II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 717 

To amend the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to impose time 

limits on the completion of certain required actions under the Act, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 11, 2021 

Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. CRAMER, and Mr. CRUZ) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 

and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

to impose time limits on the completion of certain required actions under the Act, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Undoing NEPA’s Sub5 stantial Harm by Advancing Concepts that Kickstart the 

6 Liberation of the Economy Act’’ or the ‘‘UNSHACKLE 

7 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT MODI2 FICATIONS. 

3 (a) APPLICABLE TIMELINES.—Title I of the National 

4 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating section 105 (42 U.S.C. 

6 4335) as section 108; and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 104 (42 U.S.C. 

8 4334) the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 105. PROCESS REQUIREMENTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘Federal 

12 agency’ includes a State that has assumed the re13 sponsibility of a Federal agency under— 

14 ‘‘(A) section 107; or 

15 ‘‘(B) section 327 of title 23, United States 

16 Code. 

17 ‘‘(2) HEAD OF A FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term 

18 ‘head of a Federal agency’ includes the governor or 

19 head of an applicable State agency of a State that 

20 has assumed the responsibility of a Federal agency 

21 under— 

22 ‘‘(A) section 107; or 

23 ‘‘(B) section 327 of title 23, United States 

24 Code. 

25 ‘‘(b) APPLICABLE TIMELINES.— 

26 ‘‘(1) NEPA PROCESS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of a Federal 

2 agency shall complete the NEPA process for a 

3 proposed action of the Federal agency, as de4 scribed in section 109(3)(B)(ii), not later than 

5 2 years after the date described in section 

6 109(3)(B)(i). 

7 ‘‘(B) ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS.— 

8 Within the period described in subparagraph 

9 (A), not later than 1 year after the date de10 scribed in section 109(3)(B)(i), the head of the 

11 Federal agency shall, with respect to the pro12 posed action— 

13 ‘‘(i) issue— 

14 ‘‘(I) a finding that a categorical 

15 exclusion applies to the proposed ac16 tion; or 

17 ‘‘(II) a finding of no significant 

18 impact; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) publish a notice of intent to pre20 pare an environmental impact statement in 

21 the Federal Register. 

22 ‘‘(C) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE23 MENT.—If the head of a Federal agency pub24 lishes a notice of intent described in subpara25 graph (B)(ii), within the period described in 


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1 subparagraph (A) and not later than 1 year 

2 after the date on which the head of the Federal 

3 agency publishes the notice of intent, the head 

4 of the Federal agency shall complete the envi5 ronmental impact statement and, if necessary, 

6 any supplemental environmental impact state7 ment for the proposed action. 

8 ‘‘(D) PENALTIES.— 

9 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara10 graph: 

11 ‘‘(I) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Di12 rector’ means the Director of the Of13 fice of Management and Budget. 

14 ‘‘(II) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The 

15 term ‘Federal agency’ does not in16 clude a State. 

17 ‘‘(III) FINAL NEPA COMPLIANCE

18 DATE.—The term ‘final NEPA com19 pliance date’, with respect to a pro20 posed action, means the date by which 

21 the head of a Federal agency is re22 quired to complete the NEPA process 

23 under subparagraph (A). 

24 ‘‘(IV) HEAD OF A FEDERAL

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1 eral agency’ does not include the gov2 ernor or head of a State agency of a 

3 State. 

4 ‘‘(V) INITIAL EIS COMPLIANCE

5 DATE.—The term ‘initial EIS compli6 ance date’, with respect to a proposed 

7 action for which a Federal agency 

8 published a notice of intent described 

9 in subparagraph (B)(ii), means the 

10 date by which an environmental im11 pact statement for that proposed ac12 tion is required to be completed under 

13 subparagraph (C). 

14 ‘‘(VI) INITIAL NEPA COMPLIANCE

15 DATE.—The term ‘initial NEPA com16 pliance date’, with respect to a pro17 posed action, means the date by which 

18 the head of a Federal agency is re19 quired to issue or publish a document 

20 described in subparagraph (B) for 

21 that proposed action under that sub22 paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(VII) INITIAL NONCOMPLIANCE

24 DETERMINATION.—The term ‘initial 

25 noncompliance determination’ means 


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1 a determination under clause 

2 (ii)(I)(bb) that the head of a Federal 

3 agency has not complied with the re4 quirements of subparagraph (A), (B), 

5 or (C). 

6 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(I) DETERMINATION.— 

8 ‘‘(aa) NOTIFICATION.—As 

9 soon as practicable after the date 

10 described in section 109(3)(B)(i) 

11 for a proposed action of a Fed12 eral agency, the head of the Fed13 eral agency shall notify the Di14 rector that the head of the Fed15 eral agency is beginning the 

16 NEPA process for that proposed 

17 action. 

18 ‘‘(bb) DETERMINATIONS OF

19 COMPLIANCE.— 

20 ‘‘(AA) INITIAL DETER21 MINATION.—As soon as 

22 practicable after the initial 

23 NEPA compliance date for a 

24 proposed action, the Direc25 tor shall determine whether, 


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1 as of the initial NEPA com2 pliance date, the head of the 

3 Federal agency has complied 

4 with subparagraph (B) for 

5 that proposed action. 

6 ‘‘(BB) ENVIRON7 MENTAL IMPACT STATE8 MENT.—With respect to a 

9 proposed action of a Federal 

10 agency in which the head of 

11 the Federal agency publishes 

12 a notice of intent described 

13 in subparagraph (B)(ii), as 

14 soon as practicable after the 

15 initial EIS compliance date 

16 for a proposed action, the 

17 Director shall determine 

18 whether, as of the initial 

19 EIS compliance date, the 

20 head of the Federal agency 

21 has complied with subpara22 graph (C) for that proposed 

23 action. 

