I 
107TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5455
To amend title 23, United States Code, relating to streamlining for highway 
and transit projects, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2002
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 23, United States Code, relating to stream-
lining for highway and transit 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Expediting Project Delivery To Improve Transportation 
and the Environment Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
TITLE I—HIGHWAY AND TRANSIT PROJECT STREAMLINING 
Sec. 101. Expediting and improving project development.
Sec. 102. Limitations on claims. 
Sec. 103. Protected resources policy. 
Sec. 104. Interagency cooperation. 
Sec. 105. Program management and oversight. 
Sec. 106. Federal program for State environmental review. 
TITLE II—IMPROVING TRANSIT PROGRAM DELIVERY 
Sec. 201. Eliminating duplication in compliance requirements for alcohol and 
controlled substance testing. 
Sec. 202. Very small transit operator option for lower cost compliance require-
ments for alcohol and controlled substance testing. 
Sec. 203. Job access and reverse commute grants requirements. 
Sec. 204. Grant terms and conditions for buses and bus-related facilities, for 
grants made to rural providers and for elderly and disabled 
transit services. 
Sec. 205. Grant terms and conditions for buses and bus-related facilities, for 
grants made to private transit providers. 
Sec. 206. GSA transit bus purchasing pilot program.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that—
(1) surface transportation projects play a major 
role in interstate and foreign commerce; 
(2) delays in our surface transportation projects 
have a significant negative impact on our Nation’s 
economy; 
(3) planning, design, and construction of sur-
face transportation projects must include an envi-
ronmental review process that provides local citi-
zenry an opportunity for consideration of and appro-
priate action to address environmental concerns; and 
(4) the Federal Highway Administration, the 
Federal Transit Administration, communities, and 
other Federal, State, and local government agencies 
must work together to develop a plan, set and honor 
milestones and deadlines, and work to protect the
face transportation project and as it is modified by 
the procedures set forth in this section. 
‘‘(3) SURFACE
TRANSPORTATION
PROJECT.—
The term ‘surface transportation project’ means a 
highway project eligible for Federal assistance from 
the Highway Trust Fund, and a transit project eligi-
ble for Federal assistance from the Highway Trust 
Fund, for which a detailed statement on environ-
mental impact or an environmental assessment is to 
be prepared under the National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), including 
regulations issued to carry out such Act. 
‘‘(b) AGENCY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—
‘‘(1) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION NEPA PROC-
ESS.—Each Federal agency shall satisfy its obliga-
tions, if any, under the National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), including 
regulations issued to carry out such Act, with re-
spect to a surface transportation project by partici-
pating in a surface transportation NEPA process 
with respect to such project in accordance with this 
section. To the greatest extent practicable, the Fed-
eral agency shall also satisfy its obligations, if any, 
under other applicable laws with respect to the 
project under the surface transportation NEPA
process and identify during such process such obli-
gations to the lead agency for the project. 
‘‘(2) LEAD
AGENCY
RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 
lead agency for the surface transportation NEPA 
process with respect to a surface transportation 
project shall be the Federal Highway Administra-
tion, the Federal Transit Administration, or the 2 
Administrations jointly in any case in which the 
project is a project for which both of the Adminis-
trations are providing financial assistance. The lead 
agency shall be responsible for the timely execution 
of the following actions: 
‘‘(A) Determining the purpose and need 
for the proposed action. 
‘‘(B) Determining the alternatives to be 
considered and the level of detail of analysis of 
those alternatives, including evaluation of trans-
portation and environmental consequences of 
those alternatives. 
‘‘(C) Determining the appropriate meth-
odologies for measuring transportation needs, 
transportation benefits, and transportation im-
pacts. 
‘‘(D) Developing a schedule for the surface 
transportation NEPA process and an agency
coordination plan, including opportunities for 
comment and comment deadlines. 
‘‘(E) Coordinating efforts to identify and 
resolve expeditiously any issues that could cause 
other Federal agencies to oppose or deny ap-
proval for a project under any Federal law or 
that could cause delay in the completion of the 
surface transportation NEPA process. 
‘‘(F) Identifying, as soon as practicable, all 
Federal and State agencies that may have juris-
diction over environmental-related matters that 
may be affected by the project or may be re-
quired by law to conduct an environmental-re-
lated review or analysis of the project or deter-
mine whether to issue an environmental-related 
permit, license, or approval for the project. 
