114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 348 

AN ACT 

To provide for improved coordination of agency actions in 

the preparation and adoption of environmental documents for permitting determinations, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Responsibly And Pro3 fessionally Invigorating Development Act of 2015’’ or as 

4 the ‘‘RAPID Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. COORDINATION OF AGENCY ADMINISTRATIVE OP6 ERATIONS FOR EFFICIENT DECISIONMAKING. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of part 1 of title 5, 

8 United States Code, is amended by inserting after sub9 chapter II the following: 

10 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER IIA—INTERAGENCY 

11 COORDINATION REGARDING PERMITTING 

12 ‘‘§ 560. Coordination of agency administrative oper13 ations for efficient decisionmaking 

14 ‘‘(a) CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF PURPOSE.— 

15 The purpose of this subchapter is to establish a framework 

16 and procedures to streamline, increase the efficiency of, 

17 and enhance coordination of agency administration of the 

18 regulatory review, environmental decisionmaking, and per19 mitting process for projects undertaken, reviewed, or fund20 ed by Federal agencies. This subchapter will ensure that 

21 agencies administer the regulatory process in a manner 

22 that is efficient so that citizens are not burdened with reg23 ulatory excuses and time delays. 

24 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub25 chapter, the term— 
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1 ‘‘(1) ‘agency’ means any agency, department, or 

2 other unit of Federal, State, local, or Indian tribal 

3 government; 

4 ‘‘(2) ‘category of projects’ means two or more 

5 projects related by project type, potential environ6 mental impacts, geographic location, or another 

7 similar project feature or characteristic; 

8 ‘‘(3) ‘environmental assessment’ means a con9 cise public document for which a Federal agency is 

10 responsible that serves to— 

11 ‘‘(A) briefly provide sufficient evidence and 

12 analysis for determining whether to prepare an 

13 environmental impact statement or a finding of 

14 no significant impact; 

15 ‘‘(B) aid an agency’s compliance with 

16 NEPA when no environmental impact state17 ment is necessary; and 

18 ‘‘(C) facilitate preparation of an environ19 mental impact statement when one is necessary; 

20 ‘‘(4) ‘environmental impact statement’ means 

21 the detailed statement of significant environmental 

22 impacts required to be prepared under NEPA; 

23 ‘‘(5) ‘environmental review’ means the Federal 

24 agency procedures for preparing an environmental 
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1 impact statement, environmental assessment, cat2 egorical exclusion, or other document under NEPA; 

3 ‘‘(6) ‘environmental decisionmaking process’ 

4 means the Federal agency procedures for under5 taking and completion of any environmental permit, 

6 decision, approval, review, or study under any Fed7 eral law other than NEPA for a project subject to 

8 an environmental review; 

9 ‘‘(7) ‘environmental document’ means an envi10 ronmental assessment or environmental impact 

11 statement, and includes any supplemental document 

12 or document prepared pursuant to a court order; 

13 ‘‘(8) ‘finding of no significant impact’ means a 

14 document by a Federal agency briefly presenting the 

15 reasons why a project, not otherwise subject to a 

16 categorical exclusion, will not have a significant ef17 fect on the human environment and for which an en18 vironmental impact statement therefore will not be 

19 prepared; 

20 ‘‘(9) ‘lead agency’ means the Federal agency 

21 preparing or responsible for preparing the environ22 mental document; 

23 ‘‘(10) ‘NEPA’ means the National Environ24 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 
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1 ‘‘(11) ‘project’ means major Federal actions 

2 that are construction activities undertaken with Fed3 eral funds or that are construction activities that re4 quire approval by a permit or regulatory decision 

5 issued by a Federal agency; 

6 ‘‘(12) ‘project sponsor’ means the agency or 

7 other entity, including any private or public-private 

8 entity, that seeks approval for a project or is other9 wise responsible for undertaking a project; and 

10 ‘‘(13) ‘record of decision’ means a document 

11 prepared by a lead agency under NEPA following an 

12 environmental impact statement that states the lead 

13 agency’s decision, identifies the alternatives consid14 ered by the agency in reaching its decision and 

15 states whether all practicable means to avoid or min16 imize environmental harm from the alternative se17 lected have been adopted, and if not, why they were 

18 not adopted. 

