I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1577 

To amend the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to clarify ambiguous provisions, reflect modern technologies, optimize interagency coordination, and facilitate a more efficient, effective, and timely environmental 

review process. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2023 

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

to clarify ambiguous provisions, reflect modern technologies, optimize interagency coordination, and facilitate 

a more efficient, effective, and timely environmental review process. 

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 ‘‘BUILDER Act of 

5 2023’’ or the ‘‘Building United States Infrastructure 

6 through Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews Act of 

7 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969. 

2 (a) PARAGRAPH (2) OF SECTION 102.—Section 

3 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

4 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘insure’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘ensure’’; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘insure’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘ensure’’; 

9 (3) in subparagraph (C)— 

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘consistent with the provi11 sions of this Act and except as provided by 

12 other provisions of law,’’ before ‘‘include in 

13 every’’; 

14 (B) by striking clauses (i) through (v) and 

15 inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) reasonably foreseeable environmental 

17 effects with a reasonably close causal relation18 ship to the proposed agency action; 

19 ‘‘(ii) any reasonably foreseeable adverse en20 vironmental effects which cannot be avoided 

21 should the proposal be implemented; 

22 ‘‘(iii) a reasonable number of alternatives 

23 to the proposed agency action, including an 

24 analysis of any negative environmental impacts 

25 of not implementing the proposed agency action 

26 in the case of a no action alternative, that are 


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1 technically and economically feasible, are within 

2 the jurisdiction of the agency, meet the purpose 

3 and need of the proposal, and, where applicable, 

4 meet the goals of the applicant; 

5 ‘‘(iv) the relationship between local short6 term uses of man’s environment and the main7 tenance and enhancement of long-term produc8 tivity; and 

9 ‘‘(v) any irreversible and irretrievable com10 mitments of Federal resources which would be 

11 involved in the proposed agency action should it 

12 be implemented.’’; and 

13 (C) by striking ‘‘the responsible Federal 

14 official’’ and inserting ‘‘the head of the lead 

15 agency’’; 

16 (4) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘Any’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘any’’; 

18 (5) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

19 through (I) as subparagraphs (F) through (K), re20 spectively; 

21 (6) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(D) ensure the professional integrity, including 

24 scientific integrity, of the discussion and analysis in 

25 an environmental document; 


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1 ‘‘(E) make use of reliable existing data and re2 sources in carrying out this Act;’’; 

3 (7) by amending subparagraph (G), as redesig4 nated, to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(G) consistent with the provisions of this Act, 

6 study, develop, and describe technically and economi7 cally feasible alternatives within the jurisdiction and 

8 authority of the agency;’’; and 

9 (8) in subparagraph (H), as amended, by in10 serting ‘‘consistent with the provisions of this Act,’’ 

11 before ‘‘recognize’’. 

12 (b) NEW SECTIONS.—Title I of the National Envi13 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 106. PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINATION OF LEVEL OF 

16 REVIEW. 

17 ‘‘(a) THRESHOLD DETERMINATIONS.—An agency is 

18 not required to prepare an environmental document with 

19 respect to a proposed agency action if— 

20 ‘‘(1) the proposed agency action is not a final 

21 agency action within the meaning of such term in 

22 chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code; 

23 ‘‘(2) the proposed agency action is covered by 

24 a categorical exclusion established by the agency, an25 other Federal agency, or another provision of law; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the preparation of such document would 

2 clearly and fundamentally conflict with the require3 ments of another provision of law; 

4 ‘‘(4) the proposed agency action is, in whole or 

5 in part, a nondiscretionary action with respect to 

6 which such agency does not have authority to take 

7 environmental factors into consideration in deter8 mining whether to take the proposed action; 

9 ‘‘(5) the proposed agency action is a rulemaking 

10 that is subject to section 553 of title 5, United 

11 States Code; or 

12 ‘‘(6) the proposed agency action is an action for 

13 which such agency’s compliance with another stat14 ute’s requirements serve the same or similar func15 tion as the requirements of this Act with respect to 

16 such action. 

17 ‘‘(b) LEVELS OF REVIEW.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.— 

19 An agency shall issue an environmental impact 

20 statement with respect to a proposed agency action 

21 that has a significant effect on the quality of the 

22 human environment. 

