rules, policies, and procedures as may be rea-
sonably necessary to enable the agency to en-
sure completion of the environmental review 
and environmental decisionmaking process in a 
timely, coordinated, and environmentally re-
sponsible manner. 
‘‘(8) COMMENTS.—Each participating agency 
shall limit its comments on a project to areas that 
are within the authority and expertise of such par-
ticipating agency. Each participating agency shall 
identify in such comments the statutory authority of 
the participating agency pertaining to the subject 
matter of its comments. The lead agency shall not 
act upon, respond to or include in any document 
prepared under NEPA, any comment submitted by 
a participating agency that concerns matters that 
are outside of the authority and expertise of the 
commenting participating agency. 
‘‘(f) PROJECT INITIATION REQUEST.— 
‘‘(1) NOTICE.—A project sponsor shall provide 
the Federal agency responsible for undertaking a 
project with notice of the initiation of the project by 
providing a description of the proposed project, the 
general location of the proposed project, and a state-
ment of any Federal approvals anticipated to be nec-
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essary for the proposed project, for the purpose of 
informing the Federal agency that the environmental 
review should be initiated. 
‘‘(2) LEAD AGENCY INITIATION.—The agency 
receiving a project initiation notice under paragraph 
(1) shall promptly identify the lead agency for the 
project, and the lead agency shall initiate the envi-
ronmental review within a period of 45 days after 
receiving the notice required by paragraph (1) by in-
viting or designating agencies to become partici-
pating agencies, or, where the lead agency deter-
mines that no participating agencies are required for 
the project, by taking such other actions that are 
reasonable and necessary to initiate the environ-
mental review. 
‘‘(g) ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS.— 
‘‘(1) PARTICIPATION.—As early as practicable 
during the environmental review, but no later than 
during scoping for a project requiring the prepara-
tion of an environmental impact statement, the lead 
agency shall provide an opportunity for involvement 
by cooperating agencies in determining the range of 
alternatives to be considered for a project. 
‘‘(2) RANGE
OF
ALTERNATIVES.—Following 
participation under paragraph (1), the lead agency 
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shall determine the range of alternatives for consid-
eration in any document which the lead agency is re-
sponsible for preparing for the project, subject to the 
following limitations: 
‘‘(A) NO EVALUATION OF CERTAIN ALTER-
NATIVES.—No Federal agency shall evaluate 
any alternative that was identified but not car-
ried forward for detailed evaluation in an envi-
ronmental document or evaluated and not se-
lected in any environmental document prepared 
under NEPA for the same project. 
‘‘(B) 
ONLY
FEASIBLE
ALTERNATIVES 
EVALUATED.—Where a project is being con-
structed, managed, funded, or undertaken by a 
project sponsor that is not a Federal agency, 
Federal agencies shall only be required to evalu-
ate alternatives that the project sponsor could 
feasibly undertake, consistent with the purpose 
of and the need for the project, including alter-
natives that can be undertaken by the project 
sponsor and that are technically and economi-
cally feasible. 
‘‘(3) METHODOLOGIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency shall 
determine, in collaboration with cooperating 
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agencies at appropriate times during the envi-
ronmental review, the methodologies to be used 
and the level of detail required in the analysis 
of each alternative for a project. The lead agen-
cy shall include in the environmental document 
a description of the methodologies used and 
how the methodologies were selected. 
‘‘(B) NO EVALUATION OF INAPPROPRIATE 
ALTERNATIVES.—When a lead agency deter-
mines that an alternative does not meet the 
purpose and need for a project, that alternative 
is not required to be evaluated in detail in an 
environmental document. 
‘‘(4) PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.—At the dis-
cretion of the lead agency, the preferred alternative 
for a project, after being identified, may be devel-
oped to a higher level of detail than other alter-
natives in order to facilitate the development of miti-
gation measures or concurrent compliance with other 
applicable laws if the lead agency determines that 
the development of such higher level of detail will 
not prevent the lead agency from making an impar-
tial decision as to whether to accept another alter-
native which is being considered in the environ-
mental review. 