19 ‘‘(c) PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DOCU20 MENTS.—Upon the request of the lead agency, the project 

21 sponsor shall be authorized to prepare any document for 

22 purposes of an environmental review required in support 

23 of any project or approval by the lead agency if the lead 

24 agency furnishes oversight in such preparation and inde25 pendently evaluates such document and the document is 
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1 approved and adopted by the lead agency prior to taking 

2 any action or making any approval based on such docu3 ment. 

4 ‘‘(d) ADOPTION AND USE OF DOCUMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DOCUMENTS PREPARED UNDER NEPA.— 

6 ‘‘(A) Not more than one environmental im7 pact statement and one environmental assess8 ment shall be prepared under NEPA for a 

9 project (except for supplemental environmental 

10 documents prepared under NEPA or environ11 mental documents prepared pursuant to a court 

12 order), and, except as otherwise provided by 

13 law, the lead agency shall prepare the environ14 mental impact statement or environmental as15 sessment. After the lead agency issues a record 

16 of decision, no Federal agency responsible for 

17 making any approval for that project may rely 

18 on a document other than the environmental 

19 document prepared by the lead agency. 

20 ‘‘(B) Upon the request of a project spon21 sor, a lead agency may adopt, use, or rely upon 

22 secondary and cumulative impact analyses in23 cluded in any environmental document prepared 

24 under NEPA for projects in the same geo25 graphic area where the secondary and cumu-
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1 lative impact analyses provide information and 

2 data that pertains to the NEPA decision for the 

3 project under review. 

4 ‘‘(2) STATE ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS; 

5 SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) Upon the request of a project spon7 sor, a lead agency may adopt a document that 

8 has been prepared for a project under State 

9 laws and procedures as the environmental im10 pact statement or environmental assessment for 

11 the project, provided that the State laws and 

12 procedures under which the document was pre13 pared provide environmental protection and op14 portunities for public involvement that are sub15 stantially equivalent to NEPA. 

16 ‘‘(B) An environmental document adopted 

17 under subparagraph (A) is deemed to satisfy 

18 the lead agency’s obligation under NEPA to 

19 prepare an environmental impact statement or 

20 environmental assessment. 

21 ‘‘(C) In the case of a document described 

22 in subparagraph (A), during the period after 

23 preparation of the document but before its 

24 adoption by the lead agency, the lead agency 
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1 shall prepare and publish a supplement to that 

2 document if the lead agency determines that— 

3 ‘‘(i) a significant change has been 

4 made to the project that is relevant for 

5 purposes of environmental review of the 

6 project; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) there have been significant 

8 changes in circumstances or availability of 

9 information relevant to the environmental 

10 review for the project. 

11 ‘‘(D) If the agency prepares and publishes 

12 a supplemental document under subparagraph 

13 (C), the lead agency may solicit comments from 

14 agencies and the public on the supplemental 

15 document for a period of not more than 45 

16 days beginning on the date of the publication of 

17 the supplement. 

18 ‘‘(E) A lead agency shall issue its record of 

19 decision or finding of no significant impact, as 

20 appropriate, based upon the document adopted 

21 under subparagraph (A), and any supplements 

22 thereto. 

23 ‘‘(3) CONTEMPORANEOUS PROJECTS.—If the 

24 lead agency determines that there is a reasonable 

25 likelihood that the project will have similar environ-
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1 mental impacts as a similar project in geographical 

2 proximity to the project, and that similar project 

3 was subject to environmental review or similar State 

4 procedures within the 5-year period immediately pre5 ceding the date that the lead agency makes that de6 termination, the lead agency may adopt the environ7 mental document that resulted from that environ8 mental review or similar State procedure. The lead 

9 agency may adopt such an environmental document, 

10 if it is prepared under State laws and procedures 

11 only upon making a favorable determination on such 

12 environmental document pursuant to paragraph 

13 (2)(A). 

