II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2324 

To amend the FAST Act to improve the Federal permitting process, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 13, 2021 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. MANCHIN, and Mr. SULLIVAN) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the FAST Act to improve the Federal permitting 

process, 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 ‘‘Federal Permitting 

5 Reform and Jobs Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 41001 of the FAST Act 

8 (42 U.S.C. 4370m) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and any 

2 interagency consultation’’ after ‘‘issued by an agen3 cy’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘means’’ and 

5 all that follows through the period at the end of sub6 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘has the meaning given 

7 the term in section 1508.1 of title 40, Code of Fed8 eral Regulations (or successor regulations).’’; 

9 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘Federal In10 frastructure Permitting Improvement Steering 

11 Council’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal Permitting Im12 provement Steering Council’’; 

13 (4) in paragraph (6)(A)— 

14 (A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

15 end; 

16 (B) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause 

17 (iv); and 

18 (C) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(iii) is— 

21 ‘‘(I) subject to NEPA; 

22 ‘‘(II) sponsored by an Indian 

23 Tribe (as defined in section 4 of the 

24 Indian Self-Determination and Edu25 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 


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1 5304)), an Alaska Native Corporation, 

2 a Native Hawaiian organization (as 

3 defined in section 6207 of the Ele4 mentary and Secondary Education 

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517)), the 

6 Department of Hawaiian Home 

7 Lands, or the Office of Hawaiian Af8 fairs; and 

9 ‘‘(III) located on land owned or 

10 under the jurisdiction of the entity 

11 that sponsors the activity under sub12 clause (II); or’’; and 

13 (5) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘means’’ and 

14 all that follows through the period at the end and 

15 inserting ‘‘has the meaning given the term in section 

16 1508.1 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

17 successor regulations).’’ 

18 (b) FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT STEERING

19 COUNCIL.—Section 41002 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 4370m–1) is amended— 

21 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘FED22 ERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVE24 MENT STEERING COUNCIL’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(A)— 


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1 (A) in clause (i)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘Each’’ and inserting 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Each’’; and 

5 (ii) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(II) REDESIGNATION.—If an in8 dividual listed in subparagraph (B) 

9 designates a different member to 

10 serve on the Council than the member 

11 designated under subclause (I), the 

12 individual shall notify the Executive 

13 Director of the designation by not 

14 later than 30 days after the date on 

15 which the designation is made.’’; and 

16 (B) in clause (iii)(II), by striking ‘‘a dep17 uty secretary (or the equivalent) or higher’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘the applicable agency councilmem19 ber’’; 

20 (3) in subsection (c)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)(C)(ii)— 

22 (i) by striking subclause (I) and in23 serting the following: 

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The perform25 ance schedules shall reflect employVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Jul 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2324.IS S2324

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1 ment of the most sound and efficient 

2 applicable processes, including the 

3 alignment of Federal reviews of 

4 projects, reduction of permitting and 

5 project delivery time, and consider6 ation of the best practices for public 

7 participation.’’; 

8 (ii) by redesignating subclause (II) as 

9 subclause (III); 

10 (iii) by inserting after subclause (I) 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(II) GOAL.— 

13 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—To the 

14 maximum extent practicable, and 

15 consistent with applicable Fed16 eral law, the Executive Director, 

17 in consultation with the Council, 

18 shall aim to develop recom19 mended performance schedules 

20 under clause (i) of not more than 

21 2 years. 

22 ‘‘(bb) EXCEPTION.—If a 

23 recommended performance sched24 ule developed under clause (i) ex25 ceeds 2 years, the relevant agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Jul 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2324.IS S2324

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1 cies, in consultation with the Ex2 ecutive Director and the Council, 

3 shall explain in that recom4 mended performance schedule the 

5 factors that cause the environ6 mental reviews and authoriza7 tions in that category of covered 

8 projects to take longer than 2 

9 years.’’; and 

10 (iv) in subclause (III)(bb) (as so re11 designated), by striking ‘‘on the basis of 

12 data from the preceding 2 calendar years’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘based on relevant historical 

14 data, as determined by the Executive Di15 rector,’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

17 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

18 by striking ‘‘later than’’ and all that fol19 lows through ‘‘practices for’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘less frequently than annually, the Council 