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‘‘(5) EMPLOYMENT ANALYSIS.—The evaluation 
of each alternative in an environmental impact state-
ment or an environmental assessment shall identify 
the potential effects of the alternative on employ-
ment, including potential short-term and long-term 
employment increases and reductions and shifts in 
employment. 
‘‘(h) COORDINATION AND SCHEDULING.— 
‘‘(1) COORDINATION PLAN.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency shall 
establish and implement a plan for coordinating 
public and agency participation in and comment 
on the environmental review for a project or 
category of projects to facilitate the expeditious 
resolution of the environmental review. 
‘‘(B) SCHEDULE.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency 
shall establish as part of the coordination 
plan for a project, after consultation with 
each participating agency and, where appli-
cable, the project sponsor, a schedule for 
completion of the environmental review. 
The schedule shall include deadlines, con-
sistent with subsection (i), for decisions 
under any other Federal laws (including 
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the issuance or denial of a permit or li-
cense) relating to the project that is cov-
ered by the schedule. 
‘‘(ii) 
FACTORS
FOR
CONSIDER-
ATION.—In establishing the schedule, the 
lead agency shall consider factors such 
as— 
‘‘(I) the responsibilities of par-
ticipating agencies under applicable 
laws; 
‘‘(II) resources available to the 
participating agencies; 
‘‘(III) overall size and complexity 
of the project; 
‘‘(IV) overall schedule for and 
cost of the project; 
‘‘(V) the sensitivity of the natural 
and historic resources that could be 
affected by the project; and 
‘‘(VI) the extent to which similar 
projects in geographic proximity were 
recently subject to environmental re-
view or similar State procedures. 
‘‘(iii) COMPLIANCE WITH THE SCHED-
ULE.— 
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‘‘(I) All participating agencies 
shall comply with the time periods es-
tablished in the schedule or with any 
modified time periods, where the lead 
agency modifies the schedule pursuant 
to subparagraph (D). 
‘‘(II) The lead agency shall dis-
regard and shall not respond to or in-
clude in any document prepared under 
NEPA, any comment or information 
submitted or any finding made by a 
participating agency that is outside of 
the time period established in the 
schedule or modification pursuant to 
subparagraph (D) for that agency’s 
comment, submission or finding. 
‘‘(III) If a participating agency 
fails to object in writing to a lead 
agency decision, finding or request for 
concurrence within the time period es-
tablished under law or by the lead 
agency, the agency shall be deemed to 
have concurred in the decision, finding 
or request. 
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‘‘(C) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER TIME PE-
RIODS.—A schedule under subparagraph (B) 
shall be consistent with any other relevant time 
periods established under Federal law. 
‘‘(D) MODIFICATION.—The lead agency 
may— 
‘‘(i) lengthen a schedule established 
under subparagraph (B) for good cause; 
and 
‘‘(ii) shorten a schedule only with the 
concurrence of the cooperating agencies. 
‘‘(E) DISSEMINATION.—A copy of a sched-
ule under subparagraph (B), and of any modi-
fications to the schedule, shall be— 
‘‘(i) provided within 15 days of com-
pletion or modification of such schedule to 
all participating agencies and to the 
project sponsor; and 
‘‘(ii) made available to the public. 
‘‘(F) ROLES
AND
RESPONSIBILITY
OF 
LEAD AGENCY.—With respect to the environ-
mental review for any project, the lead agency 
shall have authority and responsibility to take 
such actions as are necessary and proper, with-
in the authority of the lead agency, to facilitate 
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the expeditious resolution of the environmental 
review for the project. 
‘‘(i) DEADLINES.—The following deadlines shall 
apply to any project subject to review under NEPA and 
any decision under any Federal law relating to such 
project (including the issuance or denial of a permit or 
license or any required finding): 
‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW DEADLINES.— 
The lead agency shall complete the environmental 
review within the following deadlines: 
‘‘(A) ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT
STATE-
MENT PROJECTS.—For projects requiring prep-
aration of an environmental impact statement— 
‘‘(i) the lead agency shall issue an en-
vironmental impact statement within 2 
years after the earlier of the date the lead 
agency receives the project initiation re-
quest or a Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement is pub-
lished in the Federal Register; and 
‘‘(ii) in circumstances where the lead 
agency has prepared an environmental as-
sessment and determined that an environ-
mental impact statement will be required, 
the lead agency shall issue the environ-
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mental impact statement within 2 years 
after the date of publication of the Notice 
of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Im-
pact Statement in the Federal Register. 