14 ‘‘(e) COOPERATING AGENCIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency shall be 

16 responsible for inviting and designating cooperating 

17 agencies (as such term is defined in part 1500 of 

18 title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as in ef19 fect on January 1, 2011) in accordance with this 

20 subsection. The lead agency shall provide the invita21 tion or notice of the designation in writing. 

22 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL COOPERATING AGENCIES.—Any 

23 Federal agency that is required to adopt the envi24 ronmental document of the lead agency for a project 

25 shall be designated as a cooperating agency and 
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1 shall collaborate on the preparation of the environ2 mental document, unless the Federal agency informs 

3 the lead agency, in writing, by a time specified by 

4 the lead agency in the designation of the Federal 

5 agency that the Federal agency— 

6 ‘‘(A) has no jurisdiction or authority with 

7 respect to the project; 

8 ‘‘(B) has no expertise or information rel9 evant to the project; and 

10 ‘‘(C) does not intend to submit comments 

11 on the project. 

12 ‘‘(3) INVITATION.—The lead agency shall iden13 tify, as early as practicable in the environmental re14 view for a project, any agencies other than an agen15 cy described in paragraph (2) that may have an in16 terest in the project, including, where appropriate, 

17 Governors of affected States, and heads of appro18 priate tribal and local (including county) govern19 ments, and shall invite such identified agencies and 

20 officials to become cooperating agencies in the envi21 ronmental review for the project. The invitation shall 

22 set a deadline of 30 days for responses to be sub23 mitted, which may only be extended by the lead 

24 agency for good cause shown. Any agency that fails 
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1 to respond prior to the deadline shall be deemed to 

2 have declined the invitation. 

3 ‘‘(4) EFFECT OF DECLINING COOPERATING

4 AGENCY INVITATION.—Any agency that declines a 

5 designation or invitation by the lead agency to be a 

6 cooperating agency shall be precluded from submit7 ting comments on any document prepared under 

8 NEPA for that project or taking any measures to 

9 oppose, based on the environmental review, any per10 mit, license, or approval related to that project. 

11 ‘‘(5) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—Designation 

12 as a cooperating agency under this subsection does 

13 not imply that the cooperating agency— 

14 ‘‘(A) supports a proposed project; or 

15 ‘‘(B) has any jurisdiction over, or special 

16 expertise with respect to evaluation of, the 

17 project. 

18 ‘‘(6) CONCURRENT REVIEWS.—Each Federal 

19 agency shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) carry out obligations of the Federal 

21 agency under other applicable law concurrently 

22 and in conjunction with the review required 

23 under NEPA; and 

24 ‘‘(B) in accordance with the rules made by 

25 the Council on Environmental Quality pursuant 
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1 to subsection (n)(1), make and carry out such 

2 rules, policies, and procedures as may be rea3 sonably necessary to enable the agency to en4 sure completion of the environmental review 

5 and environmental decisionmaking process in a 

6 timely, coordinated, and environmentally re7 sponsible manner. 

8 ‘‘(7) COMMENTS.—Each cooperating agency 

9 shall limit its comments on a project to areas that 

10 are within the authority and expertise of such co11 operating agency. Each cooperating agency shall 

12 identify in such comments the statutory authority of 

13 the cooperating agency pertaining to the subject 

14 matter of its comments. The lead agency shall not 

15 act upon, respond to or include in any document 

16 prepared under NEPA, any comment submitted by 

17 a cooperating agency that concerns matters that are 

18 outside of the authority and expertise of the com19 menting cooperating agency. 

20 ‘‘(f) LEAD AGENCY INITIATION.—The lead agency 

21 shall initiate the environmental review within a period of 

22 45 days after receiving an application for a project from 

23 a project sponsor. 

24 ‘‘(g) ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) PARTICIPATION.—As early as practicable 

2 during the environmental review, but no later than 

3 during scoping for a project requiring the prepara4 tion of an environmental impact statement, the lead 

5 agency shall provide an opportunity for involvement 

6 by cooperating agencies in determining the range of 

7 alternatives to be considered for a project. 

