FCC to vote Sept. 30 on declaring space operations exempt from NEPA review
If adopted, the order would put satellite operations outside the reach of federal environmental review law, not just excuse applicants from paperwork.
What we know
- The FCC said in a post on X that it will vote on waiving National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review for space operations. [1]
- According to Payload, the vote is scheduled for Sept. 30, and the draft order would find that space-based operations are not "major federal actions," the legal trigger for NEPA review. [2]
- Payload reported that satellite licensing has been categorically excluded from FCC environmental review since 1986, and the new rule would place those operations outside NEPA entirely. [2]
- Payload reported the FCC's case rests on two arguments: that space impacts are extraterritorial, and that a spectrum license does not give the FCC control over how a satellite is built, flown or disposed of. [2]
- Not yet confirmed: The outcome of the Sept. 30 vote is not known. The sources describe a draft order, and its final text could differ from what Payload described.
The Federal Communications Commission will vote on Sept. 30 on a draft order that would find space-based operations are not "major federal actions," according to the trade outlet Payload. The FCC highlighted the planned vote in a post on X.[1][2]
Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), agencies must study and disclose the environmental effects of actions they approve before approving them. "Major federal actions" are the threshold that triggers that review, Payload reported.[2]
Payload reported that satellite licensing has been categorically excluded from FCC environmental review since 1986. The draft order would go further, Payload said, by treating those operations as outside NEPA's reach altogether rather than only excusing applicants from paperwork.[2]
Payload described two arguments in the FCC's case. The first is that the Outer Space Treaty bars any claim of sovereign territory in space, so effects there are "extraterritorial," a category Congress excluded from the definition of major federal actions. The second is that a spectrum license does not give the FCC control over how an operator builds, flies or disposes of a satellite. For atmospheric activity, Payload said, the FCC defers to the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates launches and reentries.[2]
The vote is part of a wider round of agency rulemaking. Payload reported that President Donald Trump's January 2025 executive order revoked a Carter-era order that had let the Council on Environmental Quality issue government-wide NEPA regulations, so agencies now write their own procedures.[2]
Payload also reported that the FAA proposed in July to waive NEPA and 12 other statutes for commercial space licenses and permits. Comments closed Aug. 31 with more than 3,200 received. According to Payload, NASA replaced its NEPA rules on July 1, and the Space Force is still producing full environmental impact statements for launch infrastructure.[2]