I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1812 
To amend titles 23 and 49, United States Code, to streamline the 
environmental review process for major projects, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 11, 2021 
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, Mr. 
GIBBS, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Mr. 
GALLAGHER, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. 
WEBER of Texas, Mr. BURCHETT, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. 
BABIN, and Mr. PERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend titles 23 and 49, United States Code, to stream-
line the environmental review process for major projects, 
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 ‘‘One Federal Decision 
Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS FOR MAJOR PROJECTS. 
Section 139 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking 
‘‘process for and completion of any environ-
mental permit’’ and inserting ‘‘process and 
schedule, including a timetable for and comple-
tion of any environmental permit’’; 
(B) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(5) 
through (8) as paragraphs (9) through (11); 
(C) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(2) 
through (4) as paragraphs (4) through (6); 
(D) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following: 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—The term ‘authoriza-
tion’ means any environmental license, permit, ap-
proval, finding, or other administrative decision re-
lated to an environmental review process that is re-
quired under Federal law to site, construct, or re-
construct a project. 
‘‘(3) ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT.—The term 
‘environmental document’ means an environmental 
assessment, finding of no significant impact, notice 
of intent, environmental impact statement, or record 
of decision under the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).’’; and 
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(E) by inserting after paragraph (6), as re-
designated, the following: 
‘‘(7) 
MAJOR
PROJECT.—The 
term 
‘major 
project’ means a project for which— 
‘‘(A) multiple permits, approvals, reviews, 
or studies are required under a Federal law 
other than the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 
‘‘(B) the project sponsor has identified the 
reasonable availability of funds sufficient to 
complete the project; 
‘‘(C) the project is not a covered project, 
as such term is defined in section 41001 of the 
FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m); and 
‘‘(D) the head of the lead agency has de-
termined that— 
‘‘(i) an environmental impact state-
ment is required; or 
‘‘(ii) an environmental assessment is 
required, and the project sponsor requests 
that the project be treated as a major 
project.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(1)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘, including major 
projects,’’ after ‘‘all projects’’; and 
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(B) by inserting ‘‘, at the request of a 
project sponsor’’ after ‘‘be applied’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (6)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) to calculate annually the average 
time taken by the lead agency to complete all 
environmental documents for each project dur-
ing the previous fiscal year.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) 
PROCESS
IMPROVEMENTS
FOR 
PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
review existing practices, procedures, pro-
grammatic agreements, and applicable laws to 
identify potential changes that would facilitate 
an efficient environmental review process for 
projects. 
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‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the 
review required by subparagraph (A), the Sec-
retary shall consult, as appropriate, with the 
heads of other Federal agencies that participate 
in the environmental review process. 
‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of the One Federal 
Decision Act of 2021, Secretary shall submit to 
the Committee on Environment and Public 
works of the Senate and the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
of Representatives a report that includes— 
‘‘(i) the results of the review required 
by subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(ii) an analysis of whether additional 
resources would help the Secretary meet 
the requirements applicable to the projects 
under this section.’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (8)— 
(i) 
in 
the 
heading, 
by 
striking 
‘‘NEPA’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘ENVIRON-
MENTAL’’; 
(ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to 
read as follows: 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as inconsistent 
with paragraph (7), and except as provided in 
subparagraph (D), to the maximum extent 
practicable and consistent with Federal law, all 
Federal authorizations and reviews for a project 
shall rely on a single environmental document 
for each type of environmental document pre-
pared under the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) under the 
leadership of the lead agency.’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) EXCEPTION.—The lead agency may 
waive the application of subparagraph (A) with 
respect to a project if— 
‘‘(i) the project sponsor requests that 
agencies issue separate environmental doc-
uments; 
‘‘(ii) the obligations of a cooperating 
agency or participating agency under the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) have al-
ready been satisfied with respect to such 
project; or 
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‘‘(iii) the lead agency determines that 
such application would not facilitate com-
pletion of the environmental review process 
for such project within the timeline estab-
lished under paragraph (10).’’; 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(10) TIMELY
AUTHORIZATIONS
FOR
MAJOR 
PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(A) DEADLINE.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (C), notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, all authorization decisions nec-
essary for the construction of a major project 
shall be completed by not later than 90 days 
after the date of the issuance of a record of de-
cision for the major project. 