8 ‘‘(2) RANGE OF ALTERNATIVES.—Following 

9 participation under paragraph (1), the lead agency 

10 shall determine the range of alternatives for consid11 eration in any document which the lead agency is re12 sponsible for preparing for the project, subject to the 

13 following limitations: 

14 ‘‘(A) NO EVALUATION OF CERTAIN ALTER15 NATIVES.—No Federal agency shall evaluate 

16 any alternative that was identified but not car17 ried forward for detailed evaluation in an envi18 ronmental document or evaluated and not se19 lected in any environmental document prepared 

20 under NEPA for the same project. 

21 ‘‘(B) ONLY FEASIBLE ALTERNATIVES

22 EVALUATED.—Where a project is being con23 structed, managed, funded, or undertaken by a 

24 project sponsor that is not a Federal agency, 

25 Federal agencies shall only be required to evalu-
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1 ate alternatives that the project sponsor could 

2 feasibly undertake, consistent with the purpose 

3 of and the need for the project, including alter4 natives that can be undertaken by the project 

5 sponsor and that are technically and economi6 cally feasible. 

7 ‘‘(3) METHODOLOGIES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency shall 

9 determine, in collaboration with cooperating 

10 agencies at appropriate times during the envi11 ronmental review, the methodologies to be used 

12 and the level of detail required in the analysis 

13 of each alternative for a project. The lead agen14 cy shall include in the environmental document 

15 a description of the methodologies used and 

16 how the methodologies were selected. 

17 ‘‘(B) NO EVALUATION OF INAPPROPRIATE

18 ALTERNATIVES.—When a lead agency deter19 mines that an alternative does not meet the 

20 purpose and need for a project, that alternative 

21 is not required to be evaluated in detail in an 

22 environmental document. 

23 ‘‘(4) PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.—At the dis24 cretion of the lead agency, the preferred alternative 

25 for a project, after being identified, may be devel-
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1 oped to a higher level of detail than other alter2 natives in order to facilitate the development of miti3 gation measures or concurrent compliance with other 

4 applicable laws if the lead agency determines that 

5 the development of such higher level of detail will 

6 not prevent the lead agency from making an impar7 tial decision as to whether to accept another alter8 native which is being considered in the environ9 mental review. 

10 ‘‘(5) EMPLOYMENT ANALYSIS.—The evaluation 

11 of each alternative in an environmental impact state12 ment or an environmental assessment shall identify 

13 the potential effects of the alternative on employ14 ment, including potential short-term and long-term 

15 employment increases and reductions and shifts in 

16 employment. 

17 ‘‘(6) LOW-INCOME AND COMMUNITIES OF

18 COLOR ANALYSIS.—The evaluation of each alter19 native in an environmental impact statement or an 

20 environmental assessment shall identify the potential 

21 effects of the alternative on low-income communities 

22 and communities of color. 

23 ‘‘(h) COORDINATION AND SCHEDULING.— 

24 ‘‘(1) COORDINATION PLAN.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency shall 

2 establish and implement a plan for coordinating 

3 public and agency participation in and comment 

4 on the environmental review for a project or 

5 category of projects to facilitate the expeditious 

6 resolution of the environmental review. 

7 ‘‘(B) SCHEDULE.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency 

9 shall establish as part of the coordination 

10 plan for a project, after consultation with 

11 each cooperating agency and, where appli12 cable, the project sponsor, a schedule for 

13 completion of the environmental review. 

14 The schedule shall include deadlines, con15 sistent with subsection (i), for decisions 

16 under any other Federal laws (including 

17 the issuance or denial of a permit or li18 cense) relating to the project that is cov19 ered by the schedule. 

20 ‘‘(ii) FACTORS FOR CONSIDER21 ATION.—In establishing the schedule, the 

22 lead agency shall consider factors such 

23 as— 
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1 ‘‘(I) the responsibilities of co2 operating agencies under applicable 

3 laws; 

4 ‘‘(II) resources available to the 

5 cooperating agencies; 

6 ‘‘(III) overall size and complexity 

7 of the project; 

8 ‘‘(IV) overall schedule for and 

9 cost of the project; 

10 ‘‘(V) the sensitivity of the natural 

11 and historic resources that could be 

12 affected by the project; and 

13 ‘‘(VI) the extent to which similar 

14 projects in geographic proximity were 

15 recently subject to environmental re16 view or similar State procedures. 