24 ‘‘(CC) COMPLETION OF

25 NEPA PROCESS.—As soon as 


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1 practicable after the final 

2 NEPA compliance date for a 

3 proposed action, the Direc4 tor shall determine whether, 

5 as of the final NEPA com6 pliance date, the head of the 

7 Federal agency has complied 

8 with subparagraph (A) for 

9 that proposed action. 

10 ‘‘(II) IDENTIFICATION; PENALTY; 

11 NOTIFICATION.—If the Director 

12 makes an initial noncompliance deter13 mination for a proposed action— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the Director shall 

15 identify the account for the sala16 ries and expenses of the office of 

17 the head of the Federal agency, 

18 or an equivalent account; 

19 ‘‘(bb) beginning on the day 

20 after the date on which the Di21 rector makes the initial non22 compliance determination, the 

23 amount that the head of the Fed24 eral agency may obligate from 

25 the account identified under item 


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1 (aa) for the fiscal year during 

2 which the determination is made 

3 shall be reduced by 0.5 percent 

4 from the amount initially made 

5 available for the account for that 

6 fiscal year; and 

7 ‘‘(cc) the Director shall no8 tify the head of the Federal 

9 agency of— 

10 ‘‘(AA) the initial non11 compliance determination; 

12 ‘‘(BB) the account 

13 identified under item (aa); 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(CC) the reduction 

16 under item (bb). 

17 ‘‘(iii) CONTINUED NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(I) DETERMINATION.—Every 

19 90 days after the date of an initial 

20 noncompliance determination, the Di21 rector shall determine whether the 

22 head of the Federal agency has com23 plied with the applicable requirements 

24 of subparagraphs (A) through (C) for 

25 the proposed action, until the date on 


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1 which the Director determines that 

2 the head of the Federal agency has 

3 completed the NEPA process for the 

4 proposed action. 

5 ‘‘(II) PENALTY; NOTIFICATION.— 

6 For each determination made by the 

7 Director under subclause (I) that the 

8 head of a Federal agency has not 

9 complied with a requirement of sub10 paragraph (A), (B), or (C) for a pro11 posed action— 

12 ‘‘(aa) the amount that the 

13 head of the Federal agency may 

14 obligate from the account identi15 fied under clause (ii)(II)(aa) for 

16 the fiscal year during which the 

17 most recent determination under 

18 subclause (I) is made shall be re19 duced by 0.5 percent from the 

20 amount initially made available 

21 for the account for that fiscal 

22 year; and 

23 ‘‘(bb) the Director shall no24 tify the head of the Federal 

25 agency of— 


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1 ‘‘(AA) the determina2 tion under subclause (I); 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(BB) the reduction 

5 under item (aa). 

6 ‘‘(iv) REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(I) AMOUNTS NOT RESTORED.— 

8 A reduction in the amount that the 

9 head of a Federal agency may obligate 

10 under clause (ii)(II)(bb) or 

11 (iii)(II)(aa) during a fiscal year shall 

12 not be restored for that fiscal year, 

13 without regard to whether the head of 

14 a Federal agency completes the 

15 NEPA process for the proposed action 

16 with respect to which the Director 

17 made an initial noncompliance deter18 mination or a determination under 

19 clause (iii)(I). 

20 ‘‘(II) REQUIRED TIMELINES.— 

21 The violation of subparagraph (B) or 

22 (C), and any action carried out to re23 mediate or otherwise address the vio24 lation, shall not affect any other appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S717.IS S717

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1 cable compliance date under subpara2 graph (A), (B), or (C). 

3 ‘‘(E) UNEXPECTED CIRCUMSTANCES.—If, 

4 while carrying out a proposed action after the 

5 completion of the NEPA process for that pro6 posed action, a Federal agency or project spon7 sor encounters a new or unexpected cir8 cumstance or condition that may require the re9 evaluation of the proposed action under this 

10 title, the head of the Federal agency with re11 sponsibility for carrying out the NEPA process 

12 for the proposed action shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) consider whether mitigating the 

14 new or unexpected circumstance or condi15 tion is sufficient to avoid significant effects 

16 that may result from the circumstance or 

17 condition; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) if the head of the Federal agency 

19 determines under clause (i) that the sig20 nificant effects that result from the cir21 cumstance or condition can be avoided, 

22 mitigate the circumstance or condition 

23 without carrying out the NEPA process 

24 again. 

25 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATIONS AND PERMITS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

2 days after the date described in section 

3 109(3)(B)(ii), the head of a Federal agency 

4 shall issue— 

5 ‘‘(i) any necessary permit or author6 ization to carry out the proposed action; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) a denial of the permit or author8 ization necessary to carry out the proposed 

9 action. 

10 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ISSUE AU11 THORIZATION OR PERMIT.—If a permit or au12 thorization described in subparagraph (A) is 

13 not issued or denied within the period described 

14 in that subparagraph, the permit or authoriza15 tion shall be considered to be approved. 

16 ‘‘(C) DENIAL OF PERMIT OR AUTHORIZA17 TION.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a permit or au19 thorization described in subparagraph (A) 

20 is denied, the head of the Federal agency 

21 shall describe to the project sponsor— 

22 ‘‘(I) the basis of the denial; and 

23 ‘‘(II) recommendations for the 

24 project sponsor with respect to how to 

25 address the reasons for the denial. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) RECOMMENDED CHANGES.—If 

2 the project sponsor carries out the rec3 ommendations of the head of the Federal 

4 agency under clause (i)(II) and notifies the 

5 head of the Federal agency that the rec6 ommendations have been carried out, the 

7 head of the Federal agency— 

8 ‘‘(I) shall decide whether to issue 

9 the permit or authorization described 

10 in subparagraph (A) not later than 90 

11 days after date on which the project 

12 sponsor submitted the notification; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(II) shall not carry out the 

15 NEPA process with respect to the 

16 proposed action again.’’. 