‘‘(G) Inviting relevant Federal and State 
agencies to participate in the surface transpor-
tation NEPA process. The invitation shall 
specify a deadline of no less than 30 days for 
submittal to the lead agency of responses to the 
invitation. State agencies, consistent with State 
law, may choose to participate in the process. 
The State may provide that all State agencies 
that have jurisdiction over environmental-re-
lated matters that may be affected by the 
project or may be required by law to conduct an 
environmental-related review or analysis of the 
project or determine whether to issue an envi-
ronmental-related permit, license, or approval 
for the project, be subject to the process. 
‘‘(H) Preparing or ensuring that any de-
tailed statement on environmental impact, envi-
ronmental assessment, or other document re-
quired for the project under the National Envi-
ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.), is completed in accordance with the 
surface transportation NEPA process. 
‘‘(3) PARTICIPATING AGENCY.—
‘‘(A) 
DESIGNATION.—Any 
Federal 
or 
State agency that is invited by the lead agency 
to participate in the surface transportation 
NEPA process for a project shall be treated as 
a participating agency for purposes of such 
process, unless the agency informs the lead 
agency in writing that it has no jurisdiction or 
authority with respect to the project, has no ex-
pertise or information relevant to the project, or 
has no intention of submitting comments on the 
project. If an agency invited to participate in
such process does not respond to the invitation 
within the period provided for responses under 
paragraph (2)(G), the agency shall be treated 
as accepting the invitation as a participating 
agency for purposes of such process. 
‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each partici-
pating agency must—
‘‘(i) respond in a timely manner to re-
quests from the lead agency or the project 
sponsor for information or comments re-
garding the project or the surface trans-
portation NEPA process; 
‘‘(ii) identify in any comments filed 
with the lead agency any issues that, if not 
resolved, could cause the participating 
agency to oppose or not approve the 
project (or a particular alternative for the 
project) or that could cause delays in the 
surface 
transportation 
NEPA 
process 
schedule established by the lead agency; 
and 
‘‘(iii) participate in good faith in any 
efforts to identify promptly and resolve any 
issues regarding the project that could 
cause the agency to oppose or deny ap-
proval for the project or that could cause 
delays in such schedule. 
‘‘(C) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—Designa-
tion as a participating agency under this sub-
section does not imply support for a proposed 
project, nor does it imply that an agency has 
jurisdiction over the project or special expertise 
in evaluating it. 
‘‘(4) PROJECT SCHEDULE.—The lead agency or 
the sponsor for a project under this section shall es-
tablish, in consultation with the participating agen-
cies for the project, a schedule for completing the 
surface transportation NEPA process, including any 
related permits, approvals, reviews, or studies re-
quired for the project under other Federal laws and 
identified under paragraph (1). The project schedule 
shall include comment opportunities and deadlines 
for participating agencies as follows:
‘‘(A) PROPOSAL OF PRELIMINARY PROJECT 
ALTERNATIVES.—If a detailed statement on en-
vironmental impact is being prepared, or in 
other circumstances determined appropriate by 
the lead agency, the lead agency shall prepare 
and submit to the participating agencies a pro-
posed statement of purpose and need and a pro-
posed set of preliminary alternatives for the 
project. The participating agencies shall submit 
comments on the proposal to the lead agency 
not later than the 30th day following the date 
the lead agency submits the proposal to the 
participating agencies. 
‘‘(B) PROPOSAL
OF
DETAILED
PROJECT 
ALTERNATIVES.—If a detailed statement on en-
vironmental impact is being prepared under the 
surface transportation NEPA process, or in 
other circumstances determined appropriate by 
the lead agency, the lead agency shall prepare 
and submit to the participating agencies a set 
of proposed alternatives that the lead agency 
considers to be reasonable alternatives requiring 
detailed analysis in such process. The partici-
pating agencies shall submit comments on the 
proposal to the lead agency not later than the 
30th day following the date the lead agency 
submits the proposal to the participating agen-
cies. 
‘‘(C) DRAFT
ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT 
STATEMENT.—The deadline for comments for 
participating agencies on a draft detailed state-
ment on environmental impact under the sur-
face transportation NEPA process shall be no 
later than 60 days after public notice of avail-
ability of the statement. 
‘‘(D) ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT
OR 
DRAFT FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.—
In the surface transportation nepa process, the 
lead agency may circulate an environmental as-
sessment or a draft finding of no significant im-
pact, or both, to participating agencies for an 
opportunity to comment. If such an opportunity 
is provided, the deadline for participating agen-
cies to submit comments shall be no more than 
45 days after the date of public notice of the 
availability of the document or documents for 
comment. 