17 ‘‘(iii) COMPLIANCE WITH THE SCHED18 ULE.— 

19 ‘‘(I) All cooperating agencies 

20 shall comply with the time periods es21 tablished in the schedule or with any 

22 modified time periods, where the lead 

23 agency modifies the schedule pursuant 

24 to subparagraph (D). 
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1 ‘‘(II) The lead agency shall dis2 regard and shall not respond to or in3 clude in any document prepared under 

4 NEPA, any comment or information 

5 submitted or any finding made by a 

6 cooperating agency that is outside of 

7 the time period established in the 

8 schedule or modification pursuant to 

9 subparagraph (D) for that agency’s 

10 comment, submission or finding. 

11 ‘‘(III) If a cooperating agency 

12 fails to object in writing to a lead 

13 agency decision, finding or request for 

14 concurrence within the time period es15 tablished under law or by the lead 

16 agency, the agency shall be deemed to 

17 have concurred in the decision, finding 

18 or request. 

19 ‘‘(C) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER TIME PE20 RIODS.—A schedule under subparagraph (B) 

21 shall be consistent with any other relevant time 

22 periods established under Federal law. 

23 ‘‘(D) MODIFICATION.—The lead agency 

24 may— 
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1 ‘‘(i) lengthen a schedule established 

2 under subparagraph (B) for good cause; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) shorten a schedule only with the 

5 concurrence of the cooperating agencies. 

6 ‘‘(E) DISSEMINATION.—A copy of a sched7 ule under subparagraph (B), and of any modi8 fications to the schedule, shall be— 

9 ‘‘(i) provided within 15 days of com10 pletion or modification of such schedule to 

11 all cooperating agencies and to the project 

12 sponsor; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) made available to the public. 

14 ‘‘(F) ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY OF

15 LEAD AGENCY.—With respect to the environ16 mental review for any project, the lead agency 

17 shall have authority and responsibility to take 

18 such actions as are necessary and proper, with19 in the authority of the lead agency, to facilitate 

20 the expeditious resolution of the environmental 

21 review for the project. 

22 ‘‘(i) DEADLINES.—The following deadlines shall 

23 apply to any project subject to review under NEPA and 

24 any decision under any Federal law relating to such 
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1 project (including the issuance or denial of a permit or 

2 license or any required finding): 

3 ‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW DEADLINES.— 

4 The lead agency shall complete the environmental 

5 review within the following deadlines: 

6 ‘‘(A) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE7 MENT PROJECTS.—For projects requiring prep8 aration of an environmental impact statement— 

9 ‘‘(i) the lead agency shall issue an en10 vironmental impact statement within 2 

11 years after the earlier of the date the lead 

12 agency receives an application for a project 

13 from a project sponsor or a Notice of In14 tent to Prepare an Environmental Impact 

15 Statement is published in the Federal Reg16 ister; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) in circumstances where the lead 

18 agency has prepared an environmental as19 sessment and determined that an environ20 mental impact statement will be required, 

21 the lead agency shall issue the environ22 mental impact statement within 2 years 

23 after the date of publication of the Notice 

24 of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Im25 pact Statement in the Federal Register. 
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1 ‘‘(B) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

2 PROJECTS.—For projects requiring preparation 

3 of an environmental assessment, the lead agen4 cy shall issue a finding of no significant impact 

5 or publish a Notice of Intent to Prepare an En6 vironmental Impact Statement in the Federal 

7 Register within 1 year after the earlier of the 

8 date the lead agency receives the project initi9 ation request, makes a decision to prepare an 

10 environmental assessment, or sends out cooper11 ating agency invitations. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXTENSIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS.—The environmental 

14 review deadlines may be extended only if— 

15 ‘‘(i) a different deadline is established 

16 by agreement of the lead agency, the 

17 project sponsor, and all cooperating agen18 cies; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) the deadline is extended by the 

20 lead agency for good cause. 

