,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #acge  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #ba1 #bjac    
,mr4 ,mullin introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,natural ,resources1 and  
in addition to the ,committee on        
,agriculture1 for a period to be        
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to facilitate the           
development of wind energy resources on 
,federal lands4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited at the ,reducing      
,regulatory ,obstacles to ,wind ,energy 
,production ,act4  #b4 ,onshore         
meteorological site testing and         
monitoring project  7a7 ,definition of  
meteorological site testing and         
monitoring project ,in this section1 the
 term meteorological site testing and   
monitoring project means a project      
carried out on land administered by the 

,bureau of ,land ,management or the     
,forest ,service to test or monitor     
weather 7including wind and solar       
energy7 using towers or other devices1  
that--  7#a7 causes--  7,a7 less than #a
 acre of soil or vegetation disruption  
at the location of each meteorological  
tower or other device2 and  7,b7 not    
more than #e acres of soil or disruption
 within the proposed right-of-way for   
the project2  7#b7 is installed--  7,a7 
to the maximum extent practicable1 using
 existing access roads2  7,b7 in a      
manner that does not require off-road   
motorized access other than #a          
installation activity and #a            
decommissioning activity along an       
identified off-road route approved by   
the ,director of the ,bureau of ,land   
,management or ,chief of the ,forest    
,service2  7,c7 without construction of 
new roads other than upgrading of       
existing minor drainage crossings for   
safety purposes2 and  7,d7 without the  
use of digging or drilling equipment    

vehicles other than rubber-tired        
vehicles with gross weight ratings under
 #h1ejj pounds2  7#c7 is decommissioned 
not more than #e years after the date of
 commencement of the project1           
including--  7,a7 removal of any towers1
 devices1 or other surface              
infrastructure from the site2 and  7,b7 
restoration of the site to approximately
 the condition that existed at the time 
the project began2 and  7#d7 provides   
meteorological information obtained by  
the permitted project to the ,bureau of 
,land ,management and the ,forest       
,service4  7b7 ,,nepa exclusion ,section
 #ajb7b77;,c7 of the ,national          
,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi    
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dccb7b77;,c77 shall not 
apply with respect to a meteorological  
site testing and monitoring project4    
7c7 ,permit timeline and conditions     
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,director of the  
,bureau of ,land ,management or ,chief  
of the ,forest ,service1 as applicable1 
shall decide whether to issue a permit  

for a project that is a meteorological  
site testing and monitoring project     
within #cj days after receiving an      
application for the permit4  7#b7       
,public comment and consultation ,during
 the period referred to in paragraph    
7#a71 the ,director of the ,bureau of   
,land ,management or the ,chief of the  
,forest ,service1 as applicable1 shall--
  7,a7 provide an opportunity for       
submission of comments by the public2   
and  7,b7 consult with the heads of     
other ,federal1 ,state1 and local       
agencies that would be affected by the  
issuance of the permit4  7#c7 ,denial of
 ,application ,if the application is    
denied1 the ,director or ,chief1        
respectively1 shall provide the         
applicant--  7,a7 in writing1 clear and 
comprehensive reasons why the           
application was not approved and        
detailed information concerning any     
deficiencies1 and  7,b7 an opportunity  
to remedy any deficiencies4  7d7        
,protection of information ,the         

information provided to the ,bureau of  
,land ,management and the ,forest       
,service pursuant to subsection 7a77#d7 
shall be treated by such agency as      
proprietary information and protected   
against disclosure4