Federal Permitting Completed for Broadband Project Serving McKinley County Schools

Students, library users and Navajo families in Gallup and McKinley County stood to benefit most now that federal permitting is complete for a broadband project meant to bring 1 Gbps service or better to schools and a proposed health care facility. The build is expected to add about 61 miles of middle-mile fiber across the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, giving Gallup-McKinley County Schools and nearby community institutions a stronger backbone for homework, school communication and telehealth access.

The Federal Permitting Council said the Navajo Nation Gallup McKinley County Schools E-Rate Funded Broadband Project finished federal permitting on April 30, 2026. The project was posted to the FAST-41 Permitting Dashboard on November 7, 2024, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2026. The dashboard lists the project at about 65 miles of middle-mile fiber and shows the environmental review and permitting process as complete.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs served as the lead agency for environmental review and authorizations, while the Bureau of Land Management was among the agencies handling actions or authorizations. The dashboard also shows that an extension was granted on March 31, 2025 for NEPA, Section 106, right-of-way and Endangered Species Act milestones. Section 106 review concluded with a finding of no historic properties affected, and consultation ended on December 5, 2025.

Emily Domenech, executive director of the Permitting Council, said FAST-41 helped keep the project on track and made the federal review process more efficient. Rep. Eli Crane thanked the Navajo Nation Broadband Office, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Permitting Council for advancing the project. Paul Tavella, the Navajo Nation Broadband Office’s engineering and construction manager, said FAST-41 brought structure, accountability and clarity to a process that can otherwise be overwhelming.

The project comes against a stubborn broadband gap on tribal lands. A 2022 U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that more than 18% of people living on tribal lands remained unserved by broadband as of 2020, compared with about 4% in non-tribal areas. The Gallup-McKinley project was one of two Navajo Nation tribal broadband projects added to FAST-41 assistance in December 2024, alongside a separate $37 million Navajo Nation Department of Education project to build about 323 miles of fiber and connect 17 Head Start entities and 33 libraries.

Together, the two projects were described as a 388-mile effort to extend schools-and-libraries connectivity across the Navajo Nation. With permitting now closed on the McKinley County project, the next test is whether the federal approvals translate into usable internet faster for classrooms, libraries and families that have waited years for reliable service.