21 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The environmental re22 view shall not be extended by more than 1 year 

23 for a project requiring preparation of an envi24 ronmental impact statement or by more than 
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1 180 days for a project requiring preparation of 

2 an environmental assessment. 

3 ‘‘(3) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW COMMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) COMMENTS ON DRAFT ENVIRON5 MENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—For comments 

6 by agencies and the public on a draft environ7 mental impact statement, the lead agency shall 

8 establish a comment period of not more than 60 

9 days after publication in the Federal Register 

10 of notice of the date of public availability of 

11 such document, unless— 

12 ‘‘(i) a different deadline is established 

13 by agreement of the lead agency, the 

14 project sponsor, and all cooperating agen15 cies; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) the deadline is extended by the 

17 lead agency for good cause. 

18 ‘‘(B) OTHER COMMENTS.—For all other 

19 comment periods for agency or public comments 

20 in the environmental review process, the lead 

21 agency shall establish a comment period of no 

22 more than 30 days from availability of the ma23 terials on which comment is requested, unless— 

24 ‘‘(i) a different deadline is established 

25 by agreement of the lead agency, the 
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1 project sponsor, and all cooperating agen2 cies; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the deadline is extended by the 

4 lead agency for good cause. 

5 ‘‘(4) DEADLINES FOR DECISIONS UNDER

6 OTHER LAWS.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

7 of law, in any case in which a decision under any 

8 other Federal law relating to the undertaking of a 

9 project being reviewed under NEPA (including the 

10 issuance or denial of a permit or license) is required 

11 to be made, the following deadlines shall apply: 

12 ‘‘(A) DECISIONS PRIOR TO RECORD OF DE13 CISION OR FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IM14 PACT.—If a Federal agency is required to ap15 prove, or otherwise to act upon, a permit, li16 cense, or other similar application for approval 

17 related to a project prior to the record of deci18 sion or finding of no significant impact, such 

19 Federal agency shall approve or otherwise act 

20 not later than the end of a 90-day period begin21 ning— 

22 ‘‘(i) after all other relevant agency re23 view related to the project is complete; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) after the lead agency publishes a 

25 notice of the availability of the final envi-
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1 ronmental impact statement or issuance of 

2 other final environmental documents, or no 

3 later than such other date that is otherwise 

4 required by law, whichever event occurs 

5 first. 

6 ‘‘(B) OTHER DECISIONS.—With regard to 

7 any approval or other action related to a project 

8 by a Federal agency that is not subject to sub9 paragraph (A), each Federal agency shall ap10 prove or otherwise act not later than the end of 

11 a period of 180 days beginning— 

12 ‘‘(i) after all other relevant agency re13 view related to the project is complete; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) after the lead agency issues the 

15 record of decision or finding of no signifi16 cant impact, unless a different deadline is 

17 established by agreement of the Federal 

18 agency, lead agency, and the project spon19 sor, where applicable, or the deadline is ex20 tended by the Federal agency for good 

21 cause, provided that such extension shall 

22 not extend beyond a period that is 1 year 

23 after the lead agency issues the record of 

24 decision or finding of no significant im25 pact. 
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1 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO ACT.—In the event that 

2 any Federal agency fails to approve, or other3 wise to act upon, a permit, license, or other 

4 similar application for approval related to a 

5 project within the applicable deadline described 

6 in subparagraph (A) or (B), the permit, license, 

7 or other similar application shall be deemed ap8 proved by such agency and the agency shall 

9 take action in accordance with such approval 

10 within 30 days of the applicable deadline de11 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B). 

12 ‘‘(D) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—Any ap13 proval under subparagraph (C) is deemed to be 

14 final agency action, and may not be reversed by 

15 any agency. In any action under chapter 7 seek16 ing review of such a final agency action, the 

17 court may not set aside such agency action by 

18 reason of that agency action having occurred 

19 under this paragraph. 