23 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.—An agen24 cy shall prepare an environmental assessment with 

25 respect to a proposed agency action that is not likely 


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1 to have a significant effect on the quality of the 

2 human environment, or if the significance of such ef3 fect is unknown, unless the agency finds that a cat4 egorical exclusion established by the agency, another 

5 Federal agency, or another provision of law applies. 

6 Such environmental assessment shall be a concise 

7 public document prepared by a Federal agency to set 

8 forth the basis of such agency’s finding of no signifi9 cant impact. 

10 ‘‘(3) SOURCES OF INFORMATION.—In making a 

11 determination under this subsection, an agency— 

12 ‘‘(A) may make use of any reliable data 

13 source; and 

14 ‘‘(B) is not required to undertake new sci15 entific or technical research. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 107. TIMELY AND UNIFIED FEDERAL REVIEWS. 

17 ‘‘(a) LEAD AGENCY.— 

18 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If there are two or 

20 more involved Federal agencies, such agencies 

21 shall determine, by letter or memorandum, 

22 which agency shall be the lead agency based on 

23 consideration of the following factors: 

24 ‘‘(i) Magnitude of agency’s involve25 ment. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Project approval or disapproval 

2 authority. 

3 ‘‘(iii) Expertise concerning the ac4 tion’s environmental effects. 

5 ‘‘(iv) Duration of agency’s involve6 ment. 

7 ‘‘(v) Sequence of agency’s involve8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(B) JOINT LEAD AGENCIES.—In making 

10 a determination under subparagraph (A), the 

11 involved Federal agencies may, in addition to a 

12 Federal agency, appoint such Federal, State, 

13 Tribal, or local agencies as joint lead agencies 

14 as the involved Federal agencies shall determine 

15 appropriate. Joint lead agencies shall jointly 

16 fulfill the role described in paragraph (2). 

17 ‘‘(C) MINERAL PROJECTS.—This para18 graph shall not apply with respect to a mineral 

19 exploration or mine permit. 

20 ‘‘(2) ROLE.—A lead agency shall, with respect 

21 to a proposed agency action— 

22 ‘‘(A) supervise the preparation of an envi23 ronmental document if, with respect to such 

24 proposed agency action, there is more than one 

25 involved Federal agency; 


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1 ‘‘(B) request the participation of each co2 operating agency at the earliest practicable 

3 time; 

4 ‘‘(C) in preparing an environmental docu5 ment, give consideration to any analysis or pro6 posal created by a cooperating agency with ju7 risdiction by law or a cooperating agency with 

8 special expertise; 

9 ‘‘(D) develop a schedule, in consultation 

10 with each involved cooperating agency, the ap11 plicant, and such other entities as the lead 

12 agency determines appropriate, for completion 

13 of any environmental review, permit, or author14 ization required to carry out the proposed agen15 cy action; 

16 ‘‘(E) if the lead agency determines that a 

17 review, permit, or authorization will not be com18 pleted in accordance with the schedule devel19 oped under subparagraph (D), notify the agen20 cy responsible for issuing such review, permit, 

21 or authorization of the discrepancy and request 

22 that such agency take such measures as such 

23 agency determines appropriate to comply with 

24 such schedule; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) meet with a cooperating agency that 

2 requests such a meeting. 

3 ‘‘(3) COOPERATING AGENCY.—The lead agency 

4 may, with respect to a proposed agency action, des5 ignate any involved Federal agency or a State, Trib6 al, or local agency as a cooperating agency. A co7 operating agency may, not later than a date speci8 fied by the lead agency, submit comments to the 

9 lead agency. Such comments shall be limited to mat10 ters relating to the proposed agency action with re11 spect to which such agency has special expertise or 

12 jurisdiction by law with respect to an environmental 

13 issue. 

14 ‘‘(4) REQUEST FOR DESIGNATION.—Any Fed15 eral, State, Tribal, or local agency or person that is 

16 substantially affected by the lack of a designation of 

17 a lead agency with respect to a proposed agency ac18 tion under paragraph (1) may submit a written re19 quest for such a designation to an involved Federal 

20 agency. An agency that receives a request under this 

21 paragraph shall transmit such request to each in22 volved Federal agency and to the Council. 

