Federal Permitting Reform and Jobs Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3671 To amend the FAST Act to improve the Federal permitting process, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 10, 2019 Mr. ARMSTRONG (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, and Mr. PETERSON) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Nat- ural Resources A BILL To amend the FAST Act to improve the Federal permitting process, 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 ‘‘Federal Permitting 4 Reform and Jobs Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 41001 of the FAST 8 Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3671 IH (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘means’’ 1 and all that follows through the period at the 2 end and inserting ‘‘has the meaning given the 3 term in section 1508.5 of title 40, Code of Fed- 4 eral Regulations (as in effect on the date of en- 5 actment of the Federal Permitting Reform and 6 Jobs Act).’’; 7 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘Federal 8 Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Steer- 9 ing Council’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal Permitting 10 Improvement Steering Council’’; and 11 (C) in paragraph (6)— 12 (i) in subparagraph (A), in the matter 13 preceding clause (i), by inserting 14 ‘‘projects’’ after ‘‘infrastructure’’; and 15 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 16 inserting the following: 17 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT.—Section 553 of title 5, 18 United States Code, shall not apply to a major- 19 ity vote described in subparagraph (A).’’. 20 (b) FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT COUN- 21 CIL.—Section 41002 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m– 22 1) is amended— 23 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(A)(i)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3671 IH (A) by striking ‘‘Each’’ and inserting the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Each’’; and 3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(II) REDESIGNATION.—If an in- 5 dividual listed in subparagraph (B) 6 designates a different member to 7 serve on the Council than the member 8 designated under subclause (I), the 9 individual shall notify the Executive 10 Director of the designation by not 11 later than 30 days after the date on 12 which the designation is made.’’; 13 (2) in subsection (c)— 14 (A) in paragraph (2)— 15 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 16 (I) in the matter preceding clause 17 (i), by striking ‘‘later than’’ and all 18 that follows through ‘‘practices for’’ 19 and inserting ‘‘less frequently than 20 annually, the Council shall issue rec- 21 ommendations on the best practices 22 for improving the Federal permitting 23 process for covered projects, which 24 may include’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3671 IH (II) in clause (vii), by striking 1 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 2 (III) by redesignating clause 3 (viii) as clause (ix); and 4 (IV) by inserting after clause 5 (vii) the following: 6 ‘‘(viii) in coordination with the Execu- 7 tive Director, improving preliminary en- 8 gagement with project sponsors in devel- 9 oping coordinated project plans; and’’; 10 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 11 (C) as subparagraph (D); and 12 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 13 (B) the following: 14 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION.—The Executive Di- 15 rector shall notify the Committees on Homeland 16 Security and Governmental Affairs and Envi- 17 ronment and Public Works of the Senate and 18 the Committees on Energy and Commerce and 19 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 20 of Representatives if any agency fails to reason- 21 ably implement the recommended best prac- 22 tices.’’; and 23 (B) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting ‘‘, 24 including agency compliance with interim and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3671 IH final completion dates described in coordinated 1 project plans’’ after ‘‘authorizations’’; and 2 (3) in subsection (d)— 3 (A) by striking ‘‘The Director’’ and insert- 4 ing the following: 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director’’; and 6 (B) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—The designated 8 agency under paragraph (1) shall not— 9 ‘‘(A) participate in policy decisions or sub- 10 stantive management of the Council; or 11 ‘‘(B) require the Executive Director or the 12 Council to comply with agency policies in car- 13 rying out the duties of the Executive Director 14 or the Council, as applicable.’’. 15 (c) PERMITTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.—Section 16 41003 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m–2) is amend- 17 ed— 18 (1) in subsection (a)(3)(A), in the matter pre- 19 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and the Executive 20 Director’’ after ‘‘as applicable,’’; 21 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 22 (A) by striking ‘‘14 days’’ each place it ap- 23 pears and inserting ‘‘14 business days’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3671 IH (B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by inserting 1 ‘‘completed’’ before ‘‘notice’’; 2 (3) in subsection (c)— 3 (A) in paragraph (1)— 4 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 5 ‘‘in coordination with the Executive Direc- 6 tor and’’ after ‘‘as applicable,’’; and 7 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding at 8 the end the following: 9 ‘‘(v) A checklist— 10 ‘‘(I) to help project sponsors 11 identify potential natural, cultural, 12 and historic resources in the area of 13 the project; and 14 ‘‘(II) the purposes of which are— 15 ‘‘(aa) to identify agencies 16 and organizations that can pro- 17 vide information about natural, 18 cultural, and historic resources; 19 and 20 ‘‘(bb) to develop the infor- 21 mation needed to determine the 22 range of alternatives. 