20 ‘‘(j) ISSUE IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLUTION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) COOPERATION.—The lead agency and the 

22 cooperating agencies shall work in accordance with 

23 this section to identify and resolve issues that could 

24 delay completion of the environmental review or 
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1 could result in denial of any approvals required for 

2 the project under applicable laws. 

3 ‘‘(2) LEAD AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

4 lead agency shall make information available to the 

5 cooperating agencies as early as practicable in the 

6 environmental review regarding the environmental, 

7 historic, and socioeconomic resources located within 

8 the project area and the general locations of the al9 ternatives under consideration. Such information 

10 may be based on existing data sources, including ge11 ographic information systems mapping. 

12 ‘‘(3) COOPERATING AGENCY RESPONSIBIL13 ITIES.—Based on information received from the lead 

14 agency, cooperating agencies shall identify, as early 

15 as practicable, any issues of concern regarding the 

16 project’s potential environmental, historic, or socio17 economic impacts. In this paragraph, issues of con18 cern include any issues that could substantially delay 

19 or prevent an agency from granting a permit or 

20 other approval that is needed for the project. 

21 ‘‘(4) ISSUE RESOLUTION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) MEETING OF COOPERATING AGEN23 CIES.—At any time upon request of a project 

24 sponsor, the lead agency shall promptly convene 

25 a meeting with the relevant cooperating agen-
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1 cies and the project sponsor, to resolve issues 

2 that could delay completion of the environ3 mental review or could result in denial of any 

4 approvals required for the project under appli5 cable laws. 

6 ‘‘(B) NOTICE THAT RESOLUTION CANNOT

7 BE ACHIEVED.—If a resolution cannot be 

8 achieved within 30 days following such a meet9 ing and a determination by the lead agency that 

10 all information necessary to resolve the issue 

11 has been obtained, the lead agency shall notify 

12 the heads of all cooperating agencies, the 

13 project sponsor, and the Council on Environ14 mental Quality for further proceedings in ac15 cordance with section 204 of NEPA, and shall 

16 publish such notification in the Federal Reg17 ister. 

18 ‘‘(k) LIMITATION ON USE OF SOCIAL COST OF CAR19 BON.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any environ21 mental review or environmental decisionmaking 

22 process, a lead agency may not use the social cost 

23 of carbon. 

24 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

25 ‘social cost of carbon’ means the social cost of car-
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1 bon as described in the technical support document 

2 entitled ‘Technical Support Document: Technical 

3 Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory 

4 Impact Analysis Under Executive Order No. 12866’, 

5 published by the Interagency Working Group on So6 cial Cost of Carbon, United States Government, in 

7 May 2013, revised in November 2013, or any suc8 cessor thereto or substantially related document, the 

9 draft guidance entitled: ‘Revised Draft Guidance for 

10 Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration 

11 of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Cli12 mate change in NEPA Reviews’ (79 Fed. Reg. 

13 77801), or any successor thereto or substantially re14 lated document, or any other estimate of the mone15 tized damages associated with an incremental in16 crease in carbon dioxide emissions in a given year. 

17 ‘‘(l) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The head of each Fed18 eral agency shall report annually to Congress— 

19 ‘‘(1) the projects for which the agency initiated 

20 preparation of an environmental impact statement or 

21 environmental assessment; 

22 ‘‘(2) the projects for which the agency issued a 

23 record of decision or finding of no significant impact 

24 and the length of time it took the agency to com25 plete the environmental review for each such project; 
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1 ‘‘(3) the filing of any lawsuits against the agen2 cy seeking judicial review of a permit, license, or ap3 proval issued by the agency for an action subject to 

4 NEPA, including the date the complaint was filed, 

5 the court in which the complaint was filed, and a 

6 summary of the claims for which judicial review was 

7 sought; and 

8 ‘‘(4) the resolution of any lawsuits against the 

9 agency that sought judicial review of a permit, li10 cense, or approval issued by the agency for an action 

11 subject to NEPA. 