23 ‘‘(5) COUNCIL DESIGNATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) REQUEST.—Not earlier than 45 days 

25 after the date on which a request is submitted 


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1 under paragraph (4), if no designation has been 

2 made under paragraph (1), a Federal, State, 

3 Tribal, or local agency or person that is sub4 stantially affected by the lack of a designation 

5 of a lead agency may request that the Council 

6 designate a lead agency. Such request shall con7 sist of— 

8 ‘‘(i) a precise description of the nature 

9 and extent of the proposed agency action; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) a detailed statement with respect 

12 to each involved Federal agency and each 

13 factor listed in paragraph (1) regarding 

14 which agency should serve as lead agency. 

15 ‘‘(B) TRANSMISSION.—The Council shall 

16 transmit a request received under subparagraph 

17 (A) to each involved Federal agency. 

18 ‘‘(C) RESPONSE.—An involved Federal 

19 agency may, not later than 20 days after the 

20 date of the submission of a request under sub21 paragraph (A), submit to the Council a re22 sponse to such request. 

23 ‘‘(D) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 40 

24 days after the date of the submission of a re25 quest under subparagraph (A), the Council 


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1 shall designate the lead agency with respect to 

2 the relevant proposed agency action. 

3 ‘‘(b) ONE DOCUMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DOCUMENT.—To the extent practicable, if 

5 there are 2 or more involved Federal agencies with 

6 respect to a proposed agency action and the lead 

7 agency has determined that an environmental docu8 ment is required, such requirement shall be deemed 

9 satisfied with respect to all involved Federal agencies 

10 if the lead agency issues such an environmental doc11 ument. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION TIMING.—In developing 

13 an environmental document for a proposed agency 

14 action, no involved Federal agency shall be required 

15 to consider any information that becomes available 

16 after the sooner of, as applicable— 

17 ‘‘(A) receipt of a complete application with 

18 respect to such proposed agency action; or 

19 ‘‘(B) publication of a notice of intent or 

20 decision to prepare an environmental impact 

21 statement for such proposed agency action. 

22 ‘‘(3) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—In developing an en23 vironmental document for a proposed agency action, 

24 the lead agency and any other involved Federal 


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1 agencies shall only consider the effects of the pro2 posed agency action that— 

3 ‘‘(A) occur on Federal land; or 

4 ‘‘(B) are subject to Federal control and re5 sponsibility. 

6 ‘‘(c) REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.—Each notice 

7 of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 

8 under section 102 shall include a request for public com9 ment on alternatives or impacts and on relevant informa10 tion, studies, or analyses with respect to the proposed 

11 agency action. 

12 ‘‘(d) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND NEED.—Each 

13 environmental impact statement shall include a statement 

14 of purpose and need that briefly summarizes the under15 lying purpose and need for the proposed agency action. 

16 ‘‘(e) ESTIMATED TOTAL COST.—The cover sheet for 

17 each environmental impact statement shall include a state18 ment of the estimated total cost of preparing such environ19 mental impact statement, including the costs of agency 

20 full-time equivalent personnel hours, contractor costs, and 

21 other direct costs. 

22 ‘‘(f) PAGE LIMITS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

25 subparagraph (B), an environmental impact 


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1 statement shall not exceed 150 pages, not in2 cluding any citations or appendices. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXTRAORDINARY COMPLEXITY.—An 

4 environmental impact statement for a proposed 

5 agency action of extraordinary complexity shall 

6 not exceed 300 pages, not including any cita7 tions or appendices. 

8 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS.—An en9 vironmental assessment shall not exceed 75 pages, 

10 not including any citations or appendices. 

11 ‘‘(g) SPONSOR PREPARATION.—A lead agency shall 

12 allow a project sponsor to prepare an environmental as13 sessment or an environmental impact statement upon re14 quest of the project sponsor. Such agency may provide 

15 such sponsor with appropriate guidance and assist in the 

16 preparation. The lead agency shall independently evaluate 

17 the environmental document and shall take responsibility 

18 for the contents upon adoption. 

