office of Management and Budget has approved the “information collection” aspects of the new system, so the FCC is cleared to crank it up – which it has now done, effective June 18, 2012.
This is important news for anyone who is:
planning to build any new tower that would have to registered through the FCC’s Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) system. The only exceptions are for (a) towers to be built on sites for which some other federal agency has responsibility for environmental review or (b) cases in which an emergency waiver has been granted; or
modifying an existing registered tower by (a) increasing its overall height by more than 10% or 20 feet, or (b) adding lighting to a previously unlit structure, or (c) modifying existing lighting from a more preferred configuration to a less preferred configuration. (Helpful tip: the “most preferred” configuration is no lights at all; the least preferred is red steady lights. Anything else falls in the middle.); or
amending a pending application involving either of the foregoing situations and the amendment would (a) change the type of structure, or (b) change the structure’s coordinates, or (c) increase the overall height of the structure or (d) change from a more preferred to a less preferred lighting configuration or (e) an Environmental Assessment is required.
If you’re looking for background on what the changes may mean for you, check out our earlier post on the subject. Or you could watch the FCC’s introductory presentation and demonstration of the new system, which is available at the Commission’s website. (Time Management Tip: Before committing to watch the whole show, be prepared to invest 75 minutes of your valuable time.)