21 shall issue recommendations on the best 

22 practices for improving the Federal permit23 ting process for covered projects, which 

24 may include’’; 

25 (ii) in clause (i)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘stakeholder en2 gagement, including fully considering’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘stakeholder engage4 ment, including— 

5 ‘‘(II) fully considering’’; and 

6 (II) by inserting before subclause 

7 (II) (as added by subclause (I)) the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(I) engaging with Native Amer10 ican stakeholders to ensure that 

11 project sponsors and agencies identify 

12 potential natural, archeological, and 

13 cultural resources and locations of his14 toric and religious significance in the 

15 area of a covered project; and’’; 

16 (iii) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

17 at the end; 

18 (iv) by redesignating clause (viii) as 

19 clause (x); and 

20 (v) by inserting after clause (vii) the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(viii) in coordination with the Execu23 tive Director, improving preliminary en24 gagement with project sponsors in devel25 oping coordinated project plans; 


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1 ‘‘(ix) using programmatic assess2 ments, templates, and other tools based on 

3 the best available science and data; and’’; 

4 and 

5 (C) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting ‘‘, in6 cluding agency compliance with intermediate 

7 and final completion dates described in coordi8 nated project plans’’ after ‘‘authorizations’’; 

9 and 

10 (4) by striking subsection (d). 

11 (c) PERMITTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.—Section 

12 41003 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m–2) is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(D) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any information 

18 relating to Native American natural, cultural, 

19 and historical resources submitted in a notice 

20 by a project sponsor under subparagraph (A) 

21 shall be— 

22 ‘‘(i) kept confidential; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) exempt from the disclosure re24 quirements under section 552 of title 5, 

25 United States Code (commonly known as 


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1 the ‘Freedom of Information Act’), and the 

2 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

3 App.).’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A), in the matter 

6 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘45 days’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘21 calendar days’’; and 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

9 ‘‘14 calendar day’’ before ‘‘deadline’’; and 

10 (C) in paragraph (3)(A), in the matter 

11 preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and the Ex12 ecutive Director’’ after ‘‘as applicable,’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (2)(A), by adding at the 

15 end the following: 

16 ‘‘(iii) PROJECTS OTHER THAN COV17 ERED PROJECTS.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Execu19 tive Director may direct a lead agency 

20 to create a specific entry on the Dash21 board for a project that is not a cov22 ered project and is under review by 

23 the lead agency if the Executive Di24 rector determines that a Dashboard 


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1 entry for that project is in the interest 

2 of transparency. 

3 ‘‘(II) REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

4 than 14 days after the date on which 

5 the Executive Director directs the lead 

6 agency to create a specific entry on 

7 the Dashboard for a project described 

8 in subclause (I), the lead agency shall 

9 create and maintain a specific entry 

10 on the Dashboard for the project that 

11 contains— 

12 ‘‘(aa) a comprehensive per13 mitting timetable, as described in 

14 subsection (c)(2)(A); 

15 ‘‘(bb) the status of the com16 pliance of each lead agency, co17 operating agency, and partici18 pating agency with the permit19 ting timetable required under 

20 item (aa); 

21 ‘‘(cc) any modifications of 

22 the permitting timetable required 

23 under item (aa), including an ex24 planation as to why the permit25 ting timetable was modified; and 


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1 ‘‘(dd) information about 

2 project-related public meetings, 

3 public hearings, and public com4 ment periods, which shall be pre5 sented in English and the pre6 dominant language of the com7 munity or communities most af8 fected by the project, as that in9 formation becomes available.’’; 

10 and 

11 (B) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

12 (i) in clause (i)— 

13 (I) in subclause (IV), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

15 (II) by redesignating subclause 

16 (V) as subclause (VI); 

17 (III) by inserting after subclause 

18 (IV) the following: 

19 ‘‘(V) information on the status of 

20 mitigation measures that were agreed 

21 to as part of the environmental review 

22 and permitting process, including 

23 whether and when the mitigation 

24 measures have been fully imple25 mented; and’’; and 


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1 (IV) in subclause (VI) (as so re2 designated), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

3 end; 

4 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the pe5 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

6 (iii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(iii) information about project-re9 lated public meetings, public hearings, and 