19 ‘‘(h) DEADLINES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), with respect to a proposed agency action, 

22 a lead agency shall complete, as applicable— 

23 ‘‘(A) the environmental impact statement 

24 not later than the date that is 2 years after the 

25 sooner of, as applicable— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the date on which such agency 

2 determines that section 102(2)(C) requires 

3 the issuance of an environmental impact 

4 statement with respect to such action; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the date on which such agency 

6 notifies the applicant that the application 

7 to establish a right-of-way for such action 

8 is complete; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) the date on which such agency 

10 issues a notice of intent to prepare the en11 vironmental impact statement for such ac12 tion; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the environmental assessment not 

14 later than the date that is 1 year after the 

15 sooner of, as applicable— 

16 ‘‘(i) the date on which such agency 

17 determines that section 106(b)(2) requires 

18 the preparation of an environmental as19 sessment with respect to such action; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the date on which such agency 

21 notifies the applicant that the application 

22 to establish a right-of-way for such action 

23 is complete; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the date on which such agency 

2 issues a notice of intent to prepare the en3 vironmental assessment for such action. 

4 ‘‘(2) DELAY.—A lead agency that determines it 

5 is not able to meet the deadline described in para6 graph (1) may extend such deadline with the ap7 proval of the applicant. If the applicant approves 

8 such an extension, the lead agency shall establish a 

9 new deadline that provides only so much additional 

10 time as is necessary to complete such environmental 

11 impact statement or environmental assessment. 

12 ‘‘(3) EXPENDITURES FOR DELAY.—If a lead 

13 agency is unable to meet the deadline described in 

14 paragraph (1) or extended under paragraph (2), the 

15 lead agency must pay $100 per day, to the extent 

16 funding is provided in advance in an appropriations 

17 Act, out of the office of the head of the department 

18 of the lead agency to the applicant starting on the 

19 first day immediately following the deadline de20 scribed in paragraph (1) or extended under para21 graph (2) up until the date that an applicant ap22 proves a new deadline. This paragraph does not 

23 apply when the lead agency misses a deadline solely 

24 due to delays caused by litigation. 

25 ‘‘(i) REPORT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each lead 

2 agency shall annually submit to the Committee on 

3 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 

4 and the Committee on Environment and Public 

5 Works of the Senate a report that— 

6 ‘‘(A) identifies any environmental assess7 ment and environmental impact statement that 

8 such lead agency did not complete by the dead9 line described in subsection (h); and 

10 ‘‘(B) provides an explanation for any fail11 ure to meet such deadline. 

12 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—Each report submitted 

13 under paragraph (1) shall identify, as applicable— 

14 ‘‘(A) the office, bureau, division, unit, or 

15 other entity within the Federal agency respon16 sible for each such environmental assessment 

17 and environmental impact statement; 

18 ‘‘(B) the date on which— 

19 ‘‘(i) such lead agency notified the ap20 plicant that the application to establish a 

21 right-of-way for the major Federal action 

22 is complete; 

23 ‘‘(ii) such lead agency began the 

24 scoping for the major Federal action; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) such lead agency issued a notice 

2 of intent to prepare the environmental as3 sessment or environmental impact state4 ment for the major Federal action; and 

5 ‘‘(C) when such environmental assessment 

6 and environmental impact statement is expected 

7 to be complete. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 108. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

9 ‘‘(a) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding 

10 any other provision of law, a claim arising under Federal 

11 law seeking judicial review of compliance with this Act, 

12 of a determination made under this Act, or of Federal ac13 tion resulting from a determination made under this Act, 

14 shall be barred unless— 

15 ‘‘(1) in the case of a claim pertaining to a pro16 posed agency action for which— 

17 ‘‘(A) an environmental document was pre18 pared and an opportunity for comment was pro19 vided; 

20 ‘‘(B) the claim is filed by a party that par21 ticipated in the administrative proceedings re22 garding such environmental document; and 

23 ‘‘(C) the claim— 

24 ‘‘(i) is filed by a party that submitted 

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1 riod for such administrative proceedings 

2 and such comment was sufficiently detailed 

3 to put the lead agency on notice of the 

4 issue upon which the party seeks judicial 

5 review; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) is related to such comment; 

7 ‘‘(2) except as provided in subsection (b), such 

8 claim is filed not later than 120 days after the date 

9 of publication of a notice in the Federal Register of 

10 agency intent to carry out the proposed agency ac11 tion; 

12 ‘‘(3) such claim is filed after the issuance of a 

13 record of decision or other final agency action with 

14 respect to the relevant proposed agency action; 

15 ‘‘(4) such claim does not challenge the estab16 lishment or use of a categorical exclusion under sec17 tion 102; and 

18 ‘‘(5) such claim concerns— 

19 ‘‘(A) an alternative included in the envi20 ronmental document; or 

21 ‘‘(B) an environmental effect considered in 

22 the environmental document. 

