One Federal Decision Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.1812 | Sponsor: Rep. Davis, Rodney (R-IL)
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
One Federal Decision Act of 2021
This bill provides statutory authority for the policy that requires federal agencies to coordinate environmental reviews and authorization decisions for major infrastructure projects. It also sets a goal for completing environmental reviews within two years.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) must review existing practices, procedures, programmatic agreements, and applicable laws to identify potential changes that would facilitate an efficient environmental review process for projects.
All authorization decisions for construction of a major project must be completed within 90 days of the issuance of a record of decision for the project, although the lead agency could extend the deadline in some cases.
The lead agency must develop an environmental review schedule with the project sponsor that is consistent with an agency average of not more than two years for the completion of the environmental review process for major projects.
DOT must also (1) establish a performance accountability system to track each major project, and (2) provide other relevant federal agencies with a list of categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act that are applicable to highway projects and that would accelerate project delivery.
The bill also eliminates the two-year limitation on filing claims seeking judicial review of permits, licenses, or approvals issued by a federal agency for railroad projects.

To amend titles 23 and 49, United States Code, to streamline the 
    environmental review process for major projects, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ``process for 
                and completion of any environmental permit'' and 
                inserting ``process and schedule, including a timetable 
                for and completion 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 `authorization' means any 
        environmental license, permit, approval, finding, or other 
        administrative decision related to an environmental review 
        process that is required under Federal law to site, construct, 
        or reconstruct 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
                    (E) by inserting after paragraph (6), as 
                redesignated, 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 determined 
                that--
                            ``(i) an environmental impact statement 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
                    (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 following:
                    ``(D) to calculate annually the average time taken 
                by the lead agency to complete all environmental 
                documents for each project during 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, programmatic 
                agreements, and applicable laws to identify potential 
                changes that would facilitate an efficient 
                environmental review process for projects.
                    ``(B) Consultation.--In conducting the review 
                required by subparagraph (A), the Secretary 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 ``Environmental'';
                            (ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 
                        as follows:
                    ``(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 prepared 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 following:
                    ``(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 
                        documents;
                            ``(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 already been 
                        satisfied with respect to such project; or
                            ``(iii) the lead agency determines that 
                        such application would not facilitate 
                        completion of the environmental review process 
                        for such project within the timeline 
                        established 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 necessary 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 
                decision 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 environmental 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 agency to extend a deadline under 
                subparagraph (A) in cases in which--
                            ``(i) Federal law prohibits the lead agency 
                        or another agency from issuing an approval or 
                        permit within the period described 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 environmental 
                                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 following:
                            ``(iii) Major project schedule.--To the 
                        maximum extent practicable and consistent with 
                        applicable Federal law, in the case of a major 
                        project, the lead agency shall develop, in 
                        consultation with the project sponsor, a 
                        schedule for the major project that is 
                        consistent with an agency average of not more 
                        than 2 years for the completion of the 
                        environmental review process for major 
                        projects. The time period measured, as 
                        applicable--
                                    ``(I) in the case of a project that 
                                requires an environmental impact 
                                statement, begins on the date of 
                                publication of a notice of intent to 
                                prepare an environmental impact 
                                statement and ends on the date of 
                                publication of a record of decision; or
                                    ``(II) in the case of a project 
                                which does not require an environmental 
                                impact statement, begins on the date of 
                                that the decision is made to prepare an 
                                environmental assessment and ends on 
                                the date of issuance of a finding of no 
                                significant impact.'';
                    (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 deadline, such 
                        agency shall submit to the Secretary 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:
    ``(p) Accountability and Reporting for Major Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of the One Federal Decision Act of 2021, the 
        Secretary shall establish a performance accountability system 
        to track each major project.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The performance accountability system 
        required under paragraph (1) shall, for each major project, 
        track--
                    ``(A) the environmental review process for such 
                project, including the project schedule required by 
                subsection (g)(1)(B)(iii);
                    ``(B) whether the lead agency, cooperating 
                agencies, and participating agencies are meeting such 
                schedule; and
                    ``(C) the time taken to complete the environmental 
                review process.
    ``(q) Development of Categorical Exclusions.--
            ``(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 described 
                in paragraph (2), identify the categorical exclusions 
                established by the Federal Highway Administration that 
                would accelerate delivery 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 exclusions identified 
                under subparagraph (A) and the documentation and 
                substantiating information 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 Secretary.
            ``(3) Adoption of categorical exclusions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date on which the Secretary provides the list under 
                paragraph (1)(C), an agency described in paragraph (2) 
                shall publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to 
                propose any categorical exclusions from the list 
                applicable to the agency, subject to the condition that 
                the categorical exclusion identified under paragraph 
                (1)(A) meets the criteria for a categorical exclusion 
                under section 102 of the National Environmental 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 exclusions meet the criteria 
                for a categorical exclusion under section 1508.4 of 
                title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 
                regulations).''.

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''.
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