10 public comment periods, which shall be 

11 presented in English and the predominant 

12 language of the community or communities 

13 most affected by the project, as that infor14 mation becomes available.’’; and 

15 (3) in subsection (c)(2)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (A), strike ‘‘coordina17 tion’’ and insert ‘‘coordinated’’; 

18 (B) in subparagraph (D)(i)— 

19 (i) by redesignating subclauses (I) 

20 through (III) as subclauses (II) through 

21 (IV), respectively; 

22 (ii) by inserting before subclause (II) 

23 (as so redesignated) the following: 

24 ‘‘(I) the facilitating or lead agen25 cy, as applicable, consults with the 


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1 Executive Director regarding the po2 tential modification not less than 15 

3 days before engaging in the consulta4 tion under subclause (II);’’; and 

5 (iii) in subclause (II) (as so redesig6 nated), by inserting ‘‘, the Executive Di7 rector,’’ after ‘‘participating agencies’’; and 

8 (C) in subparagraph (F)— 

9 (i) in clause (i)— 

10 (I) by inserting ‘‘intermediate 

11 and final’’ before ‘‘completion dates’’; 

12 and 

13 (II) by inserting ‘‘intermediate or 

14 final’’ before ‘‘completion date’’; and 

15 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

16 (I) in the matter preceding sub17 clause (I), by striking ‘‘a completion 

18 date for agency action on a covered 

19 project or is at significant risk of fail20 ing to conform with’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘an intermediate or final completion 

22 date for agency action on a covered 

23 project or reasonably believes the 

24 agency will fail to conform with a 

25 completion date 30 days before’’; and 


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1 (II) in subclause (I), by striking 

2 ‘‘significantly risking failing to con3 form’’ and inserting ‘‘reasonably be4 lieving the agency will fail to con5 form’’. 

6 (d) COORDINATION OF REQUIRED REVIEWS.—Sec7 tion 41005 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m–4) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe13 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(3) where an environmental impact statement 

16 is required for a project, prepare a single, joint 

17 interagency environmental impact statement for the 

18 project unless the lead agency provides justification 

19 in the coordinated project plan that multiple envi20 ronmental documents are more efficient for project 

21 review and authorization.’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘(1) STATE ENVIRON24 MENTAL DOCUMENTS; SUPPLEMENTAL DOCU25 MENTS.—’’; 


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1 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

2 through (E) as paragraphs (1) through (5), re3 spectively, and indenting appropriately; 

4 (C) in paragraph (1) (as so redesig5 nated)— 

6 (i) by redesignating clauses (i) and 

7 (ii) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respec8 tively, and indenting appropriately; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (A) (as so redes10 ignated)— 

11 (I) by striking ‘‘State laws and 

12 procedures’’ and inserting ‘‘the laws 

13 and procedures of a State or Indian 

14 Tribe (as defined in section 102 of the 

15 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 

16 List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130))’’; 

17 and 

18 (II) by inserting ‘‘developed pur19 suant to laws and procedures of that 

20 State or Indian Tribe (as so defined) 

21 that are of equal or greater rigor to 

22 each applicable Federal law and pro23 cedure, and’’ after ‘‘Council on Envi24 ronmental Quality,’’; 


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1 (D) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), 

2 by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ each place it 

3 appears and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 

4 (E) in paragraph (3) (as so redesig5 nated)— 

6 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

7 by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

9 (ii) by redesignating clauses (i) and 

10 (ii) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respec11 tively, and indenting appropriately; 

12 (F) in paragraph (4) (as so redesig13 nated)— 

14 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

15 by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; and 

17 (ii) by redesignating clauses (i) and 

18 (ii) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respec19 tively, and indenting appropriately; and 

20 (G) in paragraph (5) (as so redesig21 nated)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (c)(4)— 

2 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

3 (A), by striking ‘‘determines that the develop4 ment of the higher level of detail will not pre5 vent—’’ and inserting ‘‘determines that—’’; 

6 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘the 

7 development of the higher level of detail will not 

8 prevent’’ before ‘‘the lead agency’’; and 

9 (C) by striking subparagraph (B) and in10 serting the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) the preferred and other alternatives 

12 are developed in sufficient detail to enable the 

13 public to comment on the alternatives.’’; 

14 (4) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub15 section (g); and 

16 (5) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(f) RECORD OF DECISION.—When an environmental 

19 impact statement is prepared, Federal agencies must, to 

20 the maximum extent practicable, issue a record of decision 

21 not later than 90 days after the date on which the final 

22 environmental impact statement is issued.’’. 

