II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1976 

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

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 26, 2019 

Mr. PORTMAN 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.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 41001 of the FAST 

9 Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m) is amended— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘means’’ 

2 and all that follows through the period at the 

3 end and inserting ‘‘has the meaning given the 

4 term in section 1508.5 of title 40, Code of Fed5 eral Regulations (as in effect on the date of en6 actment of the Federal Permitting Reform and 

7 Jobs Act).’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘Federal 

9 Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Steer10 ing Council’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal Permitting 

11 Improvement Steering Council’’; and 

12 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

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

14 preceding clause (i), by inserting 

15 ‘‘projects’’ after ‘‘infrastructure’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

17 inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT.—Section 553 of title 5, 

19 United States Code, shall not apply to a major20 ity vote described in subparagraph (A).’’. 

21 (b) FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT COUN22 CIL.—Section 41002 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m– 

23 1) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(A)(i)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘Each’’ and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Each’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(II) REDESIGNATION.—If an in6 dividual listed in subparagraph (B) 

7 designates a different member to 

8 serve on the Council than the member 

9 designated under subclause (I), the 

10 individual shall notify the Executive 

11 Director of the designation by not 

12 later than 30 days after the date on 

13 which the designation is made.’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

17 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

18 (i), by striking ‘‘later than’’ and all 

19 that follows through ‘‘practices for’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘less frequently than 

21 annually, the Council shall issue rec22 ommendations on the best practices 

23 for improving the Federal permitting 

24 process for covered projects, which 

25 may include’’; 


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1 (II) in clause (vii), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (III) by redesignating clause 

4 (viii) as clause (ix); and 

5 (IV) by inserting after clause 

6 (vii) the following: 

7 ‘‘(viii) in coordination with the Execu8 tive Director, improving preliminary en9 gagement with project sponsors in devel10 oping coordinated project plans; and’’; 

11 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

12 (C) as subparagraph (D); and 

13 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

14 (B) the following: 

15 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION.—The Executive Di16 rector shall notify the Committees on Homeland 

17 Security and Governmental Affairs and Envi18 ronment and Public Works of the Senate and 

19 the Committees on Energy and Commerce and 

20 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

21 of Representatives if any agency fails to reason22 ably implement the recommended best prac23 tices.’’; and 

24 (B) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting ‘‘, 

25 including agency compliance with interim and 


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1 final completion dates described in coordinated 

2 project plans’’ after ‘‘authorizations’’; and 

3 (3) in subsection (d)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘The Director’’ and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—The designated 

9 agency under paragraph (1) shall not— 

10 ‘‘(A) participate in policy decisions or sub11 stantive management of the Council; or 

12 ‘‘(B) require the Executive Director or the 

13 Council to comply with agency policies in car14 rying out the duties of the Executive Director 

15 or the Council, as applicable.’’. 

16 (c) PERMITTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.—Section 

17 41003 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m–2) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)(3)(A), in the matter pre20 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and the Executive 

21 Director’’ after ‘‘as applicable,’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘14 days’’ each place it ap24 pears and inserting ‘‘14 business days’’; and 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by inserting 

2 ‘‘completed’’ before ‘‘notice’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (c)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

6 ‘‘in coordination with the Executive Direc7 tor and’’ after ‘‘as applicable,’’; and 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding at 

9 the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(v) A checklist— 

11 ‘‘(I) to help project sponsors 

12 identify potential natural, cultural, 

13 and historic resources in the area of 

14 the project; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the purposes of which are— 

16 ‘‘(aa) to identify agencies 

17 and organizations that can pro18 vide information about natural, 

19 cultural, and historic resources; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(bb) to develop the infor22 mation needed to determine the 

23 range of alternatives. 