‘‘(E) ADDITIONAL COMMENT OPPORTUNI-
TIES AND DEADLINES.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Nothing in sub-
paragraphs (A) through (D) shall preclude 
other opportunities for coordination and 
comment that are required or permitted by 
any other law or that the lead agency 
deems appropriate. 
‘‘(ii) DEADLINES.—The comment pe-
riod for any opportunity for comments that
are provided in the surface transportation 
NEPA process under clause (i), in addition 
to those specified in subparagraphs (A) 
through (D), shall be 30 days. 
‘‘(5) EXTENSION
AND
MODIFICATION.—The 
lead agency may extend a time limit set forth in 
paragraph (4) for a period of not to exceed 60 days. 
The lead agency may only grant under this para-
graph one extension of each time limit set forth in 
paragraph (4). In addition, any time limit set forth 
in paragraph (4) may be modified with the agree-
ment of the lead agency, the project sponsor, and 
participating agencies. 
‘‘(6) EFFECT OF DEADLINE.—The lead agency 
shall not consider any comments submitted after an 
applicable comment deadline (including any exten-
sion) has passed, nor shall such comments be consid-
ered by any court of the United States in reviewing 
a decision made by the lead agency with respect to 
the project. 
‘‘(7) COMMITTEE
NOTIFICATION.—The lead 
agency for a project shall promptly notify the Com-
mittee on Environment and Public Works of the 
Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives
whenever a final decision under section 303 of title 
49 or the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is not made with re-
spect to the project before the 180th day following 
the last day for comment with respect to the project 
under a time limit established by this subsection, in-
cluding any extension of such time limit under this 
subsection. 
‘‘(8) INVOLVEMENT OF THE PUBLIC.—Nothing 
in this subsection shall limit the involvement of the 
public, including its ability to comment, in the sur-
face transportation NEPA process. 
‘‘(c) PURPOSE AND NEED.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF LEAD AGENCY.—The lead 
agency in a surface transportation NEPA process 
with respect to a project under subsection (b) shall 
define the purpose and need for the project for pur-
poses of such process, after consideration of any 
comments received in accordance with subsection 
(b)(4)(A). 
‘‘(2) EFFECT OF LEAD AGENCY’S DEFINITION 
ON
PARTICIPATING
AGENCIES.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, a participating agency 
conducting a review or analysis, or issuing an opin-
ion, permit, license, or approval with respect to a
project that is the subject of a surface transpor-
tation NEPA process under subsection (b) shall be 
bound by the project purpose and need as defined by 
the lead agency in such process. The responsibilities 
of the head of a participating agency under this 
paragraph may not be delegated. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF PROJECT OBJECTIVES.—
The definition of purpose and need for a surface 
transportation project under this subsection shall de-
fine the objectives that the proposed action is in-
tended to achieve. The objectives may include one or 
more of the following: 
‘‘(A) Addressing an existing or reasonably 
foreseeable transportation problem, such as 
traffic congestion or safety hazards. 
‘‘(B) Completing a section of independent 
utility on a transportation corridor or system in
a manner consistent with the operational and 
design standards for that corridor or system. 
‘‘(C) Providing transportation infrastruc-
ture to serve State, tribal, or local transpor-
tation, land use, economic development, or 
growth objectives. 
‘‘(D) Providing transportation infrastruc-
ture to serve national security needs, to pro-
mote foreign policy goals, or to serve other na-
tional objectives. 
‘‘(d) ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF LEAD AGENCY.—The lead 
agency in a surface transportation NEPA process 
with respect to a project under subsection (b) shall 
determine the alternatives to be considered and the 
level of detail of the analysis of those alternatives 
under such process after consideration of any com-
ments received in accordance with this section. 
‘‘(2) EFFECT OF LEAD AGENCY’S DETERMINA-
TION ON PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.—A participating 
agency conducting a review or analysis, or issuing an 
opinion, permit, license, or approval with respect to 
the project shall be bound by the decisions made by 
the lead agency regarding the alternatives to be con-
sidered and the level of detail of analysis of those al-
ternatives. The responsibilities of the head of a par-
ticipating agency under this paragraph may not be 
delegated. 
‘‘(3) DETERMINING ALTERNATIVES TO BE CON-
SIDERED.—
‘‘(A) PRELIMINARY
ALTERNATIVES.—The 
set of preliminary alternatives in the surface 
transportation NEPA process shall reflect the
range of alternatives proposed by the lead agen-
cy and any additional alternatives developed by 
the project sponsor. An alternative may be in-
cluded in the set of preliminary alternatives 
even if the lead agency considers it, based on 
existing information, to be unreasonable. 
‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVES
CARRIED
FORWARD 
FOR
DETAILED
ANALYSIS.—In defining the 
range of reasonable alternatives to be carried 
forward for detailed analysis in the surface 
transportation NEPA process, the lead agency 
may—
‘‘(i) eliminate any alternative that 
does not substantially achieve one or more 
of the objectives of the project as defined 
in the purpose and need definition for the 
project; and 
‘‘(ii) consolidate similar alternatives, 
in order to ensure that the number of al-
ternatives carried forward is manageable 
and appropriate, given the overall mag-
nitude of the project and complexity of the 
issues under analysis. 
‘‘(4) EVALUATION
OF
ALTERNATIVES.—Alter-
natives that are carried forward for detailed analysis
under paragraph (3)(B) may be evaluated in stages, 
with the level of detail increasing as the number of 
alternatives is reduced. 
‘‘(5) PREFERRED
ALTERNATIVE.—Under the 
surface transportation NEPA process, a preferred 
alternative, if identified by the lead agency, may be 
developed to a higher level of detail than other alter-
natives for such reasons as the sponsor deems ap-
propriate, including—
‘‘(A) satisfying the requirements of envi-
ronmental permit applications; 
‘‘(B) developing and evaluating potential 
environmental mitigation measures, for poten-
tial inclusion in project approval documents; 
‘‘(C) developing and evaluating potential 
methods for reducing project construction costs; 
and
‘‘(D) responding to comments received 
during such process. 
‘‘(6) LEAD AGENCY DETERMINATION OF REA-
SONABLE
ALTERNATIVES.—The lead agency shall 
determine the reasonable alternatives to the project. 
Any other Federal or State agency that is partici-
pating in the NEPA surface transportation process 
under this section with respect to the project shall
consider only those alternatives to the project that 
the lead agency has determined are reasonable. 
‘‘(e) ISSUE RESOLUTION.—
‘‘(1) REQUEST BY GOVERNOR.—The Governor 
of a State may request, in writing, the assistance of 
the Secretary of Transportation in resolving any 
issue that could, in the opinion of the Governor, re-
sult in the denial of necessary permits or approvals 
for a surface transportation project or cause delays 
in carrying out the project. 
‘‘(2) MEETING.—Not later than the 30th day 
following the date of receipt of a Governor’s written 
request under paragraph (1) with respect to a 
project, the Secretary shall convene a meeting of 
representatives of the Governor, the Secretary, and 
the heads of other relevant Federal agencies to ad-
dress and resolve any issues for which the Governor 
requested assistance under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) NOTICE TO COMMITTEES.—If, within 30 
days following the date of convening a meeting with 
respect to a project under paragraph (2), the Gov-
ernor notifies the Secretary, in writing, that the 
issues raised by the Governor are still unresolved, 
the Secretary and the heads of the other relevant 
Federal agencies shall promptly notify, in writing,
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Environment and Public Works or the Committee 
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Sen-
ate, as appropriate, of each issue for which the Gov-
ernor requested assistance under paragraph (1) and 
the reasons that such issue remains unresolved. The 
Secretary and heads of such Federal agencies shall 
transmit additional notices to the Committees every 
30 days thereafter in response to any additional no-
tices received from the Governor with respect to the 
project. 
‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—If the Secretary and the sponsor of 
a surface transportation project jointly find that the 
project will provide important national or regional benefits 
and the Secretary notifies the heads of other relevant Fed-
eral agencies of such finding, the Secretary and the heads 
of such other relevant Federal agencies shall place the 
highest priority in terms of providing personnel and finan-
cial resources for the project.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 306 the following:
‘‘307. Expediting and improving project development.’’.
(c) CONFORMING REPEALS.—Subsections (a), (b), 
(c), (d), (f), and (g) of section 1309 of the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (112 Stat. 232–234) are 
repealed. 
SEC. 102. SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO JUDICIAL REVIEW. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 312 the 
following: 
‘‘§ 313. Special rules relating to judicial review 
‘‘(a) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.—Any claim arising 
under a Federal law challenging a decision made in con-
nection with a surface transportation project as defined 
in section 307 shall be barred unless it is filed within 90 
days after the date on which final action is taken pursuant 
to the Federal law. 
‘‘(b) FINDINGS OF FACT.—Findings of fact by the 
lead agency under section 307 are conclusive if supported 
by substantial evidence. 