17 (b) AGENCY PROCESS REFORMS.—Section 105 of the 

18 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

19 4321 et seq.) (as added by subsection (a)(2)) is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITIONS.—In carrying out the NEPA 

22 process, the head of a Federal agency may not— 

23 ‘‘(1) consider whether a proposed action or an 

24 alternative to the proposed action considered by the 

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1 vironmental impact, mitigation measures, or adapta2 tion measures of the proposed action or alternative 

3 to the proposed action, has an effect on climate 

4 change; 

5 ‘‘(2) with respect to a proposed action or an al6 ternative to the proposed action considered by the 

7 head of the Federal agency, consider the effects of 

8 the emission of greenhouse gases on climate change; 

9 ‘‘(3) consider an alternative to the proposed ac10 tion if the proposed action is not technically or eco11 nomically feasible to the project sponsor; or 

12 ‘‘(4) consider an alternative to the proposed ac13 tion that is not within the jurisdiction of the Federal 

14 agency. 

15 ‘‘(d) ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) EIS REQUIRED.—In carrying out the 

17 NEPA process for a proposed action that requires 

18 the preparation of an environmental impact state19 ment, the head of a Federal agency shall produce for 

20 the proposed action not more than 1— 

21 ‘‘(A) environmental impact statement; 

22 ‘‘(B) if necessary, environmental assess23 ment; and 

24 ‘‘(C) record of decision. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EIS NOT REQUIRED.—In carrying out the 

2 NEPA process for a proposed action that does not 

3 require the preparation of an environmental impact 

4 statement, the head of a Federal agency shall 

5 produce for the proposed action not more than 1— 

6 ‘‘(A) environmental assessment; or 

7 ‘‘(B) finding of no significant impact. 

8 ‘‘(e) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision of law and subject to paragraph (2), the 

11 head of a Federal agency may, without further ap12 proval, use a categorical exclusion under this title 

13 that has been approved by— 

14 ‘‘(A)(i) another Federal agency; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the Council on Environmental Qual16 ity; or 

17 ‘‘(B) an Act of Congress. 

18 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The head of a Federal 

19 agency may use a categorical exclusion described in 

20 paragraph (1) if the head of the Federal agency— 

21 ‘‘(A) carefully reviews the description of 

22 the proposed action to ensure that it fits within 

23 the category of actions described in the categor24 ical exclusion; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) considers the circumstances associ2 ated with the proposed action to ensure that 

3 there are no extraordinary circumstances that 

4 warrant the preparation of an environmental 

5 assessment or an environmental impact state6 ment. 

7 ‘‘(3) EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.—If the 

8 head of a Federal agency determines that extraor9 dinary circumstances are present with respect to a 

10 proposed action, the head of the Federal agency 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) consider whether mitigating cir13 cumstances or other conditions are sufficient to 

14 avoid significant effects of the proposed action; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) if the head of the Federal agency de17 termines that those significant effects can be 

18 avoided, apply a categorical exclusion to the 

19 proposed action. 

20 ‘‘(f) REUSE OF WORK; DOCUMENTS PREPARED BY

21 QUALIFIED 3RD PARTIES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the NEPA 

23 process for a proposed action— 

24 ‘‘(A) subject to paragraph (2), the head of 

25 a Federal agency shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) use any applicable findings and 

2 research from a prior NEPA process of 

3 any Federal agency; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) incorporate the findings and re5 search described in clause (i) into any ap6 plicable analysis under the NEPA process; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) a Federal agency may adopt as an 

9 environmental impact statement, environmental 

10 assessment, or other environmental document 

11 to achieve compliance with this title— 

12 ‘‘(i) an environmental document pre13 pared under the law of the applicable State 

14 if the head of the Federal agency deter15 mines that the environmental laws of the 

16 applicable State— 

17 ‘‘(I) provide the same level of en18 vironmental analysis as the analysis 

19 required under this title; and 

20 ‘‘(II) allow for the opportunity of 

21 public comment; or 

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1 sor, at the expense of the project sponsor, 

2 if the head of the Federal agency— 

3 ‘‘(I) provides oversight of the 

4 preparation of the environmental doc5 ument by the third party; and 

6 ‘‘(II) independently evaluates the 

7 environmental document for the com8 pliance of the environmental document 

9 with this title. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT FOR THE REUSE OF FIND11 INGS AND RESEARCH.—The head of a Federal agen12 cy may reuse the applicable findings and research 

13 described in paragraph (1)(A) if— 

14 ‘‘(A)(i) the project for which the head of 

15 the Federal agency is seeking to reuse the find16 ings and research was in close geographic prox17 imity to the proposed action; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the head of the Federal agency deter19 mines that the conditions under which the ap20 plicable findings and research were issued have 

21 not substantially changed; or 

22 ‘‘(B)(i) the project for which the head of 

23 the Federal agency is seeking to reuse the find24 ings and research was not in close geographic 

25 proximity to the proposed action; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the head of the Federal agency deter2 mines that the proposed action has similar 

3 issues or decisions as the project. 