‘‘(B) 
ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT 
PROJECTS.—For projects requiring preparation 
of an environmental assessment, the lead agen-
cy shall issue a finding of no significant impact 
or publish a Notice of Intent to Prepare an En-
vironmental Impact Statement in the Federal 
Register within 1 year after the earlier of the 
date the lead agency receives the project initi-
ation request, makes a decision to prepare an 
environmental assessment, or sends out partici-
pating agency invitations. 
‘‘(2) EXTENSIONS.— 
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS.—The environmental 
review deadlines may be extended only if— 
‘‘(i) a different deadline is established 
by agreement of the lead agency, the 
project sponsor, and all participating agen-
cies; or 
‘‘(ii) the deadline is extended by the 
lead agency for good cause. 
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‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The environmental re-
view shall not be extended by more than 1 year 
for a project requiring preparation of an envi-
ronmental impact statement or by more than 
180 days for a project requiring preparation of 
an environmental assessment. 
‘‘(3) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW COMMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) COMMENTS
ON
DRAFT
ENVIRON-
MENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—For comments 
by agencies and the public on a draft environ-
mental impact statement, the lead agency shall 
establish a comment period of not more than 60 
days after publication in the Federal Register 
of notice of the date of public availability of 
such document, unless— 
‘‘(i) a different deadline is established 
by agreement of the lead agency, the 
project sponsor, and all participating agen-
cies; or 
‘‘(ii) the deadline is extended by the 
lead agency for good cause. 
‘‘(B) OTHER
COMMENTS.—For all other 
comment periods for agency or public comments 
in the environmental review process, the lead 
agency shall establish a comment period of no 
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more than 30 days from availability of the ma-
terials on which comment is requested, unless— 
‘‘(i) a different deadline is established 
by agreement of the lead agency, the 
project sponsor, and all participating agen-
cies; or 
‘‘(ii) the deadline is extended by the 
lead agency for good cause. 
‘‘(4) 
DEADLINES
FOR
DECISIONS
UNDER 
OTHER LAWS.—Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, in any case in which a decision under any 
other Federal law relating to the undertaking of a 
project being reviewed under NEPA (including the 
issuance or denial of a permit or license) is required 
to be made, the following deadlines shall apply: 
‘‘(A) DECISIONS PRIOR TO RECORD OF DE-
CISION
OR
FINDING
OF
NO
SIGNIFICANT
IM-
PACT.—If a Federal agency is required to ap-
prove, or otherwise to act upon, a permit, li-
cense, or other similar application for approval 
related to a project prior to the record of deci-
sion or finding of no significant impact, such 
Federal agency shall approve or otherwise act 
not later than the end of a 90-day period begin-
ning— 
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‘‘(i) after all other relevant agency re-
view related to the project is complete; and 
‘‘(ii) after the lead agency publishes a 
notice of the availability of the final envi-
ronmental impact statement or issuance of 
other final environmental documents, or no 
later than such other date that is otherwise 
required by law, whichever event occurs 
first. 
‘‘(B) OTHER DECISIONS.—With regard to 
any approval or other action related to a project 
by a Federal agency that is not subject to sub-
paragraph (A), each Federal agency shall ap-
prove or otherwise act not later than the end of 
a period of 180 days beginning— 
‘‘(i) after all other relevant agency re-
view related to the project is complete; and 
‘‘(ii) after the lead agency issues the 
record of decision or finding of no signifi-
cant impact, unless a different deadline is 
established by agreement of the Federal 
agency, lead agency, and the project spon-
sor, where applicable, or the deadline is ex-
tended by the Federal agency for good 
cause, provided that such extension shall 
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