I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4335 
To amend the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to impose time 
limits on the completion of certain required actions under the Act, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 1, 2021 
Mr. SCHWEIKERT (for himself, Mr. POSEY, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. VALADAO, 
Mr. BUDD, Mr. NORMAN, and Mrs. BOEBERT) 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 impose time limits on the completion of certain re-
quired actions under the Act, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NEPA Accountability 
and Enforcement Act’’. 
SEC. 
2. 
NATIONAL 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
POLICY 
ACT 
TIMELINES. 
Title I of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating section 105 (42 U.S.C. 
4335) as section 106; and 
(2) by inserting after section 104 (42 U.S.C. 
4334) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 105. APPLICABLE TIMELINES. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.— 
The term ‘environmental impact statement’ means a 
detailed statement required under section 102(2)(C). 
‘‘(2) FEDERAL
AGENCY.—The term ‘Federal 
agency’ includes a State that has assumed responsi-
bility under section 327 of title 23, United States 
Code. 
‘‘(3) HEAD OF A FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘head of a Federal agency’ includes the governor or 
head of an applicable State agency of a State that 
has assumed responsibility under section 327 of title 
23, United States Code. 
‘‘(4) NEPA PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘NEPA 
process’ means the entirety of every process, 
analysis, or other measure, including an envi-
ronmental impact statement, required to be car-
ried out by a Federal agency under this title be-
fore the agency undertakes a proposed action. 
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‘‘(B) PERIOD.—For purposes of subpara-
graph (A), the NEPA process— 
‘‘(i) begins on the date on which the 
head of a Federal agency receives an appli-
cation for a proposed action from a project 
sponsor; and 
‘‘(ii) ends on the date on which the 
Federal agency issues, with respect to the 
proposed action— 
‘‘(I) a record of decision, includ-
ing, if necessary, a revised record of 
decision; 
‘‘(II) a finding of no significant 
impact; or 
‘‘(III) a categorical exclusion 
under this title. 
‘‘(5) PROJECT
SPONSOR.—The term ‘project 
sponsor’ means a Federal agency or other entity, in-
cluding a private or public-private entity, that seeks 
approval of a proposed action. 
‘‘(b) APPLICABLE TIMELINES.— 
‘‘(1) NEPA PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of a Federal 
agency shall complete the NEPA process for a 
proposed action of the Federal agency, as de-
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scribed in subsection (a)(4)(B)(ii), shall not 
take longer than 2 years from notice of intent 
to record of decision, or not longer than when 
the agency first received the project to notice of 
intent, whichever comes first. 
‘‘(B) 
ENVIRONMENTAL
DOCUMENTS.— 
Within the period described in subparagraph 
(A), not later than 1 year after the date de-
scribed in subsection (a)(4)(B)(i), the head of 
the Federal agency shall, with respect to the 
proposed action— 
‘‘(i) issue— 
‘‘(I) a finding that a categorical 
exclusion applies to the proposed ac-
tion; or 
‘‘(II) a finding of no significant 
impact; or 
‘‘(ii) publish a notice of intent to pre-
pare an environmental impact statement in 
the Federal Register. 
‘‘(C) ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT
STATE-
MENT.—If the head of a Federal agency pub-
lishes a notice of intent described in subpara-
graph (B)(ii), within the period described in 
subparagraph (A) and not later than 2 years 
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after the date on which the head of the Federal 
agency publishes the notice of intent, the head 
of the Federal agency shall complete the envi-
ronmental impact statement and, if necessary, 
any supplemental environmental impact state-
ment for the proposed action. 
‘‘(D) PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(I) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Di-
rector’ means the Director of the Of-
fice of Management and Budget. 
‘‘(II) FEDERAL
AGENCY.—The 
term ‘Federal agency’ does not in-
clude a State. 
‘‘(III) FINAL NEPA COMPLIANCE 
DATE.—The term ‘final NEPA com-
pliance date’, with respect to a pro-
posed action, means the date by which 
the head of a Federal agency is re-
quired to complete the NEPA process 
under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(IV) HEAD
OF
A
FEDERAL 
AGENCY.—The term ‘head of a Fed-
eral agency’ does not include the gov-
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(ii)(I)(bb) that the head of a Federal 
agency has not complied with the re-
quirements of subparagraph (A), (B), 
or (C). 
‘‘(ii) INITIAL NONCOMPLIANCE.— 
‘‘(I) DETERMINATION.— 
‘‘(aa) 
NOTIFICATION.—As 
soon as practicable after the date 
described 
in 
subsection 
(a)(4)(B)(i) for a proposed action 
of a Federal agency, the head of 
the Federal agency shall notify 
the Director that the head of the 
Federal agency is beginning the 
NEPA process for that proposed 
action. 