4 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR CREATION OF ENVI5 RONMENTAL DOCUMENT BY QUALIFIED 3RD PAR6 TIES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A qualified third 

8 party may prepare an environmental document 

9 intended to be adopted by a Federal agency as 

10 the environmental impact statement, environ11 mental assessment, or other environmental doc12 ument for a proposed action under paragraph 

13 (1)(B)(ii) if— 

14 ‘‘(i) the project sponsor submits a 

15 written request to the head of the applica16 ble Federal agency that the head of the 

17 Federal agency approve the qualified third 

18 party to create the document intended to 

19 be adopted by a Federal agency as the en20 vironmental impact statement, environ21 mental assessment, or other environmental 

22 document; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the head of the Federal agency 

24 determines that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the third party is qualified 

2 to prepare the document; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the third party has no fi4 nancial or other interest in the out5 come of the proposed action. 

6 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—The head of a Federal 

7 agency that receives a written request under 

8 subparagraph (A)(i) shall issue a written deci9 sion approving or denying the request not later 

10 than 30 days after the date on which the writ11 ten request is received. 

12 ‘‘(C) NO PRIOR WORK.—The head of a 

13 Federal agency may not adopt an environ14 mental document under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) if 

15 the qualified third party began preparing the 

16 document prior to the date on which the head 

17 of the Federal agency issues the written deci18 sion under subparagraph (B) approving the re19 quest. 

20 ‘‘(D) DENIALS.—If the head of a Federal 

21 agency issues a written decision denying the re22 quest under subparagraph (A)(i), the head of 

23 the Federal agency shall submit to the project 

24 sponsor with the written decision the findings 

25 that served as the basis of the denial. 


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1 ‘‘(g) MULTI-AGENCY PROJECTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

3 ‘‘(A) COOPERATING AGENCY.—The term 

4 ‘cooperating agency’ means a Federal agency 

5 involved in a proposed action that— 

6 ‘‘(i) is not the lead agency; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) has the jurisdiction or special ex8 pertise such that the Federal agency needs 

9 to be consulted— 

10 ‘‘(I) to use a categorical exclu11 sion; or 

12 ‘‘(II) to prepare an environ13 mental assessment or environmental 

14 impact statement, as applicable. 

15 ‘‘(B) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘lead 

16 agency’ means the Federal agency selected 

17 under paragraph (2)(A). 

18 ‘‘(2) AGENCY DESIGNATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) LEAD AGENCY.—In carrying out the 

20 NEPA process for a proposed action that re21 quires authorization from multiple Federal 

22 agencies, the heads of the applicable Federal 

23 agencies shall determine the lead agency for the 

24 proposed action. 


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1 ‘‘(B) INVITATION.—The head of the lead 

2 agency may invite any relevant State, local, or 

3 Tribal agency with Federal authorization deci4 sion responsibility to be a cooperating agency. 

5 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES OF LEAD AGENCY.— 

6 The lead agency for a proposed action shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) as soon as practicable and in con8 sultation with the cooperating agencies, deter9 mine whether a proposed action requires the 

10 preparation of an environmental impact state11 ment; and 

12 ‘‘(B) if the head of the lead agency deter13 mines under subparagraph (A) that an environ14 mental impact statement is necessary— 

15 ‘‘(i) be responsible for coordinating 

16 the preparation of an environmental im17 pact statement; 

18 ‘‘(ii) provide cooperating agencies with 

19 an opportunity to review and contribute to 

20 the preparation of the environmental im21 pact statement and environmental assess22 ment, as applicable, of the proposed action, 

23 except that the cooperating agency shall 

24 limit comments to issues within the special 


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1 expertise or jurisdiction of the cooperating 

2 agency; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) subject to subsection (c), as 

4 soon as practicable and in consultation 

5 with the cooperating agencies, determine 

6 the range of alternatives to be considered 

7 for the proposed action. 

8 ‘‘(4) ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS.—In car9 rying out the NEPA process for a proposed action, 

10 the lead agency shall prepare not more than 1 of 

11 each type of document described in paragraph (1) or 

12 (2) of subsection (d), as applicable— 

13 ‘‘(A) in consultation with cooperating 

14 agencies; and 

15 ‘‘(B) for all applicable Federal agencies. 

16 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A cooperating agency 

18 may not evaluate an alternative to the proposed 

19 action that has not been determined to be with20 in the range of alternatives considered under 

21 paragraph (3)(B)(iii). 

22 ‘‘(B) OMISSION.—If a cooperating agency 

23 submits to the lead agency an evaluation of an 

24 alternative that does not meet the requirements 

25 of subsection (c), the lead agency shall omit the 


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1 alternative from the environmental impact 

2 statement. 

3 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) NEPA DATA.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of each 

6 Federal agency that carries out the NEPA 

7 process shall carry out a process to track, and 

8 annually submit to Congress a report con9 taining, the information described in subpara10 graph (B). 

11 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The in12 formation referred to in subparagraph (A) is, 

13 with respect to the Federal agency issuing the 

14 report under that subparagraph— 

15 ‘‘(i) the number of proposed actions 

16 for which a categorical exclusion was 

17 issued during the reporting period; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the length of time the Federal 

19 agency took to issue the categorical exclu20 sions described in clause (i); 

21 ‘‘(iii) the number of proposed actions 

22 pending on the date on which the report is 

23 submitted for which the issuance of a cat24 egorical exclusion is pending; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the number of proposed actions 

2 for which an environmental assessment 

3 was issued during the reporting period; 

4 ‘‘(v) the length of time the Federal 

5 agency took to complete each environ6 mental assessment described in clause (iv); 

7 ‘‘(vi) the number of proposed actions 

8 pending on the date on which the report is 

9 submitted for which an environmental as10 sessment is being drafted; 

11 ‘‘(vii) the number of proposed actions 

12 for which an environmental impact state13 ment was issued during the reporting pe14 riod; 

15 ‘‘(viii) the length of time the Federal 

16 agency took to complete each environ17 mental impact statement described in 

18 clause (vii); and 

19 ‘‘(ix) the number of proposed actions 

20 pending on the date on which the report is 

21 submitted for which an environmental im22 pact statement is being drafted. 

