BEAD environmental screen (free)
- Project, award and route
- Construction methods by segment
- Streams, wetlands and floodplains
- Listed species and critical habitat
- Historic properties and tribal interests
- Likely NTIA categorical exclusion
Broadband subgrantees building with BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) funds
Which state program and award is this?
Free screen of a BEAD fiber or tower route for NEPA: stream, wetland, flood, species and historic flags, and which NTIA exclusion may fit.
- Free to read
- No sign-up until the draft
- Hands off to the right door
ePlan fills in
- Stream crossings
- Wetlands
- Flood zone
- Listed species
- Historic places
How it works
BEAD environmental screen, from one answer
- Enter the program, upload the route and say how you'll build each segment.
- ePlan screens streams, wetlands, flood, species and historic layers along the route.
- Ready for the record? Start a NEPA categorical exclusion memo.
What you get
BEAD environmental screen and 3 more documents
The check is free. The paperwork after it is drafted at the Categorical exclusion memo (or short EA) in the agency's format door.
NEPA categorical exclusion memo
- Project description
- Categorical exclusion relied on
- Extraordinary circumstances review
- Determination
Section 106 letter
- Area of potential effects
- Historic properties identified
- Finding of effect
Corps nationwide permit notice
- Crossings and fill
- Avoidance and minimization
- Species and historic properties
From public data
What ePlan fills in, and from where
- Stream crossingsUSGS National Hydrography Dataset
- WetlandsUSFWS National Wetlands Inventory
- Flood zoneFEMA National Flood Hazard Layer
- Listed speciesUSFWS IPaC
- Historic placesNational Register of Historic Places
47
categorical exclusions are available from NTIA, which urges BEAD subgrantees to plan projects that fit one
Source: NTIA, NEPA for BEAD: Milestone Schedule and NEPA Timeline (May 2026)
Ready for the paperwork?
Draft a NEPA categorical exclusion memo or short environmental assessment for a federally funded project, in the agency's format. Free to read.
Questions
BEAD Environmental Review: what people ask
Who does the NEPA review for a BEAD project?
The state broadband office acts as a joint lead agency with NTIA. It supervises or reviews the subgrantee's draft NEPA documents and certifies them before sending them to NTIA in ESAPTT.
How long does BEAD environmental review take?
NTIA's typical durations: about 3 to 6 months for a categorical exclusion, 6 to 12 months for an environmental assessment, and more than 12 months for an environmental impact statement. Subgrantees give a milestone schedule covering NEPA, Section 106 and ESA Section 7 reviews.
Can we start building before the review is done?
No. BEAD subgrant conditions say construction will not begin until NTIA approves that environmental review is complete. Until then, BEAD funds can pay only for limited permissible activities.
The rules this door follows
Related doors
Other projects people start from here
Towns, nonprofits and applicants who need a federal sign-off
Categorical exclusion memo (or short EA) in the agency's format
Where will the project happen?
Grant writers on hazard mitigation applications
BCA inputs checklist
Where is the mitigation project?
Manufacturers, contractors and towns on federal infrastructure jobs
BABA Compliance Checklist
What product or material is it?
Carbon storage developers and landowners near proposed wells
Class VI Permit Application Checklist
Which state and site is the well in?
Wind, transmission and solar developers
Eagle Take Permit and Bird Risk Screen
Where is the project, and what is it?
Federal projects · NEPA
NEPA environmental assessment
What are you proposing, and where?
BEAD Environmental Review: check it free
Answer it and ePlan opens the Categorical exclusion memo (or short EA) in the agency's format door, which drafts the paperwork.