‘‘(bb) DETERMINATIONS OF 
COMPLIANCE.— 
‘‘(AA) INITIAL DETER-
MINATION.—As 
soon 
as 
practicable after the initial 
NEPA compliance date for a 
proposed action, the Direc-
tor shall determine whether, 
as of the initial NEPA com-
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pliance date, the head of the 
Federal agency has complied 
with subparagraph (B) for 
that proposed action. 
‘‘(BB) 
ENVIRON-
MENTAL
IMPACT
STATE-
MENT.—With respect to a 
proposed action of a Federal 
agency in which the head of 
the Federal agency publishes 
a notice of intent described 
in subparagraph (B)(ii), as 
soon as practicable after the 
initial EIS compliance date 
for a proposed action, the 
Director 
shall 
determine 
whether, as of the initial 
EIS compliance date, the 
head of the Federal agency 
has complied with subpara-
graph (C) for that proposed 
action. 
‘‘(CC) COMPLETION OF 
NEPA PROCESS.—As soon as 
practicable after the final 
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NEPA compliance date for a 
proposed action, the Direc-
tor shall determine whether, 
as of the final NEPA com-
pliance date, the head of the 
Federal agency has complied 
with subparagraph (A) for 
that proposed action. 
‘‘(II) IDENTIFICATION; PENALTY; 
NOTIFICATION.—If 
the 
Director 
makes an initial noncompliance deter-
mination for a proposed action— 
‘‘(aa) 
the 
Director 
shall 
identify the account for the sala-
ries and expenses of the office of 
the head of the Federal agency, 
or an equivalent account; 
‘‘(bb) beginning on the day 
after the date on which the Di-
rector makes the initial non-
compliance 
determination, 
the 
amount that the head of the Fed-
eral agency may obligate from 
the account identified under item 
(aa) for the fiscal year during 
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which the determination is made 
shall be reduced by 0.5 percent 
from the amount initially made 
available for the account for that 
fiscal year; and 
‘‘(cc) the Director shall no-
tify the head of the Federal 
agency of— 
‘‘(AA) the initial non-
compliance determination; 
‘‘(BB) 
the 
account 
identified under item (aa); 
and 
‘‘(CC) 
the 
reduction 
under item (bb). 
‘‘(iii) CONTINUED NONCOMPLIANCE.— 
‘‘(I) 
DETERMINATION.—Every 
90 days after the date of an initial 
noncompliance determination, the Di-
rector shall determine whether the 
head of the Federal agency has com-
plied with the applicable requirements 
of subparagraphs (A) through (C) for 
the proposed action, until the date on 
which the Director determines that 
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the head of the Federal agency has 
completed the NEPA process for the 
proposed action. 
‘‘(II) PENALTY; NOTIFICATION.— 
For each determination made by the 
Director under subclause (I) that the 
head of a Federal agency has not 
complied with a requirement of sub-
paragraph (A), (B), or (C) for a pro-
posed action— 
‘‘(aa) the amount that the 
head of the Federal agency may 
obligate from the account identi-
fied under clause (ii)(II)(aa) for 
the fiscal year during which the 
most recent determination under 
subclause (I) is made shall be re-
duced by 0.5 percent from the 
amount initially made available 
for the account for that fiscal 
year; and 
‘‘(bb) the Director shall no-
tify the head of the Federal 
agency of— 
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‘‘(AA) the determina-
tion under subclause (I); 
and 
‘‘(BB) 
the 
reduction 
under item (aa). 
‘‘(iv) REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(I) AMOUNTS NOT RESTORED.— 
A reduction in the amount that the 
head of a Federal agency may obligate 
under 
clause 
(ii)(II)(bb) 
or 
(iii)(II)(aa) during a fiscal year shall 
not be restored for that fiscal year, 
without regard to whether the head of 
a 
Federal 
agency 
completes 
the 
NEPA process for the proposed action 
with respect to which the Director 
made an initial noncompliance deter-
mination or a determination under 
clause (iii)(I). 
‘‘(II) REQUIRED
TIMELINES.— 
The violation of subparagraph (B) or 
(C), and any action carried out to re-
mediate or otherwise address the vio-
lation, shall not affect any other appli-
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cable compliance date under subpara-
graph (A), (B), or (C). 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATIONS AND PERMITS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 
days after the date described in subsection 
(a)(4)(B)(ii), the head of a Federal agency shall 
issue— 
‘‘(i) any necessary permit or author-
ization to carry out the proposed action; or 
‘‘(ii) a denial of the permit or author-
ization necessary to carry out the proposed 
action. 
‘‘(B) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ISSUE AU-
THORIZATION OR PERMIT.—If a permit or au-
thorization described in subparagraph (A) is 
not issued or denied within the period described 
in that subparagraph, the permit or authoriza-
tion shall be considered to be approved. 
‘‘(C) DENIAL OF PERMIT OR AUTHORIZA-
TION.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a permit or au-
thorization described in subparagraph (A) 
is denied, the head of the Federal agency 
shall describe to the project sponsor— 
‘‘(I) the basis of the denial; and 
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