23 ‘‘(2) NEPA COSTS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 


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1 the Chair of the Council on Environmental 

2 Quality and the Director of the Office of Man3 agement and Budget shall jointly develop a 

4 methodology to assess the comprehensive costs 

5 of the NEPA process. 

6 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The head of each 

7 Federal agency that carries out the NEPA 

8 process shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) adopt the methodology developed 

10 under subparagraph (A); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) use the methodology developed 

12 under subparagraph (A) to annually sub13 mit to Congress a report describing— 

14 ‘‘(I) the comprehensive cost of 

15 the NEPA process for each proposed 

16 action that was carried out within the 

17 reporting period; and 

18 ‘‘(II) for a proposed action for 

19 which the head of the Federal agency 

20 is still completing the NEPA process 

21 at the time the report is submitted— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the amount of money 

23 expended to date to carry out the 

24 NEPA process for the proposed 

25 action; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) an estimate of the re2 maining costs before the NEPA 

3 process for the proposed action is 

4 complete.’’. 

5 (c) LEGAL REFORMS.—Section 105 of the National 

6 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

7 seq.) (as amended by subsection (b)) is amended by add8 ing at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

10 ‘‘(1) STANDING.—Notwithstanding any other 

11 provision of law, a plaintiff may only bring a claim 

12 arising under Federal law seeking judicial review of 

13 a portion of the NEPA process if the plaintiff pleads 

14 facts that allege that the plaintiff has personally suf15 fered, or will likely personally suffer, a direct, tan16 gible harm as a result of the portion of the NEPA 

17 process for which the plaintiff is seeking review. 

18 ‘‘(2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

20 other provision of law and except as provided in 

21 subparagraph (B)(ii), a claim arising under 

22 Federal law seeking judicial review of any por23 tion of the NEPA process shall be barred un24 less it is filed not later than the earlier of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) 150 days after the final agency 

2 action under the NEPA process has been 

3 taken; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) if applicable, an earlier date after 

5 which judicial review is barred that is spec6 ified in the Federal law pursuant to which 

7 the judicial review is allowed. 

8 ‘‘(B) NEW INFORMATION.— 

9 ‘‘(i) CONSIDERATION.—A Federal 

10 agency shall consider for the purpose of a 

11 supplemental environmental impact state12 ment new information received after the 

13 close of a comment period if the informa14 tion satisfies the requirements for a sup15 plemental environmental impact statement 

16 under the regulations of the Federal agen17 cy. 

18 ‘‘(ii) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

19 BASED ON NEW INFORMATION.—If a sup20 plemental environmental impact statement 

21 is required under the regulations of a Fed22 eral agency, a claim for judicial review of 

23 the supplemental environmental impact 

24 statement shall be barred unless it is filed 

25 not later than the earlier of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) 150 days after the publica2 tion of a notice in the Federal Reg3 ister that the supplemental environ4 mental impact statement is final; and 

5 ‘‘(II) if applicable, an earlier date 

6 after which judicial review is barred 

7 that is specified in the Federal law 

8 pursuant to which the judicial review 

9 is allowed. 

10 ‘‘(C) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this 

11 paragraph creates a right to judicial review. 

12 ‘‘(3) REMEDIES.— 

13 ‘‘(A) PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIONS AND

14 TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDERS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

16 (ii), in a motion for a temporary restrain17 ing order or preliminary injunction against 

18 a Federal agency or project sponsor in a 

19 claim arising under Federal law seeking ju20 dicial review of any portion of the NEPA 

21 process, the plaintiff shall establish by 

22 clear and convincing evidence that— 

23 ‘‘(I) the plaintiff is likely to suc24 ceed on the merits; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the plaintiff is likely to suf2 fer irreparable harm in the absence of 

3 the temporary restraining order or 

4 preliminary injunction, as applicable; 

5 ‘‘(III) the balance of equities is 

6 tipped in the favor of the plaintiff; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(IV) the temporary restraining 

9 order or preliminary injunction is in 

10 the public interest. 

11 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 A court may not grant a motion described 

13 in clause (i) unless the court— 

14 ‘‘(I) makes a finding of extraor15 dinary circumstances that warrant the 

16 granting of the motion; 

17 ‘‘(II) considers the potential ef18 fects on public health, safety, and the 

19 environment, and the potential for sig20 nificant negative effects on jobs re21 sulting from granting the motion; and 

22 ‘‘(III) notwithstanding any other 

23 provision of law, applies the require24 ments of Rule 65(c) of the Federal 

25 Rules of Civil Procedure. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PERMANENT INJUNCTIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

3 (ii), in a motion for a permanent injunc4 tion against a Federal agency or project 

5 sponsor a claim arising under Federal law 

6 seeking judicial review of any portion of 

7 the NEPA process, the plaintiff shall es8 tablish by clear and convincing evidence 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(I) the plaintiff has suffered an 

11 irreparable injury; 

12 ‘‘(II) remedies available at law, 

13 including monetary damages, are in14 adequate to compensate for the in15 jury; 

16 ‘‘(III) considering the balance of 

17 hardship between the plaintiff and de18 fendant, a remedy in equity is war19 ranted; 

20 ‘‘(IV) the public interest is not 

21 disserved by a permanent injunction; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(V) if the error or omission of a 

24 Federal agency in a statement re25 quired under this title is the grounds 


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1 for which the plaintiff is seeking judi2 cial review, the error or omission is 

3 likely to result in specific, irreparable 

4 damage to the environment. 

