Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
The Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a Dear Tribal Leader Letter
announcing a Tribal Nation and industry briefing on a National Policy Memorandum (NPM) to streamline Rights-of-Way (ROW) and business lease applications. NPM-TRUS-44, “Streamlining the Rights-of-Way (ROW) and Business Lease Application Process for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Telecommunication, and Renewable Energy Projects”, was adopted on April 15, 2022 and applies to all BIA programs, offices, regions, and agencies involved in ROW and business lease operations.
The NPM directs BIA to review ROW and business lease applications and notify an applicant whether an application is complete or incomplete within five business days. The NPM also directs BIA to simplify and streamline the processing of ROW and lease applications that are part of, or related to, infrastructure on land tracts 100% owned by a Tribal Nation, allotted lands, ROW applications crossing multiple tracts, and Wind Energy Evaluation Leases (WEEL) and Wind and Solar Resource (WSR) Leases.
Details on the Tribal Nation and industry briefing are as follows—
Questions regarding this briefing should be directed to Carla Clark, Acting Division Chief, BIA Division of Real Estate Services, at (720) 484-3233, or by email at carla.clark@bia.gov. You may also contact Jana Waters, Realty Specialist, at (406) 690-4640, or by email at jana.waters@bia.gov.
For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.
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