I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6299 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to reauthorize and modify the surface 
transportation project delivery pilot program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 
Ms. RICHARDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to reauthorize and 
modify the surface transportation project delivery pilot 
program, 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 ‘‘Jobs Through Envi-
ronmental Safeguarding and Streamlining Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 2. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROJECT DELIVERY 
PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSIBILITY.— 
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(1) 
ADDITIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY.—Section 
327(a)(2)(B)(ii)(I) of title 23, United States Code, 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(I) responsibility for any con-
formity determination (other than a 
conformity determination for an indi-
vidual project) required under section 
176 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7506); or’’. 
(2) HIGHWAY
PROJECTS
INVOLVING
MORE 
THAN ONE DOT MODAL ADMINISTRATION.—Section 
327(a)(2) of such title is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(F) 
HIGHWAY
PROJECTS
INVOLVING 
MORE
THAN
ONE
DOT
MODAL
ADMINISTRA-
TION.— 
‘‘(i) TREATMENT OF PROJECTS.—For 
purposes of subparagraph (A), a project 
shall be treated as a ‘highway project’ if 
the Secretary determines that the Federal 
Highway Administration is the lead agency 
for the project. 
‘‘(ii) 
ASSIGNMENT
OF
AUTHORI-
TIES.—In the case of a highway project 
that involves the Federal Highway Admin-
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istration and another modal administration 
of the Department of Transportation, the 
authorities of the Secretary that may be 
assigned to a State under this subsection 
shall include the authorities of the Sec-
retary that relate to the Federal Highway 
Administration and the other modal ad-
ministration.’’. 
(b) STATE PARTICIPATION.— 
(1) NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING STATES.—Sec-
tion 327(b)(1) of such title is amended— 
(A) in the paragraph heading by striking 
‘‘NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING STATES’’ and in-
serting ‘‘IN GENERAL’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘not more than 5’’ and all 
that follows through ‘‘Texas)’’ and inserting 
‘‘any State that meets the selection criteria con-
tained in paragraph (4)’’. 
(2) WRITTEN AGREEMENT.—Section 327(c) of 
such title is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(c) WRITTEN AGREEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A written agreement under 
this section shall— 
‘‘(A) be executed by the Governor or the 
top-ranking transportation official in the State 
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who is charged with responsibility for highway 
construction; 
‘‘(B) be in such form as the Secretary may 
prescribe; 
‘‘(C) provide that the State— 
‘‘(i) agrees to assume all or part of 
the responsibilities of the Secretary de-
scribed in subsection (a); 
‘‘(ii) agrees to carry out those respon-
sibilities using the best available science; 
‘‘(iii) expressly consents, on behalf of 
the State, to accept the jurisdiction of the 
Federal courts for the compliance, dis-
charge, and enforcement of any responsi-
bility of the Secretary assumed by the 
State; 
‘‘(iv) certifies that State laws (includ-
ing regulations) are in effect that— 
‘‘(I) authorize the State to take 
the actions necessary to carry out the 
responsibilities being assumed; and 
‘‘(II) are comparable to section 
552 of title 5, including providing that 
any decision regarding the public 
availability of a document under those 
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State laws is reviewable by a court of 
competent jurisdiction; and 
‘‘(D) agrees to maintain the financial re-
sources necessary to carry out the responsibil-
ities being assumed. 
‘‘(2) EXCLUDED PROJECTS.—A written agree-
ment with a State under this section may include a 
list of projects in the State that are excluded from 
the program. The list shall be updated annually by 
mutual agreement between the Secretary and the 
State. 
‘‘(3) TERM.—A written agreement with a State 
under this section shall— 
‘‘(A) have a term of not more than 5 
years; and 
‘‘(B) be renewable. 
‘‘(4) USE OF PROJECT DELIVERY METHODS.— 
A written agreement with a State under this section 
may not impose on the State a limitation on the use 
of a project delivery method if the limitation would 
not otherwise apply to the State under this title or 
another provision of law. In this paragraph, the 
term ‘project delivery method’ includes the authority 
of a State to acquire rights-of-way and conduct final 
design work for a project with State funds on an at- 
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risk basis prior to completion of the environmental 
review process for the project.’’. 
(3) AUDITS AND MONITORING.—Section 327(g) 
of such title is amended— 
(A) in the subsection heading by inserting 
‘‘AND MONITORING’’ after ‘‘AUDITS’’; 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 
paragraph (3); 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following: 
‘‘(2) MONITORING.—If a State has been partici-
pating in the program pursuant to a written agree-
ment under subsection (c) for a period of 10 con-
secutive years, the Secretary may monitor compli-
ance by the State with the agreement instead of con-
ducting audits under paragraph (1). If a State, 
while participating in the monitoring program under 
this section, repeatedly fails to comply with all as-
pects of the written agreement under subsection (c), 
the Secretary shall commence the auditing process. 