5 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL SHOWING.—A court 

6 may not grant a motion described in clause 

7 (i) unless— 

8 ‘‘(I) the court makes a finding 

9 that extraordinary circumstances exist 

10 that warrant the granting of the mo11 tion; and 

12 ‘‘(II) the permanent injunction 

13 is— 

14 ‘‘(aa) as narrowly tailored as 

15 possible to correct the injury; and 

16 ‘‘(bb) the least intrusive 

17 means necessary to correct the 

18 injury.’’. 

19 (d) OTHER REFORMS.—Title I of the National Envi20 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

21 is amended by inserting after section 105 (as amended 

22 by subsection (c)) the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 106. EPA REVIEW. 

24 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF FEDERAL AGENCY.—In this 

25 section, the term ‘Federal agency’ includes a State that 


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1 has assumed the responsibility of a Federal agency 

2 under— 

3 ‘‘(1) section 107; or 

4 ‘‘(2) section 327 of title 23, United States 

5 Code. 

6 ‘‘(b) EPA COMMENTS.—The Administrator of the 

7 Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this sec8 tion as the ‘Administrator’) may comment on a draft or 

9 final submission of an environmental impact statement 

10 from any Federal agency. 

11 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 

12 may, on request of a Federal agency preparing a draft 

13 or final environmental impact statement, provide technical 

14 assistance in the completion of that environmental impact 

15 statement. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 107. PROJECT DELIVERY PROGRAMS. 

17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF AGENCY PROGRAM.—In this 

18 section, the term ‘agency program’ means a project deliv19 ery program established by a Federal agency under sub20 section (b)(1). 

21 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Federal 

23 agency, including the Secretary of Transportation, 

24 shall carry out a project delivery program. 

25 ‘‘(2) ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSIBILITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B), the head of each Federal agency 

3 shall, on request of a State, enter into a written 

4 agreement with the State, which may be in the 

5 form of a memorandum of understanding, in 

6 which the head of each Federal agency may as7 sign, and the State may assume, the respon8 sibilities of the head of the Federal agency 

9 under this title with respect to 1 or more 

10 projects within the State that are under the ju11 risdiction of the Federal agency. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The head of a Federal 

13 agency shall not enter into a written agreement 

14 under subparagraph (A) if the head of the Fed15 eral agency determines that the State is not in 

16 compliance with the requirements described in 

17 subsection (c)(4). 

18 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITY.—If a 

19 State assumes responsibility under subpara20 graph (A)— 

21 ‘‘(i) the head of the Federal agency 

22 may assign to the State, and the State 

23 may assume, all or part of the responsibil24 ities of the head of the Federal agency for 

25 environmental review, consultation, or 


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1 other action required under any Federal 

2 environmental law pertaining to the review 

3 or approval of a specific project; 

4 ‘‘(ii) at the request of the State, the 

5 head of the Federal agency may also as6 sign to the State, and the State may as7 sume, the responsibilities of the head of 

8 the Federal agency under this title with re9 spect to 1 or more projects within the 

10 State that are under the jurisdiction of the 

11 Federal agency; but 

12 ‘‘(iii) the head of the Federal agency 

13 may not assign responsibility for any con14 formity determination required under sec15 tion 176 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 7506). 

17 ‘‘(D) PROCEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIVE RE18 QUIREMENTS.—A State shall assume responsi19 bility under this section subject to the same 

20 procedural and substantive requirements as 

21 would apply if that responsibility were carried 

22 out by the Federal agency. 

23 ‘‘(E) FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY.—Any re24 sponsibility of a Federal agency not explicitly 

25 assumed by the State by written agreement 


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1 under subparagraph (A) shall remain the re2 sponsibility of the Federal agency. 

3 ‘‘(F) NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY.—Noth4 ing in this section preempts or interferes with 

5 any power, jurisdiction, responsibility, or au6 thority of an agency, other than the Federal 

7 agency for which the written agreement applies, 

8 under applicable law (including regulations) 

9 with respect to a project. 

10 ‘‘(G) PRESERVATION OF FLEXIBILITY.— 

11 The head of the Federal agency may not re12 quire a State, as a condition of participation in 

13 the agency program of the Federal agency, to 

14 forego project delivery methods that are other15 wise permissible for projects under applicable 

16 law. 

17 ‘‘(H) LEGAL FEES.—A State assuming the 

18 responsibilities of a Federal agency under this 

19 section for a specific project may use funds 

20 awarded to the State for that project for attor21 neys’ fees directly attributable to eligible activi22 ties associated with the project. 

23 ‘‘(c) STATE PARTICIPATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PARTICIPATING STATES.—Except as pro2 vided in subsection (b)(2)(B), all States are eligible 

3 to participate in an agency program. 

4 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—Not later than 270 days 

5 after the date of enactment of this section, the head 

6 of each Federal agency shall amend, as appropriate, 

7 regulations that establish requirements relating to 

8 information required to be contained in any applica9 tion of a State to participate in the agency program, 

10 including, at a minimum— 

11 ‘‘(A) the projects or classes of projects for 

12 which the State anticipates exercising the au13 thority that may be granted under the agency 

14 program; 

15 ‘‘(B) verification of the financial resources 

16 necessary to carry out the authority that may 

17 be granted under the agency program; and 

18 ‘‘(C) evidence of the notice and solicitation 

19 of public comment by the State relating to par20 ticipation of the State in the agency program, 

21 including copies of comments received from that 

22 solicitation. 