‘‘(c) SUPREME COURT REVIEW.—A decision by a 
court relating to section 307 may be reviewed only by the 
Supreme Court under section 1254 of title 28.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 312 the following:
‘‘313. Special rules relating to judicial review.’’.
SEC. 103. PROTECTED RESOURCES POLICY. 
(a) POLICY ON LANDS AND WILDLIFE AND WATER-
FOWL REFUGES.—Section 303 of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘POLICY.—’’ 
before ‘‘It is’’; 
(2) in subsection (b) by inserting ‘‘COOPERA-
TION.—’’ before ‘‘The Secretary’’; and 
(3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(c) PROTECTING PROTECTED RESOURCES.—Except 
as provided in this section, the Secretary shall not approve 
any transportation project (other than any project for a 
park road or parkway under section 204 of title 23) that 
has a significant impact on a protected resource. 
‘‘(d) FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may approve 
a proposed project described in subsection (c) if the
Secretary finds that it will not cause a significant 
impact on any protected resource. 
‘‘(2) SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT.—For purposes 
of this subsection, the significance of an impact on 
a protected resource shall be considered comprehen-
sively, taking into account—
‘‘(A) the value of the protected resource;
‘‘(B) the value of the impacted land within 
the protected resource; 
‘‘(C) the nature and extent of the impact 
on the protected resource after mitigation, 
measured both quantitatively and qualitatively; 
and 
‘‘(D) the views of the official with jurisdic-
tion over the protected resource, and, in the 
case of private property, the views of the prin-
cipal owner or owners of the property. 
‘‘(3) CATEGORIES
OF
PROJECTS.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this sub-
section, the Secretary shall issue final regulations 
listing categories of projects that do not have the po-
tential to cause significant impacts on protected re-
sources. Issuance of such a list shall satisfy the Sec-
retary’s obligations under this subsection with re-
spect to all projects within the categories included in 
the list. 
‘‘(e) ALTERNATIVES EVALUATION.—If the Secretary 
finds that a proposed project described in subsection (c) 
may cause a significant impact on a protected resource 
under this section, the Secretary shall develop and evalu-
ate alternatives, as part of the alternatives analysis for 
the NEPA process, if any, for avoiding, minimizing, and
mitigating the impacts of the project on the protected re-
source. The Secretary shall be responsible for determining 
the appropriate scope and level of detail of such alter-
natives analysis. 
‘‘(f) APPROVAL
OF SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS.—After 
conducting an evaluation under subsection (e), the Sec-
retary may approve the proposed project if the Secretary 
finds, with respect to the set of alternatives carried for-
ward for detailed analysis in the NEPA process, that—
‘‘(1) there is no prudent and feasible alternative 
that would entirely avoid significant impacts on the 
protected resource; 
‘‘(2) there is no prudent and feasible alternative 
that would substantially reduce significant impacts 
on the protected resource when compared to the se-
lected alternative; and 
‘‘(3) appropriate measures to minimize the 
harm to the protected resource have been incor-
porated into the selected alternative. 
‘‘(g) STANDARDS.—
‘‘(1) 
STANDARDS
FOR
ASSESSING
FEASI-
BILITY.—For purposes of subsections (e) and (f), 
the Secretary may eliminate an alternative as infea-
sible if the Secretary finds that the alternative can-
not be implemented as a matter of sound engineer-
ing. 
‘‘(2) STANDARDS FOR ASSESSING PRUDENCE.—
For purposes of subsections (e) and (f), the Sec-
retary may eliminate an alternative as imprudent if 
the Secretary finds that the drawbacks associated 
with that alternative clearly and substantially out-
weigh its benefits. In making this finding, the Sec-
retary shall assess the benefits and drawbacks of the 
alternative as a whole, taking into account the alter-
native’s ability to achieve the project’s objectives, the 
environmental and other impacts of the alternative 
(including the impacts on protected resources), the 
cost of the alternative, and any other factors deemed 
relevant by the Secretary. 
‘‘(h) SUBSTITUTION
OF
SECTION
106 COMPLI-
ANCE.—The Secretary satisfies the requirements of this 
section with respect to a historic property (as defined in 
section 301(5) of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 470w(5))) by satisfying the requirements that 
apply under section 106 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) in 
a manner that results in a determination or an agreement 
with respect to which the State historic preservation offi-
cer or tribal historic preservation officer, if applicable, con-
curs. Such requirements are not satisfied if the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation (established by section 
201 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 470i)) notifies the Secretary 
of its objection to the determination or agreement. 
‘‘(i) EXCEPTION
FOR ADVERSE EFFECT
ON NA-
TIONAL
HISTORIC
LANDMARK.—Notwithstanding sub-
section (h), unless otherwise agreed to by the Advisory 
Council on Historic Preservation and the Secretary, sec-
tion 106 compliance under subsection (h) does not satisfy 
the requirements of this section when a proposed project 
is determined by the Secretary to have an adverse effect 
on a National Historic Landmark designated under sec-
tion 101(a)(1)(B) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 470a(a)(1)(B)). 
‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the following 
definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) IMPACT.—The term ‘impact’, as used with 
respect to a project to be approved by the Secretary, 
means—
‘‘(A) any direct physical impact caused by 
the project; and 
‘‘(B) any visual, audible, or atmospheric 
impact caused by the project. 
‘‘(2) NEPA PROCESS.—The term ‘NEPA proc-
ess’ has the meaning such term has under section 
307.
‘‘(3) PROTECTED RESOURCE.—The term ‘pro-
tected resource’ means—
‘‘(A) any publicly owned land within a pub-
lic park, recreation area, or wildlife or water-
fowl refuge of national, State, or local signifi-
cance (as determined by the Federal, State, or 
local officials having jurisdiction over the park, 
area, or refuge); and 
‘‘(B) any historic property as defined in 
section 301(5) of the National Historic Preser-
vation Act (16 U.S.C. 470w(5)).’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) REPEAL.—Section 138 of title 23, United 
States Code, is repealed. 
(2) CHAPTER
ANALYSIS.—The analysis for 
chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amend-
ed by striking the item relating to section 138.
SEC. 104. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION. 
(a) SURVEY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall conduct biennially a survey of State 
agencies participating in any of the following activi-
ties with respect to projects being carried out with 
assistance made available from the Highway Trust 
Fund (including the Mass Transit Account):
(A) The preparation of an environmental 
assessment or environmental impact statement 
for any such project. 
(B) The conduct of any other environ-
mental review or analysis with respect to any 
such project. 
(C) The issuance of an environmental opin-
ion, permit, license, or approval with respect to 
any such project. 
(2) INITIAL DEADLINES.—The Secretary shall 
initiate the conduct of the initial survey under this 
subsection not later than the 90th day following the 
date of enactment of this Act and shall complete 
such survey not later than the 180th day following 
such date of enactment. 
(3) PURPOSE AND FORM.—To conduct a survey 
under this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to 
State agencies engaged in activities described in 
paragraph (1) a written form that is designed to 
gauge each surveyed agency’s expectations and cur-
rent experiences with regard to cooperation with di-
vision offices of the Federal Highway Administration 
and the offices of other Federal agencies that are 
also engaged in such activities.
(4) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
completion of each biennial survey under this sub-
section, the Secretary shall compile and analyze the 
results of such survey in a report and provide a copy 
of such report to all Federal and State agencies en-
gaged in activities described in paragraph (1). 
(b) REVIEW OF SURVEY.—Not later than 210 days 
after completion of each biennial survey under this sub-
section, the Secretary shall review the reports prepared 
under subsection (a) and recommend regional improve-
ments with respect to activities described in subsection 
(a)(1). 
(c) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after completion 
of each biennial survey under this section, each regional 
office of a Federal agency engaged in an activity described 
in subsection (a)(1) and each division of the Federal High-
way Administration shall develop, on the basis of the rec-
ommendations made under subsection (b), a plan to im-
prove interagency cooperation with State agencies engaged 
in such activities. 
(d) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
provide to the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives
a progress report on regional efforts to improve inter-
agency cooperation with the States being undertaken as 
a result of the survey and conferences carried out under 
this section. 
SEC. 105. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 320 the 
following: 
‘‘§ 321. Program management and oversight 
‘‘(a) IMPROVING PROGRAM DELIVERY.—The Sec-
retary shall establish a comprehensive program to stimu-
late the development and adoption of innovative, effective 
methods for expediting and improving the environmental 
review process for surface transportation projects. The 
program shall include, at a minimum, the following ele-
ments: 
‘‘(1) Identifying, cataloging, and analyzing cur-
rent efforts to expedite or improve the environmental 
review process for surface transportation projects. 
‘‘(2) Developing and refining guidance mate-
rials, such as best practices, checklists, model agree-
ments, and other appropriate materials. 
‘‘(3) Educating and training practitioners in-
volved in the environmental review process for sur-
face transportation projects.