Louisiana Clears First Batch of NEPA Approvals for BEAD
The state is hoping to get all projects past environmental reviews by July 4.
WASHINGTON, April 30, 2026 – Louisiana's first batch of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program projects has cleared federal environmental reviews, the state said Thursday.
The state said it was the first set of National Environmental Policy Act approvals under BEAD. The approvals cover six ISPs and 5,000 of the state’s roughly 127,000 BEAD locations.
“Louisiana's BEAD providers are not only the first in the country to receive NEPA approvals but also the first positioned to formally begin construction,” the state’s broadband office wrote in a release. “Following the 30-day community notice period, providers will begin construction on approved projects, expanding reliable, high-speed internet in areas that have historically lacked access to internet service.”
The state said it was hoping for all remaining NEPA approvals to be completed by July 4.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has been working for years to make an electronic system for handling those reviews and expanding its suite of exemptions to allow as many projects as possible to avoid granular, time-consuming reviews.
“This has accelerated the previously stalled BEAD program — approvals that once took months can now be completed in as little as 48 hours, removing a major barrier to deployment and moving us closer to shovels in the ground and broadband availability for all Americans,” NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth said in a statement.
Louisiana signed its first batch of BEAD contracts on Jan. 8, but NEPA work can start before contracts are signed.
Veneeth Iyengar, head of the state’s broadband office, said NTIA had been “a strong partner” in coordinating NEPA work and getting projects across the finish line.
State broadband directors said at the Connected America conference in Dallas that they anticipated NEPA would take about 90 days for most projects.
“With the support of the Trump administration and our congressional delegation, Louisiana is turning federal investment into real infrastructure and delivering results,” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, said in a statement. “These approvals keep that momentum going and move us closer to full connectivity."
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