23 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC NOTICE.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that sub25 mits an application under this subsection shall 


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1 give notice of the intent of the State to partici2 pate in an agency program not later than 30 

3 days before the date of submission of the appli4 cation. 

5 ‘‘(B) METHOD OF NOTICE AND SOLICITA6 TION.—The State shall provide notice and so7 licit public comment under this paragraph by 

8 publishing the complete application of the State 

9 in accordance with the appropriate public notice 

10 law of the State. 

11 ‘‘(4) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The head of a 

12 Federal agency may approve the application of a 

13 State under this section only if— 

14 ‘‘(A) the regulatory requirements under 

15 paragraph (2) have been met; 

16 ‘‘(B) the head of the Federal agency deter17 mines that the State has the capability, includ18 ing financial and personnel, to assume the re19 sponsibility; and 

20 ‘‘(C) the head of the State agency having 

21 primary jurisdiction over the project enters into 

22 a written agreement with the head of the Fed23 eral agency as described in subsection (d). 

24 ‘‘(5) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY VIEWS.—If a 

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1 eral agency that would have required the head of the 

2 Federal agency to consult with the head of another 

3 Federal agency, the head of the Federal agency shall 

4 solicit the views of the head of the other Federal 

5 agency before approving the application. 

6 ‘‘(d) WRITTEN AGREEMENT.—A written agreement 

7 under subsection (b)(2)(A) shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) be executed by the Governor or the top9 ranking official in the State who is charged with re10 sponsibility for the project; 

11 ‘‘(2) be in such form as the head of the Federal 

12 agency may prescribe; 

13 ‘‘(3) provide that the State— 

14 ‘‘(A) agrees to assume all or part of the re15 sponsibilities of the Federal agency described in 

16 subparagraphs (A) and (C) of subsection (b)(2); 

17 ‘‘(B) expressly consents, on behalf of the 

18 State, to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal 

19 courts for the compliance, discharge, and en20 forcement of any responsibility of the Federal 

21 agency assumed by the State; 

22 ‘‘(C) certifies that State laws (including 

23 regulations) are in effect that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) authorize the State to take the 

2 actions necessary to carry out the respon3 sibilities being assumed; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) are comparable to section 552 of 

5 title 5, including providing that any deci6 sion regarding the public availability of a 

7 document under those State laws is review8 able by a court of competent jurisdiction; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(D) agrees to maintain the financial re11 sources necessary to carry out the responsibil12 ities being assumed; 

13 ‘‘(4) require the State to provide to the head of 

14 the Federal agency any information the head of the 

15 Federal agency reasonably considers necessary to en16 sure that the State is adequately carrying out the 

17 responsibilities assigned to the State; 

18 ‘‘(5) have a term of not more than 5 years; and 

19 ‘‘(6) be renewable. 

20 ‘‘(e) JURISDICTION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States district 

22 courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any civil 

23 action against a State for failure to carry out any 

24 responsibility of the State under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) LEGAL STANDARDS AND REQUIRE2 MENTS.—A civil action under paragraph (1) shall be 

3 governed by the legal standards and requirements 

4 that would apply in such a civil action against the 

5 head of a Federal agency had the head of the Fed6 eral agency taken the actions in question. 

7 ‘‘(3) INTERVENTION.—The head of a Federal 

8 agency shall have the right to intervene in any ac9 tion described in paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(f) EFFECT OF ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSI11 BILITY.—A State that assumes responsibility under sub12 section (b)(2) shall be solely responsible and solely liable 

13 for carrying out, in lieu of and without further approval 

14 of the head of the Federal agency, the responsibilities as15 sumed under subsection (b)(2), until the agency program 

16 is terminated under subsection (k). 

17 ‘‘(g) LIMITATIONS ON AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in 

18 this section permits a State to assume any rulemaking au19 thority of the head of a Federal agency under any Federal 

20 law. 

21 ‘‘(h) AUDITS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance by a 

23 State with any agreement of the State under sub24 section (d) (including compliance by the State with 

25 all Federal laws for which responsibility is assumed 


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1 under subsection (b)(2)), for each State partici2 pating in an agency program, the head of a Federal 

3 agency shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) not later than 180 days after the date 

5 of execution of the agreement, meet with the 

6 State to review implementation of the agree7 ment and discuss plans for the first annual 

8 audit; 

9 ‘‘(B) conduct annual audits during each of 

10 the first 4 years of State participation; and 

11 ‘‘(C) ensure that the time period for com12 pleting an annual audit, from initiation to com13 pletion (including public comment and re14 sponses to those comments), does not exceed 

15 180 days. 

16 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY AND COMMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An audit conducted 

18 under paragraph (1) shall be provided to the 

19 public for comment. 

20 ‘‘(B) RESPONSE.—Not later than 60 days 

21 after the date on which the period for public 

22 comment ends, the head of the Federal agency 

23 shall respond to public comments received 

24 under subparagraph (A). 

25 ‘‘(3) AUDIT TEAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An audit conducted 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be carried out by an 

3 audit team determined by the head of the Fed4 eral agency, in consultation with the State, in 

5 accordance with subparagraph (B). 

6 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—Consultation with 

7 the State under subparagraph (A) shall include 

8 a reasonable opportunity for the State to review 

9 and provide comments on the proposed mem10 bers of the audit team. 

11 ‘‘(i) MONITORING.—After the fourth year of the par12 ticipation of a State in an agency program, the head of 

13 the Federal agency shall monitor compliance by the State 

14 with the written agreement, including the provision by the 

15 State of financial resources to carry out the written agree16 ment. 

17 ‘‘(j) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The head of each Fed18 eral agency shall submit to Congress an annual report that 

19 describes the administration of the agency program. 