23 ‘‘(b) SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

24 STATEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) SEPARATE FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—The 

2 issuance of a Federal action resulting from a final 

3 supplemental environmental impact statement shall 

4 be considered a final agency action for the purposes 

5 of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, separate 

6 from the issuance of any previous environmental im7 pact statement with respect to the same proposed 

8 agency action. 

9 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR FILING A CLAIM.—A claim 

10 seeking judicial review of a Federal action resulting 

11 from a final supplemental environmental review 

12 issued under section 102(2)(C) shall be barred un13 less— 

14 ‘‘(A) such claim is filed within 120 days of 

15 the date on which a notice of the Federal agen16 cy action resulting from a final supplemental 

17 environmental impact statement is issued; and 

18 ‘‘(B) such claim is based on information 

19 contained in such supplemental environmental 

20 impact statement that was not contained in a 

21 previous environmental document pertaining to 

22 the same proposed agency action. 

23 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—Not24 withstanding any other provision of law, a violation of this 

25 Act shall not constitute the basis for injunctive relief. 


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1 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion shall be construed to create a right of judicial review 

3 or place any limit on filing a claim with respect to the 

4 violation of the terms of a permit, license, or approval. 

5 ‘‘(e) REMAND.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

6 of law, no proposed agency action for which an environ7 mental document is required shall be vacated or otherwise 

8 limited, delayed, or enjoined unless a court concludes al9 lowing such proposed action will pose a risk of an immi10 nent and substantial environmental harm and there is no 

11 other equitable remedy available as a matter of law. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 109. DEFINITIONS. 

13 ‘‘In this title: 

14 ‘‘(1) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The term 

15 ‘categorical exclusion’ means a category of actions 

16 that a Federal agency has determined normally does 

17 not significantly affect the quality of the human en18 vironment within the meaning of section 102(2)(C). 

19 ‘‘(2) COOPERATING AGENCY.—The term ‘co20 operating agency’ means any Federal, State, Tribal, 

21 or local agency that has been designated as a co22 operating agency under section 107(a)(3). 

23 ‘‘(3) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’ means the 

24 Council on Environmental Quality established in 

25 title II. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.—The 

2 term ‘environmental assessment’ means an environ3 mental assessment prepared under section 

4 106(b)(2). 

5 ‘‘(5) ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT.—The term 

6 ‘environmental document’ means an environmental 

7 impact statement, an environmental assessment, or 

8 a finding of no significant impact. 

9 ‘‘(6) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.— 

10 The term ‘environmental impact statement’ means a 

11 detailed written statement that is required by section 

12 102(2)(C). 

13 ‘‘(7) FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.— 

14 The term ‘finding of no significant impact’ means a 

15 determination by a Federal agency that a proposed 

16 agency action does not require the issuance of an en17 vironmental impact statement. 

18 ‘‘(8) INVOLVED FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term 

19 ‘involved Federal agency’ means an agency that, 

20 with respect to a proposed agency action— 

21 ‘‘(A) proposed such action; or 

22 ‘‘(B) is involved in such action because 

23 such action is directly related, through func24 tional interdependence or geographic proximity, 


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1 to an action such agency has taken or has pro2 posed to take. 

3 ‘‘(9) LEAD AGENCY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), the term ‘lead agency’ 

6 means, with respect to a proposed agency ac7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(i) the agency that proposed such ac9 tion; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) if there are 2 or more involved 

11 Federal agencies with respect to such ac12 tion, the agency designated under section 

13 107(a)(1). 