12 ‘‘(m) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.— 

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

14 provision of law, a claim arising under Federal law 

15 seeking judicial review of a permit, license, or ap16 proval issued by a Federal agency for an action sub17 ject to NEPA shall be barred unless— 

18 ‘‘(A) in the case of a claim pertaining to 

19 a project for which an environmental review 

20 was conducted and an opportunity for comment 

21 was provided, the claim is filed by a party to 

22 the administrative proceeding, and the party 

23 submitted a comment during the environmental 

24 review on the issue on which the party seeks ju25 dicial review, and such comment was suffi-
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1 ciently detailed to put the lead agency on notice 

2 of the issue upon which the party seeks judicial 

3 review; and 

4 ‘‘(B) filed within 180 days after publica5 tion of a notice in the Federal Register an6 nouncing that the permit, license, or approval is 

7 final pursuant to the law under which the agen8 cy action is taken, unless a shorter time is spec9 ified in the Federal law pursuant to which judi10 cial review is allowed. 

11 ‘‘(2) NEW INFORMATION.—The preparation of 

12 a supplemental environmental impact statement, 

13 when required, is deemed a separate final agency ac14 tion and the deadline for filing a claim for judicial 

15 review of such action shall be 180 days after the 

16 date of publication of a notice in the Federal Reg17 ister announcing the record of decision for such ac18 tion. Any claim challenging agency action on the 

19 basis of information in a supplemental environ20 mental impact statement shall be limited to chal21 lenges on the basis of that information. 

22 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

23 this subsection shall be construed to create a right 

24 to judicial review or place any limit on filing a claim 
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•HR 348 EH

1 that a person has violated the terms of a permit, li2 cense, or approval. 

3 ‘‘(n) CATEGORIES OF PROJECTS.—The authorities 

4 granted under this subchapter may be exercised for an in5 dividual project or a category of projects. 

6 ‘‘(o) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of this 

7 subchapter shall apply only to environmental reviews and 

8 environmental decisionmaking processes initiated after the 

9 date of enactment of this subchapter. In the case of a 

10 project for which an environmental review or environ11 mental decisionmaking process was initiated prior to the 

12 date of enactment of this subchapter, the provisions of 

13 subsection (i) shall apply, except that, notwithstanding 

14 any other provision of this section, in determining a dead15 line under such subsection, any applicable period of time 

16 shall be calculated as beginning from the date of enact17 ment of this subchapter. 

18 ‘‘(p) APPLICABILITY.—Except as provided in sub19 section (p), this subchapter applies, according to the provi20 sions thereof, to all projects for which a Federal agency 

21 is required to undertake an environmental review or make 

22 a decision under an environmental law for a project for 

23 which a Federal agency is undertaking an environmental 

24 review. 
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1 ‘‘(q) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 

2 be construed to supersede, amend, or modify sections 134, 

3 135, 139, 325, 326, and 327 of title 23, sections 5303 

4 and 5304 of title 49, or subtitle C of title I of division 

5 A of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century 

6 Act and the amendments made by such subtitle (Public 

7 Law 112–141).’’. 

8 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

9 for chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

10 by inserting after the items relating to subchapter II the 

11 following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER IIA—INTERAGENCY COORDINATION REGARDING PERMITTING

‘‘560. Coordination of agency administrative operations for efficient decisionmaking.’’. 

12 (c) REGULATIONS.— 

13 (1) COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY.— 

14 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

15 of this division, the Council on Environmental Qual16 ity shall amend the regulations contained in part 

17 1500 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, to im18 plement the provisions of this division and the 

19 amendments made by this division, and shall by rule 

20 designate States with laws and procedures that sat21 isfy the criteria under section 560(d)(2)(A) of title 

22 5, United States Code. 
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•HR 348 EH

1 (2) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Not later than 120 

2 days after the date that the Council on Environ3 mental Quality amends the regulations contained in 

4 part 1500 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, 

5 to implement the provisions of this division and the 

6 amendments made by this division, each Federal 

7 agency with regulations implementing the National 

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

9 et seq.) shall amend such regulations to implement 

10 the provisions of this division. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 25, 

2015. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 348 

AN ACT 

To provide for improved coordination of agency acand for other purposes. mental documents for permitting determinations, tions in the preparation and adoption of environ-