20 ‘‘(k) TERMINATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) TERMINATION BY FEDERAL AGENCY.—The 

22 head of a Federal agency may terminate the partici23 pation of any State in the agency program of the 

24 Federal agency if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the head of the Federal agency deter2 mines that the State is not adequately carrying 

3 out the responsibilities assigned to the State; 

4 ‘‘(B) the head of the Federal agency pro5 vides to the State— 

6 ‘‘(i) a notification of the determina7 tion of noncompliance; 

8 ‘‘(ii) a period of not less than 120 

9 days to take such corrective action as the 

10 head of the Federal agency determines to 

11 be necessary to comply with the applicable 

12 agreement; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) on request of the Governor of 

14 the State, a detailed description of each re15 sponsibility in need of corrective action re16 garding an inadequacy identified under 

17 subparagraph (A); and 

18 ‘‘(C) the State, after the notification and 

19 period provided under subparagraph (B), fails 

20 to take satisfactory corrective action, as deter21 mined by the head of the Federal agency. 

22 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION BY THE STATE.—A State 

23 may terminate the participation of the State in an 

24 agency program at any time by providing to the 

25 head of the applicable Federal agency a notice by 


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1 not later than the date that is 90 days before the 

2 date of termination, and subject to such terms and 

3 conditions as the head of the Federal agency may 

4 provide. 

5 ‘‘(l) CAPACITY BUILDING.—The head of a Federal 

6 agency, in cooperation with representatives of State offi7 cials, may carry out education, training, peer-exchange, 

8 and other initiatives as appropriate— 

9 ‘‘(1) to assist States in developing the capacity 

10 to participate in the agency program of the Federal 

11 agency; and 

12 ‘‘(2) to promote information sharing and col13 laboration among States that are participating in 

14 the agency program of the Federal agency. 

15 ‘‘(m) RELATIONSHIP TO LOCALLY ADMINISTERED

16 PROJECTS.—A State granted authority under an agency 

17 program may, as appropriate and at the request of a local 

18 government— 

19 ‘‘(1) exercise that authority on behalf of the 

20 local government for a locally administered project; 

21 or 

22 ‘‘(2) provide guidance and training on consoli23 dating and minimizing the documentation and envi24 ronmental analyses necessary for sponsors of a loVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S717.IS S717

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1 cally administered project to comply with this title 

2 and any comparable requirements under State law.’’. 

3 (e) PROHIBITION ON GUIDANCE.—No Federal agen4 cy, including the Council on Environmental Quality, may 

5 reissue the final guidance of the Council on Environmental 

6 Quality entitled ‘‘Final Guidance for Federal Departments 

7 and Agencies on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emis8 sions and the Effects of Climate Change in National Envi9 ronmental Policy Act Reviews’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 51866 (Au10 gust 5, 2016)) or substantially similar guidance unless au11 thorized by an Act of Congress. 

12 (f) DEFINITIONS.—Title I of the National Environ13 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) (as 

14 amended by subsection (a)(1)) is amended by adding at 

15 the end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 109. DEFINITIONS. 

17 ‘‘In this title: 

18 ‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.—The 

19 term ‘environmental assessment’ has the meaning 

20 given the term in section 1508.9 of title 40, Code of 

21 Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation). 

22 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.— 

23 The term ‘environmental impact statement’ means a 

24 detailed statement required under section 102(2)(C). 

25 ‘‘(3) NEPA PROCESS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘NEPA 

2 process’ means the entirety of every process, 

3 analysis, or other measure, including an envi4 ronmental impact statement, required to be car5 ried out by a Federal agency under this title be6 fore the agency undertakes a proposed action. 

7 ‘‘(B) PERIOD.—For purposes of subpara8 graph (A), the NEPA process— 

9 ‘‘(i) begins on the date on which the 

10 head of a Federal agency receives an appli11 cation for a proposed action from a project 

12 sponsor; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) ends on the date on which the 

14 Federal agency issues, with respect to the 

15 proposed action— 

16 ‘‘(I) a record of decision, includ17 ing, if necessary, a revised record of 

18 decision; 

19 ‘‘(II) a finding of no significant 

20 impact; or 

21 ‘‘(III) a categorical exclusion 

22 under this title. 

23 ‘‘(4) PROJECT SPONSOR.—The term ‘project 

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1 cluding a private or public-private entity, that seeks 

2 approval of a proposed action.’’. 

3 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) POLICY REVIEW.—Section 309 of the Clean 

5 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7609) is repealed. 

6 (2) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROJECT DE7 LIVERY PROGRAM.—Section 327 of title 23, United 

8 States Code, is amended— 

9 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘The 

10 Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection 

11 (m), the Secretary’’; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(m) SUNSET.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

15 paragraph (2), the authority provided by this section 

16 terminates on the date of enactment of this sub17 section. 

18 ‘‘(2) EXISTING AGREEMENTS.—Subject to the 

19 requirements of this section, the Secretary may con20 tinue to enforce any agreement entered into under 

21 this section before the date of enactment of this sub22 section.’’. 

23 SEC. 3. ATTORNEY FEES IN ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATION. 

24 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE.—Section 

25 504(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(G) ‘special factor’ does not include knowl7 edge, expertise, or skill in environmental litigation.’’. 

8 (b) UNITED STATES AS PARTY.—Section 2412(d)(2) 

9 of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period 

13 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(J) ‘special factor’ does not include 

16 knowledge, expertise, or skill in environmental 

17 litigation.’’. 

Æ 


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