24 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a tiered project 

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1 tween any applicable programmatic anal2 ysis and the planned tiered environmental 

3 review.’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

6 (I) by striking ‘‘As part of the 

7 coordination project plan’’ and insert8 ing the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In accordance 

10 with clause (ii) and as part of the coordi11 nated project plan’’; and 

12 (II) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(ii) GOAL.— 

15 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The permit16 ting timetable established under 

17 clause (i) shall provide for the comple18 tion of the permitting process within 2 

19 years. 

20 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—If the facili21 tating agency or lead agency, as appli22 cable, determines that the permitting 

23 process cannot be completed within 2 

24 years, the coordinated project plan 

25 under paragraph (1) shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) the specific reasons 

2 why the facilitating agency or 

3 lead agency, as applicable, antici4 pates that the permitting process 

5 will take longer than 2 years; and 

6 ‘‘(bb) the specific efforts 

7 that the facilitating agency or 

8 lead agency, as applicable, each 

9 coordinating and participating 

10 agency, the project sponsor, and 

11 any State in which the project is 

12 located will take to reduce the 

13 time needed to complete the per14 mitting process.’’; 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (D)(i)— 

16 (I) by redesignating subclauses 

17 (I) through (III) as subclauses (II) 

18 through (IV), respectively; 

19 (II) by inserting before subclause 

20 (II) (as so redesignated) the following: 

21 ‘‘(I) the facilitating or lead agen22 cy, as applicable, consults with the 

23 Executive Director regarding the po24 tential modification not less than 15 


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1 days before engaging in the consulta2 tion under subclause (II);’’; and 

3 (III) in subclause (II) (as so re4 designated), by inserting ‘‘, the Exec5 utive Director,’’ after ‘‘participating 

6 agencies’’; and 

7 (iii) in subparagraph (F)— 

8 (I) in clause (i)— 

9 (aa) by inserting ‘‘interim 

10 and final’’ before ‘‘completion 

11 dates’’; and 

12 (bb) by inserting ‘‘interim or 

13 final’’ before ‘‘completion date’’; 

14 and 

15 (II) in clause (ii)— 

16 (aa) in the matter preceding 

17 subclause (I), by striking ‘‘a com18 pletion date for agency action on 

19 a covered project or is at signifi20 cant risk of failing to conform 

21 with’’ and inserting ‘‘an interim 

22 or final completion date for agen23 cy action on a covered project or 

24 reasonably believes the agency 


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1 will fail to conform with a com2 pletion date 30 days before’’; and 

3 (bb) in subclause (I), by 

4 striking ‘‘significantly risking 

5 failing to conform’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘reasonably believing the agency 

7 will fail to conform’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (d)— 

9 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

10 through (3) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), 

11 respectively, and indenting appropriately; and 

12 (B) by striking the matter preceding sub13 paragraph (A) (as so redesignated) and insert14 ing the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The facilitating or lead 

16 agency, as applicable, shall provide an expeditious 

17 process for potential or current project sponsors to 

18 confer with each potential and identified cooperating 

19 and participating agency involved. 

20 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Not later 

21 than 60 days after the date on which the potential 

22 or current project sponsor submits a request under 

23 this subsection, each agency that received such a re24 quest shall provide to the project sponsor informa25 tion concerning—’’; and 


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1 (5) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(f) FACILITATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

4 AND AUTHORIZATION PROCESS OF ADDITIONAL

5 PROJECTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a project 

7 that is not a covered project, on the request of an 

8 individual described in section 41002(b)(2)(B) or the 

9 project sponsor, the Executive Director may work 

10 with the lead agency and any cooperating or partici11 pating agency to facilitate the environmental review 

12 and authorization process in accordance with this 

13 subsection, including by— 

14 ‘‘(A) mediating and resolving disputes; 

15 ‘‘(B) promoting early coordination among 

16 the agencies; and 

17 ‘‘(C) taking such actions as may be estab18 lished pursuant to paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—The Ex20 ecutive Director, in consultation with the Director of 

21 the Office of Management and Budget and the Chair 

22 of the Council on Environmental Quality, may estab23 lish policies and procedures as appropriate to carry 

24 out the facilitation under paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(3) COOPERATION REQUIRED.—If the Execu2 tive Director is facilitating the environmental review 

3 and authorization process under paragraph (1), the 

4 lead agency and any cooperating or participating 

5 agency shall cooperate with the Executive Director 

6 to the maximum extent practicable. 

