I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1812 

To amend titles 23 and 49, United States Code, to streamline the 

environmental review process for major projects, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 11, 2021 

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, Mr. 

GIBBS, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Mr. 

GALLAGHER, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. 

WEBER of Texas, Mr. BURCHETT, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. 

BABIN, and Mr. PERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend titles 23 and 49, United States Code, to streamline the environmental review process for major projects, 

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 ‘‘One Federal Decision 

5 Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS FOR MAJOR PROJECTS. 

7 Section 139 of title 23, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking 

3 ‘‘process for and completion of any environ4 mental permit’’ and inserting ‘‘process and 

5 schedule, including a timetable for and comple6 tion of any environmental permit’’; 

7 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5) 

8 through (8) as paragraphs (9) through (11); 

9 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

10 through (4) as paragraphs (4) through (6); 

11 (D) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—The term ‘authoriza14 tion’ means any environmental license, permit, ap15 proval, finding, or other administrative decision re16 lated to an environmental review process that is re17 quired under Federal law to site, construct, or re18 construct a project. 

19 ‘‘(3) ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT.—The term 

20 ‘environmental document’ means an environmental 

21 assessment, finding of no significant impact, notice 

22 of intent, environmental impact statement, or record 

23 of decision under the National Environmental Policy 

24 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).’’; and 


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1 (E) by inserting after paragraph (6), as re2 designated, the following: 

3 ‘‘(7) MAJOR PROJECT.—The term ‘major 

4 project’ means a project for which— 

5 ‘‘(A) multiple permits, approvals, reviews, 

6 or studies are required under a Federal law 

7 other than the National Environmental Policy 

8 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

9 ‘‘(B) the project sponsor has identified the 

10 reasonable availability of funds sufficient to 

11 complete the project; 

12 ‘‘(C) the project is not a covered project, 

13 as such term is defined in section 41001 of the 

14 FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m); and 

15 ‘‘(D) the head of the lead agency has de16 termined that— 

17 ‘‘(i) an environmental impact state18 ment is required; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) an environmental assessment is 

20 required, and the project sponsor requests 

21 that the project be treated as a major 

22 project.’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including major 

25 projects,’’ after ‘‘all projects’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘, at the request of a 

2 project sponsor’’ after ‘‘be applied’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (c)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (6)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

6 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

8 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

9 and’’; and 

10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(D) to calculate annually the average 

13 time taken by the lead agency to complete all 

14 environmental documents for each project dur15 ing the previous fiscal year.’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(7) PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS FOR

18 PROJECTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

20 review existing practices, procedures, pro21 grammatic agreements, and applicable laws to 

22 identify potential changes that would facilitate 

23 an efficient environmental review process for 

24 projects. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the 

2 review required by subparagraph (A), the Sec3 retary shall consult, as appropriate, with the 

4 heads of other Federal agencies that participate 

5 in the environmental review process. 

6 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

7 after the date of enactment of the One Federal 

8 Decision Act of 2021, Secretary shall submit to 

9 the Committee on Environment and Public 

10 works of the Senate and the Committee on 

11 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

12 of Representatives a report that includes— 

13 ‘‘(i) the results of the review required 

14 by subparagraph (A); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) an analysis of whether additional 

16 resources would help the Secretary meet 

17 the requirements applicable to the projects 

18 under this section.’’; 

19 (4) in subsection (d)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (8)— 

21 (i) in the heading, by striking 

22 ‘‘NEPA’’ and inserting ‘‘ENVIRON23 MENTAL’’; 

24 (ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

25 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as inconsistent 

2 with paragraph (7), and except as provided in 

3 subparagraph (D), to the maximum extent 

4 practicable and consistent with Federal law, all 

5 Federal authorizations and reviews for a project 

6 shall rely on a single environmental document 

7 for each type of environmental document pre8 pared under the National Environmental Policy 

9 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) under the 

10 leadership of the lead agency.’’; and 

11 (iii) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION.—The lead agency may 

14 waive the application of subparagraph (A) with 

15 respect to a project if— 

16 ‘‘(i) the project sponsor requests that 

17 agencies issue separate environmental doc18 uments; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the obligations of a cooperating 

20 agency or participating agency under the 

21 National Environmental Policy Act of 

22 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) have al23 ready been satisfied with respect to such 

24 project; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the lead agency determines that 

2 such application would not facilitate com3 pletion of the environmental review process 

4 for such project within the timeline estab5 lished under paragraph (10).’’; 

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

7 ‘‘(10) TIMELY AUTHORIZATIONS FOR MAJOR

8 PROJECTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) DEADLINE.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (C), notwithstanding any other 

11 provision of law, all authorization decisions nec12 essary for the construction of a major project 

13 shall be completed by not later than 90 days 

14 after the date of the issuance of a record of de15 cision for the major project. 

16 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED LEVEL OF DETAIL.—The 

17 final environmental impact statement for a 

18 major project shall include an adequate level of 

19 detail to inform decisions necessary for the role 

20 of the participating agencies in the environ21 mental review process. 