The Secretary shall develop procedures for con-
ducting monitoring under this paragraph.’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by 
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph) by insert-
ing after ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ the following: ‘‘, and 
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the results of monitoring conducted under para-
graph (2),’’. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Section 327(h) of such 
title is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the Jobs Through 
Environmental Safeguarding and Streamlining Act 
of 2010, and every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress, and make available to the 
public, a report on the results of the program. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—For each reporting period, 
the report shall contain, at a minimum, the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) An assessment of whether delays 
were reduced and project delivery was enhanced 
as a result of the program. 
‘‘(B) An assessment of whether there were 
cost savings for States participating in the pro-
gram and the Department of Transportation as 
a result of the program. 
‘‘(C) An assessment of whether environ-
mental concerns were protected and considered 
in States participating in the program at a level 
consistent with nonparticipating States. 
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‘‘(D) Recommendations for changes (if 
any) that could be made to enhance or improve 
the program. 
‘‘(E) An assessment of the impact and ef-
fectiveness of an environmental document qual-
ity control program of the transportation de-
partment of any State participating in the pro-
gram.’’. 
(d) TERMINATION DATE.—Section 327(i)(1) of such 
title is amended by striking ‘‘date of enactment of this 
section’’ and inserting ‘‘date of enactment of the Jobs 
Through Environmental Safeguarding and Streamlining 
Act of 2010’’. 
(e) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.—Section 327 of 
such title is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(j) USE OF STATE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW LAWS 
FOR LOW IMPACT PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) DEMONSTRATION
PROGRAM.—Subject to 
the requirements of this subsection, the Secretary 
shall carry out a demonstration program to permit 
eligible States that assume responsibilities of the 
Secretary under subsection (a)(2) to carry out the 
responsibilities through the implementation of the 
environmental laws of the State instead of Federal 
environmental laws. 
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‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON STATE AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—The authority of a 
State under the demonstration program shall be 
limited to conducting the Secretary’s respon-
sibilities for environmental reviews, consulta-
tion, and other requirements with respect to low 
impact projects. 
‘‘(B) LOW IMPACT PROJECT DEFINED.—In 
this subsection, the term ‘low impact project’ 
means a highway project that meets such cri-
teria as may be established by the Secretary by 
regulation. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE
STATES.—The Secretary may 
permit a State to participate in the demonstration 
program only if the Secretary determines, after re-
viewing the environmental laws of the State, and 
such other materials as the Secretary may require, 
that— 
‘‘(A) the environmental laws of the State 
provide a substantially equivalent level of envi-
ronmental protection as applicable Federal 
laws; and 
‘‘(B) participation by the State in the dem-
onstration program will not diminish protection 
of the environment. 
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‘‘(4) CONCURRENCE
OF
OTHER
AGENCIES.— 
The Secretary may permit a State to participate in 
the demonstration program only with the concur-
rence of the Council on Environmental Quality, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary 
of Commerce, and the heads of other appropriate 
Federal environmental and natural resource agen-
cies, as identified by the Secretary. 
‘‘(5) AUDITS AND MONITORING.—A State par-
ticipating in the demonstration program shall con-
tinue to be subject to the requirements of subsection 
(g), including requirements relating to the public 
availability of audits and monitoring results. 
‘‘(6) MODIFICATION
OF
WRITTEN
AGREE-
MENT.—The Secretary shall provide for the partici-
pation of a State in the demonstration program by 
modifying the written agreement entered into by the 
Secretary with the State under subsection (c). 
‘‘(7) TERMINATION
OF
STATE
PARTICIPA-
TION.—The Secretary may terminate the participa-
tion of a State in the demonstration program in ac-
cordance with the procedures specified in subsection 
(i)(2). 
‘‘(8) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than one 
year after the date on which the first State is 
selected for participation in the demonstration 
program, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress, and make available to 
the public, a report on the results of the dem-
onstration program. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—For each reporting pe-
riod, the report shall contain, at a minimum, 
the following: 
‘‘(i) A list identifying how many 
projects have been completed under the 
demonstration program. 
‘‘(ii) An assessment of whether delays 
were reduced and project delivery was en-
hanced as a result of the demonstration 
program. 
‘‘(iii) An assessment of whether there 
have been any adverse impacts or risks to 
the environment as a result of the dem-
onstration program. 
‘‘(9) SUNSET DATE.—The demonstration pro-
gram shall terminate on the date that is 6 years 
after the date of enactment of this subsection.’’. 
Æ 
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