‘‘(B) REQUIRED LEVEL OF DETAIL.—The 
final environmental impact statement for a 
major project shall include an adequate level of 
detail to inform decisions necessary for the role 
of the participating agencies in the environ-
mental review process. 
‘‘(C) EXTENSION
OF
DEADLINE.—Not 
later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of the One Federal Decision Act of 2021, the 
Secretary shall establish procedures for a lead 
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agency to extend a deadline under subpara-
graph (A) in cases in which— 
‘‘(i) Federal law prohibits the lead 
agency or another agency from issuing an 
approval or permit within the period de-
scribed in such subparagraph; 
‘‘(ii) such an extension is requested by 
the project sponsor; or 
‘‘(iii) such extension would facilitate 
the completion of the environmental review 
and authorization process of the major 
project.’’; 
(5) in subsection (g)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(B)— 
(i) by amending clause (ii)(IV) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(IV) the overall time required 
by an agency to conduct an environ-
mental review and make decisions 
under applicable Federal law relating 
to a project (including the issuance or 
denial of a permit or license) and the 
cost of the project; and’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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(B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 
subparagraph (F); 
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 
the following: 
‘‘(E) FAILURE TO MEET DEADLINE.—If a 
Federal cooperating agency fails to meet a 
deadline 
established 
under 
subparagraph 
(D)(ii)(I)— 
‘‘(i) not later than 30 days after the 
date such agency failed to meet such dead-
line, such agency shall submit to the Sec-
retary a report on why the deadline was 
not met; and 
‘‘(ii) not later than 30 days after the 
date on which a report is submitted under 
clause (i), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(I) transmit to the Committee 
on Environment and Public Works of 
the Senate and the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives a copy 
of such report; and 
‘‘(II) make such report available 
to the public on the internet.’’; and 
(6) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(p) ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING FOR MAJOR 
PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the One Federal Deci-
sion Act of 2021, the Secretary shall establish a per-
formance accountability system to track each major 
project. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The performance ac-
countability system required under paragraph (1) 
shall, for each major project, track— 
‘‘(A) the environmental review process for 
such project, including the project schedule re-
quired by subsection (g)(1)(B)(iii); 
‘‘(B) whether the lead agency, cooperating 
agencies, and participating agencies are meet-
ing such schedule; and 
‘‘(C) the time taken to complete the envi-
ronmental review process. 
‘‘(q) DEVELOPMENT
OF
CATEGORICAL
EXCLU-
SIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 
Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) in consultation with the agencies de-
scribed in paragraph (2), identify the categor-
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ical exclusions established by the Federal High-
way Administration that would accelerate deliv-
ery of a project if such categorical exclusions 
were available to such agencies; 
‘‘(B) collect existing documentation and 
substantiating information on the categorical 
exclusions described in subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(C) provide to each agency described in 
paragraph (2) a list of the categorical exclu-
sions identified under subparagraph (A) and 
the documentation and substantiating informa-
tion collected under subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(2) AGENCIES
DESCRIBED.—The following 
agencies are described in this paragraph— 
‘‘(A) The Departments of— 
‘‘(i) the Interior; 
‘‘(ii) Commerce; 
‘‘(iii) Agriculture; 
‘‘(iv) Energy; and 
‘‘(v) Defense, including the United 
States Army Corps of Engineers; and 
‘‘(B) any other Federal agency that has 
participated in an environmental review process 
for a major project, as determined by the Sec-
retary. 
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‘‘(3) ADOPTION
OF
CATEGORICAL
EXCLU-
SIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date on which the Secretary provides 
the list under paragraph (1)(C), an agency de-
scribed in paragraph (2) shall publish a notice 
of proposed rulemaking to propose any categor-
ical exclusions from the list applicable to the 
agency, subject to the condition that the cat-
egorical exclusion identified under paragraph 
(1)(A) meets the criteria for a categorical exclu-
sion under section 102 of the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.). 
‘‘(B) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In a notice of 
proposed rulemaking under subparagraph (A), 
the applicable agency shall solicit comments on 
whether any of the proposed new categorical ex-
clusions meet the criteria for a categorical ex-
clusion under section 1508.4 of title 40, Code 
of Federal Regulations (or successor regula-
tions).’’. 
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SEC. 3. EFFICIENT ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS. 
Section 24201(a)(4) of the title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ‘‘, except that the limitation 
on claims of 150 days shall be 2 years’’. 
Æ 
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