22 ‘‘(C) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—Not 

23 later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

24 of the One Federal Decision Act of 2021, the 

25 Secretary shall establish procedures for a lead 


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1 agency to extend a deadline under subpara2 graph (A) in cases in which— 

3 ‘‘(i) Federal law prohibits the lead 

4 agency or another agency from issuing an 

5 approval or permit within the period de6 scribed in such subparagraph; 

7 ‘‘(ii) such an extension is requested by 

8 the project sponsor; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) such extension would facilitate 

10 the completion of the environmental review 

11 and authorization process of the major 

12 project.’’; 

13 (5) in subsection (g)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

15 (i) by amending clause (ii)(IV) to read 

16 as follows: 

17 ‘‘(IV) the overall time required 

18 by an agency to conduct an environ19 mental review and make decisions 

20 under applicable Federal law relating 

21 to a project (including the issuance or 

22 denial of a permit or license) and the 

23 cost of the project; and’’; and 

24 (ii) by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(iii) MAJOR PROJECT SCHEDULE.— 

2 To the maximum extent practicable and 

3 consistent with applicable Federal law, in 

4 the case of a major project, the lead agen5 cy shall develop, in consultation with the 

6 project sponsor, a schedule for the major 

7 project that is consistent with an agency 

8 average of not more than 2 years for the 

9 completion of the environmental review 

10 process for major projects. The time period 

11 measured, as applicable— 

12 ‘‘(I) in the case of a project that 

13 requires an environmental impact 

14 statement, begins on the date of pub15 lication of a notice of intent to pre16 pare an environmental impact state17 ment and ends on the date of publica18 tion of a record of decision; or 

19 ‘‘(II) in the case of a project 

20 which does not require an environ21 mental impact statement, begins on 

22 the date of that the decision is made 

23 to prepare an environmental assess24 ment and ends on the date of issuance 

25 of a finding of no significant impact.’’; 


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1 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 

2 subparagraph (F); 

3 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(E) FAILURE TO MEET DEADLINE.—If a 

6 Federal cooperating agency fails to meet a 

7 deadline established under subparagraph 

8 (D)(ii)(I)— 

9 ‘‘(i) not later than 30 days after the 

10 date such agency failed to meet such dead11 line, such agency shall submit to the Sec12 retary a report on why the deadline was 

13 not met; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) not later than 30 days after the 

15 date on which a report is submitted under 

16 clause (i), the Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(I) transmit to the Committee 

18 on Environment and Public Works of 

19 the Senate and the Committee on 

20 Transportation and Infrastructure of 

21 the House of Representatives a copy 

22 of such report; and 

23 ‘‘(II) make such report available 

24 to the public on the internet.’’; and 

25 (6) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(p) ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING FOR MAJOR

2 PROJECTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after the date of enactment of the One Federal Deci5 sion Act of 2021, the Secretary shall establish a per6 formance accountability system to track each major 

7 project. 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The performance ac9 countability system required under paragraph (1) 

10 shall, for each major project, track— 

11 ‘‘(A) the environmental review process for 

12 such project, including the project schedule re13 quired by subsection (g)(1)(B)(iii); 

14 ‘‘(B) whether the lead agency, cooperating 

15 agencies, and participating agencies are meet16 ing such schedule; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the time taken to complete the envi18 ronmental review process. 

19 ‘‘(q) DEVELOPMENT OF CATEGORICAL EXCLU20 SIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

22 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

23 Secretary shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) in consultation with the agencies de25 scribed in paragraph (2), identify the categorVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812

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1 ical exclusions established by the Federal High2 way Administration that would accelerate deliv3 ery of a project if such categorical exclusions 

4 were available to such agencies; 

5 ‘‘(B) collect existing documentation and 

6 substantiating information on the categorical 

7 exclusions described in subparagraph (A); and 

8 ‘‘(C) provide to each agency described in 

9 paragraph (2) a list of the categorical exclu10 sions identified under subparagraph (A) and 

11 the documentation and substantiating informa12 tion collected under subparagraph (B). 

13 ‘‘(2) AGENCIES DESCRIBED.—The following 

14 agencies are described in this paragraph— 

15 ‘‘(A) The Departments of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the Interior; 

17 ‘‘(ii) Commerce; 

18 ‘‘(iii) Agriculture; 

19 ‘‘(iv) Energy; and 

20 ‘‘(v) Defense, including the United 

21 States Army Corps of Engineers; and 

22 ‘‘(B) any other Federal agency that has 

23 participated in an environmental review process 

24 for a major project, as determined by the Sec25 retary. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ADOPTION OF CATEGORICAL EXCLU2 SIONS.— 

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

4 after the date on which the Secretary provides 

5 the list under paragraph (1)(C), an agency de6 scribed in paragraph (2) shall publish a notice 

7 of proposed rulemaking to propose any categor8 ical exclusions from the list applicable to the 

9 agency, subject to the condition that the cat10 egorical exclusion identified under paragraph 

11 (1)(A) meets the criteria for a categorical exclu12 sion under section 102 of the National Environ13 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

14 seq.). 

15 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In a notice of 

16 proposed rulemaking under subparagraph (A), 

17 the applicable agency shall solicit comments on 

18 whether any of the proposed new categorical ex19 clusions meet the criteria for a categorical ex20 clusion under section 1508.4 of title 40, Code 

21 of Federal Regulations (or successor regula22 tions).’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. EFFICIENT ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS. 

2 Section 24201(a)(4) of the title 49, United States 

3 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘, except that the limitation 

4 on claims of 150 days shall be 2 years’’. 

Æ 


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