I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7389 

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

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 21, 2018 

Mr. MARINO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

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’’; 

16 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B); 

17 (iii) by striking the paragraph des18 ignation and heading and all that follows 

19 through ‘‘The term’’ in subparagraph (A) 

20 in the matter preceding clause (i) and in21 serting the following: 

22 ‘‘(6) COVERED PROJECT.—The term’’; 

23 (iv) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘(i)(I) is 

24 subject to NEPA;’’ and inserting the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(A)(i) is subject to NEPA;’’; 

2 (v) by redesignating clause (ii) as sub3 paragraph (B) and indenting appro4 priately; 

5 (vi) in subparagraph (A) (as so redes6 ignated), by redesignating subclauses (II) 

7 and (III) as clauses (ii) and (iii), respec8 tively, and indenting appropriately; and 

9 (vii) in subparagraph (B) (as so re10 designated), by redesignating subclauses 

11 (I) and (II) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec12 tively, and indenting appropriately. 

13 (b) PERMITTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.—Section 

14 41003 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m–2) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(3)(A), in the matter pre17 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and the Executive 

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

19 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘14 days’’ each place it ap21 pears and inserting ‘‘14 business days’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘completed’’ before ‘‘notice’’; 

24 (3) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by adding at the 

2 end the following: 

3 ‘‘(v) A checklist— 

4 ‘‘(I) to help project sponsors 

5 identify potential natural, cultural, 

6 and historic resources in the area of 

7 the project; and 

8 ‘‘(II) the purposes of which are— 

9 ‘‘(aa) to identify agencies 

10 and organizations that can pro11 vide information about natural, 

12 cultural, and historic resources; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(bb) to develop the infor15 mation needed to determine the 

16 range of alternatives. 

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

18 review, a description of the relationship be19 tween any applicable programmatic anal20 ysis and the planned tiered environmental 

21 review.’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘As part of the 

2 coordination project plan’’ and insert3 ing the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In accordance 

5 with clause (ii) and as part of the coordi6 nated project plan’’; and 

7 (II) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(ii) GOAL.— 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The permit11 ting timetable established under 

12 clause (i) shall provide for the comple13 tion of the permitting process within 2 

14 years. 

15 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—If the facili16 tating agency or lead agency, as appli17 cable, determines that the permitting 

18 process cannot be completed within 2 

19 years, the coordinated project plan 

20 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

21 ‘‘(aa) the specific reasons 

22 why the facilitating agency or 

23 lead agency, as applicable, antici24 pates that the permitting process 

25 will take longer than 2 years; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the specific efforts 

2 that the facilitating agency or 

3 lead agency, as applicable, each 

4 coordinating and participating 

5 agency, the project sponsor, and 

6 any State in which the project is 

7 located will take to reduce the 

8 time needed to complete the per9 mitting process.’’; and 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (F)(ii)— 

11 (I) in the matter preceding sub12 clause (I), by striking ‘‘or is at signifi13 cant risk of failing to conform with’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘or reasonably believes 

15 the agency will fail to conform with a 

16 completion date 30 days before’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘significantly risking failing to con19 form’’ and inserting ‘‘reasonably be20 lieving the agency will fail to con21 form’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (d)— 

23 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

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

25 respectively, and indenting appropriately; and 


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1 (B) by striking the matter preceding sub2 paragraph (A) (as so redesignated) and insert3 ing the following: 

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

5 agency, as applicable, shall provide an expeditious 

6 process for potential or current project sponsors to 

7 confer with each potential and identified cooperating 

8 and participating agency involved. 

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

10 than 60 days after the date on which the potential 

11 or current project sponsor submits a request under 

12 this subsection, each agency that received such a re13 quest shall provide to the project sponsor informa14 tion concerning—’’; and 

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

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(f) FACILITATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

18 AND AUTHORIZATION PROCESS OF ADDITIONAL

19 PROJECTS.— 

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

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

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

23 project sponsor, the Executive Director may work 

24 with the lead agency and any cooperating or partici25 pating agency to facilitate the environmental review 


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1 and authorization process in accordance with this 

2 subsection, including by— 

3 ‘‘(A) mediating and resolving disputes; 

4 ‘‘(B) promoting early coordination among 

5 the agencies; and 

6 ‘‘(C) taking such actions as may be estab7 lished pursuant to paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—The Ex9 ecutive Director, in consultation with the Director of 

10 the Office of Management and Budget and the Chair 

11 of the Council on Environmental Quality, may estab12 lish policies and procedures as appropriate to carry 

13 out the facilitation under paragraph (1). 

14 ‘‘(3) COOPERATION REQUIRED.—If the Execu15 tive Director is facilitating the environmental review 

16 and authorization process under paragraph (1), the 

17 lead agency and any cooperating or participating 

18 agency shall cooperate with the Executive Director 

19 to the maximum extent practicable. 

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

21 project by the Executive Director under paragraph 

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

23 under this title, other than as provided in this sub24 section.’’. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION OF REQUIRED REVIEWS.—Sec2 tion 41005(b) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m–4(b)) 

3 is amended— 

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

5 DOCUMENTS; SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS.—’’; 

6 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 

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

8 indenting appropriately; 

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

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

11 (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting appro12 priately; 

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

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

15 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 

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

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

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

19 ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

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

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

22 indenting appropriately; 

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


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

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

3 ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; and 

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

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

6 indenting appropriately; and 

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

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

9 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

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

11 inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’. 

12 (d) LITIGATION, JUDICIAL REVIEW, AND SAVINGS

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

14 4370m–6) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘the action’’ and in18 serting ‘‘the claim’’; and 

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

20 decision or approval or denial of a permit’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘of notice of final agency ac22 tion on the authorization’’; and 

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

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


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

2 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘this section’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘this title’’. 

4 (e) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Section 41008(a)(2) of 

5 the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m–7(a)(2)) is amended— 

6 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

7 by striking ‘‘based on’’ and all that follows through 

8 ‘‘including’’ and inserting ‘‘, including’’; 

9 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘those 

10 best practices’’ and inserting ‘‘the best practices de11 scribed in section 41002(c)(2)(B)’’; 

12 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

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

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

15 ‘‘(C) agency compliance with sections 

16 41003 through 41006.’’. 

17 (f) FUNDING FOR GOVERNANCE, OVERSIGHT, AND

18 PROCESSING OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS AND PER19 MITS.—Section 41009 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 4370m–8) is amended— 

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

22 following: 

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

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

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


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1 with the guidance of the Director of the Office of Manage2 ment and Budget, may, after public notice and oppor3 tunity for comment, issue regulations establishing a fee 

4 structure for sponsors of covered projects to reimburse the 

5 United States for reasonable costs incurred in conducting 

6 environmental reviews and authorizations for covered 

7 projects.’’; 

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

9 and inserting ‘‘through 41008’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (d)(3)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘The Executive Director’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘For the purpose of carrying out 

13 this title, the Executive Director’’; and 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘and other projects under 

15 this title’’ before the period at the end. 

16 (g) SUNSET.—Section 41013 of the FAST Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 4370m–12) is repealed. 

18 (h) REPEAL OF CERTAIN EXCLUSIONS.—Section 

19 11503(b) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m note; Public 

20 Law 114–94) 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’’. 

Æ 


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