14 ‘‘(B) SPECIFICATION FOR MINERAL EX15 PLORATION OR MINE PERMITS.—With respect 

16 to a proposed mineral exploration or mine per17 mit, the term ‘lead agency’ has the meaning 

18 given such term in section 40206(a) of the In19 frastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

20 ‘‘(10) MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘major Fed22 eral action’ means an action that the agency 

23 carrying out such action determines is subject 

24 to substantial Federal control and responsi25 bility. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘major Fed2 eral action’ does not include— 

3 ‘‘(i) a non-Federal action— 

4 ‘‘(I) with no or minimal Federal 

5 funding; 

6 ‘‘(II) with no or minimal Federal 

7 involvement where a Federal agency 

8 cannot control the outcome of the 

9 project; or 

10 ‘‘(III) that does not include Fed11 eral land; 

12 ‘‘(ii) funding assistance solely in the 

13 form of general revenue sharing funds 

14 which do not provide Federal agency com15 pliance or enforcement responsibility over 

16 the subsequent use of such funds; 

17 ‘‘(iii) loans, loan guarantees, or other 

18 forms of financial assistance where a Fed19 eral agency does not exercise sufficient 

20 control and responsibility over the effect of 

21 the action; 

22 ‘‘(iv) farm ownership and operating 

23 loan guarantees by the Farm Service 

24 Agency pursuant to sections 305 and 311 

25 through 319 of the Consolidated Farmers 


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1 Home Administration Act of 1961 (7 

2 U.S.C. 1925 and 1941 through 1949); 

3 ‘‘(v) business loan guarantees pro4 vided by the Small Business Administra5 tion pursuant to section 7(a) or (b) and of 

6 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

7 636(a)), or title V of the Small Business 

8 Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et 

9 seq.); 

10 ‘‘(vi) bringing judicial or administra11 tive civil or criminal enforcement actions; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(vii) extraterritorial activities or deci14 sions, which means agency activities or de15 cisions with effects located entirely outside 

16 of the jurisdiction of the United States. 

17 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL EXCLUSIONS.—An agen18 cy action may not be determined to be a major 

19 Federal action on the basis of— 

20 ‘‘(i) an interstate effect of the action 

21 or related project; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) the provision of Federal funds 

23 for the action or related project. 

24 ‘‘(11) MINERAL EXPLORATION OR MINE PER25 MIT.—The term ‘mineral exploration or mine permit’ 


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1 has the meaning given such term in section 

2 40206(a) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 

3 Act. 

4 ‘‘(12) PROPOSAL.—The term ‘proposal’ means 

5 a proposed action at a stage when an agency has a 

6 goal, is actively preparing to make a decision on one 

7 or more alternative means of accomplishing that 

8 goal, and can meaningfully evaluate its effects. 

9 ‘‘(13) REASONABLY FORESEEABLE.—The term 

10 ‘reasonably foreseeable’ means likely to occur— 

11 ‘‘(A) not later than 10 years after the lead 

12 agency begins preparing the environmental doc13 ument; and 

14 ‘‘(B) in an area directly affected by the 

15 proposed agency action such that an individual 

16 of ordinary prudence would take such occur17 rence into account in reaching a decision. 

18 ‘‘(14) SPECIAL EXPERTISE.—The term ‘special 

19 expertise’ means statutory responsibility, agency 

20 mission, or related program experience.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. E–NEPA. 

22 (a) PERMITTING PORTAL STUDY.—The Council on 

23 Environmental Quality shall conduct a study and submit 

24 a report to Congress within 1 year of the enactment of 

25 this Act on the potential to create an online permitting 


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•HR 1577 IH

1 portal for permits that require review under section 

2 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

3 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) that would— 

4 (1) allow applicants to— 

5 (A) submit required documents or mate6 rials for their application in one unified portal; 

7 (B) upload additional documents as re8 quired by the applicable agency; and 

9 (C) track the progress of individual appli10 cations; 

11 (2) enhance interagency coordination in con12 sultation by— 

13 (A) allowing for comments in one unified 

14 portal; 

15 (B) centralizing data necessary for reviews; 

16 and 

17 (C) streamlining communications between 

18 other agencies and the applicant; and 

19 (3) boost transparency in agency decision20 making. 

21 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

22 authorized to be appropriated $500,000 for the Council 

23 on Environmental Quality to carry out the study directed 

24 by this section. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS