One Federal Decision Act of 2021

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- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘One Federal Decision 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS FOR MAJOR PROJECTS. 6 Section 139 of title 23, United States Code, is 7 amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1812 IH (1) in subsection (a)— 1 (A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking 2 ‘‘process for and completion of any environ- 3 mental permit’’ and inserting ‘‘process and 4 schedule, including a timetable for and comple- 5 tion of any environmental permit’’; 6 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5) 7 through (8) as paragraphs (9) through (11); 8 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 9 through (4) as paragraphs (4) through (6); 10 (D) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 11 following: 12 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—The term ‘authoriza- 13 tion’ means any environmental license, permit, ap- 14 proval, finding, or other administrative decision re- 15 lated to an environmental review process that is re- 16 quired under Federal law to site, construct, or re- 17 construct a project. 18 ‘‘(3) ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT.—The term 19 ‘environmental document’ means an environmental 20 assessment, finding of no significant impact, notice 21 of intent, environmental impact statement, or record 22 of decision under the National Environmental Policy 23 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1812 IH (E) by inserting after paragraph (6), as re- 1 designated, the following: 2 ‘‘(7) MAJOR PROJECT.—The term ‘major 3 project’ means a project for which— 4 ‘‘(A) multiple permits, approvals, reviews, 5 or studies are required under a Federal law 6 other than the National Environmental Policy 7 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 8 ‘‘(B) the project sponsor has identified the 9 reasonable availability of funds sufficient to 10 complete the project; 11 ‘‘(C) the project is not a covered project, 12 as such term is defined in section 41001 of the 13 FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m); and 14 ‘‘(D) the head of the lead agency has de- 15 termined that— 16 ‘‘(i) an environmental impact state- 17 ment is required; or 18 ‘‘(ii) an environmental assessment is 19 required, and the project sponsor requests 20 that the project be treated as a major 21 project.’’; 22 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 23 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including major 24 projects,’’ after ‘‘all projects’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1812 IH (B) by inserting ‘‘, at the request of a 1 project sponsor’’ after ‘‘be applied’’; 2 (3) in subsection (c)— 3 (A) in paragraph (6)— 4 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 5 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 6 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 7 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 8 and’’; and 9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(D) to calculate annually the average 12 time taken by the lead agency to complete all 13 environmental documents for each project dur- 14 ing the previous fiscal year.’’; and 15 (B) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(7) PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS FOR 17 PROJECTS.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 19 review existing practices, procedures, pro- 20 grammatic agreements, and applicable laws to 21 identify potential changes that would facilitate 22 an efficient environmental review process for 23 projects. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1812 IH ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the 1 review required by subparagraph (A), the Sec- 2 retary shall consult, as appropriate, with the 3 heads of other Federal agencies that participate 4 in the environmental review process. 5 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 6 after the date of enactment of the One Federal 7 Decision Act of 2021, Secretary shall submit to 8 the Committee on Environment and Public 9 works of the Senate and the Committee on 10 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 11 of Representatives a report that includes— 12 ‘‘(i) the results of the review required 13 by subparagraph (A); and 14 ‘‘(ii) an analysis of whether additional 15 resources would help the Secretary meet 16 the requirements applicable to the projects 17 under this section.’’; 18 (4) in subsection (d)— 19 (A) in paragraph (8)— 20 (i) in the heading, by striking 21 ‘‘NEPA’’ and inserting ‘‘ENVIRON- 22 MENTAL’’; 23 (ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to 24 read as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1812 IH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as inconsistent 1 with paragraph (7), and except as provided in 2 subparagraph (D), to the maximum extent 3 practicable and consistent with Federal law, all 4 Federal authorizations and reviews for a project 5 shall rely on a single environmental document 6 for each type of environmental document pre- 7 pared under the National Environmental Policy 8 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) under the 9 leadership of the lead agency.’’; and 10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION.—The lead agency may 13 waive the application of subparagraph (A) with 14 respect to a project if— 15 ‘‘(i) the project sponsor requests that 16 agencies issue separate environmental doc- 17 uments; 18 ‘‘(ii) the obligations of a cooperating 19 agency or participating agency under the 20 National Environmental Policy Act of 21 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) have al- 22 ready been satisfied with respect to such 23 project; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1812 IH ‘‘(iii) the lead agency determines that 1 such application would not facilitate com- 2 pletion of the environmental review process 3 for such project within the timeline estab- 4 lished under paragraph (10).’’; 5 (B) by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(10) TIMELY AUTHORIZATIONS FOR MAJOR 7 PROJECTS.— 8 ‘‘(A) DEADLINE.—Except as provided in 9 subparagraph (C), notwithstanding any other 10 provision of law, all authorization decisions nec- 11 essary for the construction of a major project 12 shall be completed by not later than 90 days 13 after the date of the issuance of a record of de- 14 cision for the major project. 15 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED LEVEL OF DETAIL.—The 16 final environmental impact statement for a 17 major project shall include an adequate level of 18 detail to inform decisions necessary for the role 19 of the participating agencies in the environ- 20 mental review process. 21 ‘‘(C) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—Not 22 later than 180 days after the date of enactment 23 of the One Federal Decision Act of 2021, the 24 Secretary shall establish procedures for a lead 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1812 IH agency to extend a deadline under subpara- 1 graph (A) in cases in which— 2 ‘‘(i) Federal law prohibits the lead 3 agency or another agency from issuing an 4 approval or permit within the period de- 5 scribed in such subparagraph; 6 ‘‘(ii) such an extension is requested by 7 the project sponsor; or 8 ‘‘(iii) such extension would facilitate 9 the completion of the environmental review 10 and authorization process of the major 11 project.’’; 12 (5) in subsection (g)— 13 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)— 14 (i) by amending clause (ii)(IV) to read 15 as follows: 16 ‘‘(IV) the overall time required 17 by an agency to conduct an environ- 18 mental review and make decisions 19 under applicable Federal law relating 20 to a project (including the issuance or 21 denial of a permit or license) and the 22 cost of the project; and’’; and 23 (ii) by adding at the end the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1812 IH ‘‘(iii) MAJOR PROJECT SCHEDULE.— 1 To the maximum extent practicable and 2 consistent with applicable Federal law, in 3 the case of a major project, the lead agen- 4 cy shall develop, in consultation with the 5 project sponsor, a schedule for the major 6 project that is consistent with an agency 7 average of not more than 2 years for the 8 completion of the environmental review 9 process for major projects. The time period 10 measured, as applicable— 11 ‘‘(I) in the case of a project that 12 requires an environmental impact 13 statement, begins on the date of pub- 14 lication of a notice of intent to pre- 15 pare an environmental impact state- 16 ment and ends on the date of publica- 17 tion of a record of decision; or 18 ‘‘(II) in the case of a project 19 which does not require an environ- 20 mental impact statement, begins on 21 the date of that the decision is made 22 to prepare an environmental assess- 23 ment and ends on the date of issuance 24 of a finding of no significant impact.’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1812 IH (B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 1 subparagraph (F); 2 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 3 the following: 4 ‘‘(E) FAILURE TO MEET DEADLINE.—If a 5 Federal cooperating agency fails to meet a 6 deadline established under subparagraph 7 (D)(ii)(I)— 8 ‘‘(i) not later than 30 days after the 9 date such agency failed to meet such dead- 10 line, such agency shall submit to the Sec- 11 retary a report on why the deadline was 12 not met; and 13 ‘‘(ii) not later than 30 days after the 14 date on which a report is submitted under 15 clause (i), the Secretary shall— 16 ‘‘(I) transmit to the Committee 17 on Environment and Public Works of 18 the Senate and the Committee on 19 Transportation and Infrastructure of 20 the House of Representatives a copy 21 of such report; and 22 ‘‘(II) make such report available 23 to the public on the internet.’’; and 24 (6) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1812 IH ‘‘(p) ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING FOR MAJOR 1 PROJECTS.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 3 after the date of enactment of the One Federal Deci- 4 sion Act of 2021, the Secretary shall establish a per- 5 formance accountability system to track each major 6 project. 7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The performance ac- 8 countability system required under paragraph (1) 9 shall, for each major project, track— 10 ‘‘(A) the environmental review process for 11 such project, including the project schedule re- 12 quired by subsection (g)(1)(B)(iii); 13 ‘‘(B) whether the lead agency, cooperating 14 agencies, and participating agencies are meet- 15 ing such schedule; and 16 ‘‘(C) the time taken to complete the envi- 17 ronmental review process. 18 ‘‘(q) DEVELOPMENT OF CATEGORICAL EXCLU- 19 SIONS.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 21 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 22 Secretary shall— 23 ‘‘(A) in consultation with the agencies de- 24 scribed in paragraph (2), identify the categor- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1812 IH ical exclusions established by the Federal High- 1 way Administration that would accelerate deliv- 2 ery of a project if such categorical exclusions 3 were available to such agencies; 4 ‘‘(B) collect existing documentation and 5 substantiating information on the categorical 6 exclusions described in subparagraph (A); and 7 ‘‘(C) provide to each agency described in 8 paragraph (2) a list of the categorical exclu- 9 sions identified under subparagraph (A) and 10 the documentation and substantiating informa- 11 tion collected under subparagraph (B). 12 ‘‘(2) AGENCIES DESCRIBED.—The following 13 agencies are described in this paragraph— 14 ‘‘(A) The Departments of— 15 ‘‘(i) the Interior; 16 ‘‘(ii) Commerce; 17 ‘‘(iii) Agriculture; 18 ‘‘(iv) Energy; and 19 ‘‘(v) Defense, including the United 20 States Army Corps of Engineers; and 21 ‘‘(B) any other Federal agency that has 22 participated in an environmental review process 23 for a major project, as determined by the Sec- 24 retary. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1812 IH ‘‘(3) ADOPTION OF CATEGORICAL EXCLU- 1 SIONS.— 2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 3 after the date on which the Secretary provides 4 the list under paragraph (1)(C), an agency de- 5 scribed in paragraph (2) shall publish a notice 6 of proposed rulemaking to propose any categor- 7 ical exclusions from the list applicable to the 8 agency, subject to the condition that the cat- 9 egorical exclusion identified under paragraph 10 (1)(A) meets the criteria for a categorical exclu- 11 sion under section 102 of the National Environ- 12 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 13 seq.). 14 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In a notice of 15 proposed rulemaking under subparagraph (A), 16 the applicable agency shall solicit comments on 17 whether any of the proposed new categorical ex- 18 clusions meet the criteria for a categorical ex- 19 clusion under section 1508.4 of title 40, Code 20 of Federa [Text truncated for display. 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