23 (e) LITIGATION, JUDICIAL REVIEW, AND SAVINGS

24 PROVISION.—Section 41007 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 4370m–6) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

2 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘the action’’ and in4 serting ‘‘the claim’’; and 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘of the final record of 

6 decision or approval or denial of a permit’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘of notice of final agency ac8 tion on the authorization’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘the action’’ and inserting ‘‘the claim’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding 

12 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘this section’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘this title’’. 

14 (f) REPORTS.—Section 41008 of the FAST Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 4370m–7) is amended by striking subsection (a) 

16 and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(a) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ANNUAL REPORT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 

20 15 of each year for 10 years beginning on the 

21 date of enactment of the Federal Permitting 

22 Reform and Jobs Act, the Executive Director 

23 shall submit to Congress a report detailing the 

24 progress accomplished under this title during 

25 the previous fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY TO INCLUDE COM2 MENTS.—Each councilmember, with input from 

3 the respective agency CERPO, shall have the 

4 opportunity to include comments concerning the 

5 performance of the agency in the report de6 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(2) QUARTERLY AGENCY PERFORMANCE RE8 PORT.—The Executive Director shall submit to Con9 gress a quarterly report evaluating agency compli10 ance with the provisions of this title, which shall in11 clude a description of the implementation and adher12 ence of each agency to the coordinated project plan 

13 and permitting timetable requirements under section 

14 41003(c). 

15 ‘‘(3) AGENCY BEST PRACTICES REPORT.—Not 

16 later than April 15 of each year, each participating 

17 agency and lead agency shall submit to Congress 

18 and the Director of the Office of Management and 

19 Budget a report assessing the performance of the 

20 agency in implementing the best practices described 

21 in section 41002(c)(2)(B).’’. 

22 (g) FUNDING FOR GOVERNANCE, OVERSIGHT, AND

23 PROCESSING OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS AND PER24 MITS.—Section 41009 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 4370m–8) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of carrying out 

4 this title, the Executive Director, in consultation with the 

5 heads of the agencies listed in section 41002(b)(2)(B) and 

6 with the guidance of the Director of the Office of Manage7 ment and Budget, may, after public notice and oppor8 tunity for comment, issue regulations establishing a fee 

9 structure for sponsors of covered projects to reimburse the 

10 United States for reasonable costs incurred in conducting 

11 environmental reviews and authorizations for covered 

12 projects.’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘and 41003’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘through 41008’’; and 

15 (3) in subsection (d)— 

16 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

17 ‘‘AND PERMITTING’’; and 

18 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and 

19 inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Fund 

21 shall be available to the Executive Director, without 

22 fiscal year limitation, solely for the purposes of ad23 ministering, implementing, and enforcing this title, 

24 including the expenses of the Council, staffing of the 

25 Office of the Executive Director, and support of the 


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1 role of the Council as a Federal center for permit2 ting excellence, which may include supporting inter3 agency detailee and rotation opportunities, advanced 

4 training, enhanced support for agency project man5 agers, and fora for sharing information and lessons 

6 learned. 

7 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER.—For the purpose of carrying 

8 out this title, the Executive Director, with the ap9 proval of the Director of the Office of Management 

10 and Budget, may transfer amounts in the Fund to 

11 other Federal agencies and State, Tribal, and local 

12 governments to facilitate timely and efficient envi13 ronmental reviews and authorizations for covered 

14 projects and other projects under this title, including 

15 direct reimbursement agreements with agency 

16 CERPOs, reimbursable agreements, and approval 

17 and consultation processes and staff for covered 

18 projects.’’. 

19 (h) SUNSET.—Section 41013 of the FAST Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 4370m–12) is repealed. 

21 (i) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 

22 41002(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m– 

23 1(b)(2)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘councilmem-ber’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘councilmember’’. 


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1 (j) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 in section 1(b) of the FAST Act (Public Law 114–94; 129 

3 Stat. 1319) is amended by striking the item relating to 

4 section 41002 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 41002. Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.’’. 

Æ 


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