7 ‘‘(4) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Facilitation of a 

8 project by the Executive Director under paragraph 

9 (1) shall not subject the project to any provisions 

10 under this title, other than as provided in this sub11 section.’’. 

12 (d) COORDINATION OF REQUIRED REVIEWS.—Sec13 tion 41005(b) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m–4(b)) 

14 is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘(1) STATE ENVIRONMENTAL

16 DOCUMENTS; SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS.—’’; 

17 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 

18 (E) as paragraphs (1) through (5), respectively, and 

19 indenting appropriately; 

20 (3) in paragraph (1) (as so redesignated), by 

21 redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as subparagraphs 

22 (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting appro23 priately; 


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1 (4) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), by 

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

3 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 

4 (5) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated)— 

5 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

6 striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

8 (B) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 

9 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and 

10 indenting appropriately; 

11 (6) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated)— 

12 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

13 striking ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; and 

15 (B) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 

16 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and 

17 indenting appropriately; and 

18 (7) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’. 

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— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

18 (A), by striking ‘‘based on’’ and all that follows 

19 through ‘‘including’’ and inserting ‘‘, includ20 ing’’; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘those best practices’’ and inserting ‘‘the best 

23 practices described in section 41002(c)(2)(B)’’; 

24 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

25 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(C) agency compliance with sections 

3 41003 through 41006.’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(c) FERC REPORT.— 

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

7 after the date of enactment of the Federal Permit8 ting Reform and Jobs Act, the Federal Energy Reg9 ulatory Commission shall submit to the Committees 

10 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

11 and Environment and Public Works of the Senate 

12 and the Committees on Energy and Commerce and 

13 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

14 Representatives a report that includes recommenda15 tions on ways to reconcile regulations of the Federal 

16 Energy Regulatory Commission with requirements 

17 under this title. 

18 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—In the first report under sub19 section (a) that is submitted after the date on which 

20 the report under paragraph (1) is submitted, the Ex21 ecutive Director shall include a review of the rec22 ommendations in the report under that paragraph.’’. 

23 (g) FUNDING FOR GOVERNANCE, OVERSIGHT, AND

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1 MITS.—Section 41009 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 4370m–8) is amended— 

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

4 following: 

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

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

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

8 with the guidance of the Director of the Office of Manage9 ment and Budget, may, after public notice and oppor10 tunity for comment, issue regulations establishing a fee 

11 structure for sponsors of covered projects to reimburse the 

12 United States for reasonable costs incurred in conducting 

13 environmental reviews and authorizations for covered 

14 projects.’’; 

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

16 and inserting ‘‘through 41008’’; and 

17 (3) by striking subsection (d)(3) and inserting 

18 the following: 

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

20 out this title, the Executive Director, with the ap21 proval of the Director of the Office of Management 

22 and Budget, may transfer amounts in the Fund to 

23 other Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments 

24 to facilitate timely and efficient environmental re25 views and authorizations for proposed covered 


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1 projects and other projects under this title, including 

2 direct reimbursement agreements with agency 

3 CERPOs, reimbursable agreements, and approval 

4 and consultation processes and staff for covered 

5 projects.’’. 

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

7 U.S.C. 4370m–12) is repealed. 

8 (i) REPEAL OF CERTAIN EXCLUSIONS.—Section 

9 11503(b) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m note; Public 

10 Law 114–94) is repealed. 

11 (j) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 

12 41002(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m– 

13 1(b)(2)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘councilmem-ber’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘councilmember’’. 

Æ 


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