23 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a tiered project 24 review, a description of the relationship be- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3671 IH tween any applicable programmatic anal- 1 ysis and the planned tiered environmental 2 review.’’; and 3 (B) in paragraph (2)— 4 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 5 (I) by striking ‘‘As part of the 6 coordination project plan’’ and insert- 7 ing the following: 8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In accordance 9 with clause (ii) and as part of the coordi- 10 nated project plan’’; and 11 (II) by adding at the end the fol- 12 lowing: 13 ‘‘(ii) GOAL.— 14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The permit- 15 ting timetable established under 16 clause (i) shall provide for the comple- 17 tion of the permitting process within 2 18 years. 19 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—If the facili- 20 tating agency or lead agency, as appli- 21 cable, determines that the permitting 22 process cannot be completed within 2 23 years, the coordinated project plan 24 under paragraph (1) shall include— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3671 IH ‘‘(aa) the specific reasons 1 why the facilitating agency or 2 lead agency, as applicable, antici- 3 pates that the permitting process 4 will take longer than 2 years; and 5 ‘‘(bb) the specific efforts 6 that the facilitating agency or 7 lead agency, as applicable, each 8 coordinating and participating 9 agency, the project sponsor, and 10 any State in which the project is 11 located will take to reduce the 12 time needed to complete the per- 13 mitting process.’’; 14 (ii) in subparagraph (D)(i)— 15 (I) by redesignating subclauses 16 (I) through (III) as subclauses (II) 17 through (IV), respectively; 18 (II) by inserting before subclause 19 (II) (as so redesignated) the following: 20 ‘‘(I) the facilitating or lead agen- 21 cy, as applicable, consults with the 22 Executive Director regarding the po- 23 tential modification not less than 15 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3671 IH days before engaging in the consulta- 1 tion under subclause (II);’’; and 2 (III) in subclause (II) (as so re- 3 designated), by inserting ‘‘, the Exec- 4 utive Director,’’ after ‘‘participating 5 agencies’’; and 6 (iii) in subparagraph (F)— 7 (I) in clause (i)— 8 (aa) by inserting ‘‘interim 9 and final’’ before ‘‘completion 10 dates’’; and 11 (bb) by inserting ‘‘interim or 12 final’’ before ‘‘completion date’’; 13 and 14 (II) in clause (ii)— 15 (aa) in the matter preceding 16 subclause (I), by striking ‘‘a com- 17 pletion date for agency action on 18 a covered project or is at signifi- 19 cant risk of failing to conform 20 with’’ and inserting ‘‘an interim 21 or final completion date for agen- 22 cy action on a covered project or 23 reasonably believes the agency 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3671 IH will fail to conform with a com- 1 pletion date 30 days before’’; and 2 (bb) in subclause (I), by 3 striking ‘‘significantly risking 4 failing to conform’’ and inserting 5 ‘‘reasonably believing the agency 6 will fail to conform’’; 7 (4) in subsection (d)— 8 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 9 through (3) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), 10 respectively, and indenting appropriately; and 11 (B) by striking the matter preceding sub- 12 paragraph (A) (as so redesignated) and insert- 13 ing the following: 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The facilitating or lead 15 agency, as applicable, shall provide an expeditious 16 process for potential or current project sponsors to 17 confer with each potential and identified cooperating 18 and participating agency involved. 19 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Not later 20 than 60 days after the date on which the potential 21 or current project sponsor submits a request under 22 this subsection, each agency that received such a re- 23 quest shall provide to the project sponsor informa- 24 tion concerning—’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3671 IH (5) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(f) FACILITATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW 3 AND AUTHORIZATION PROCESS OF ADDITIONAL 4 PROJECTS.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a project 6 that is not a covered project, on the request of an 7 individual described in section 41002(b)(2)(B) or the 8 project sponsor, the Executive Director may work 9 with the lead agency and any cooperating or partici- 10 pating agency to facilitate the environmental review 11 and authorization process in accordance with this 12 subsection, including by— 13 ‘‘(A) mediating and resolving disputes; 14 ‘‘(B) promoting early coordination among 15 the agencies; and 16 ‘‘(C) taking such actions as may be estab- 17 lished pursuant to paragraph (2). 18 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—The Ex- 19 ecutive Director, in consultation with the Director of 20 the Office of Management and Budget and the Chair 21 of the Council on Environmental Quality, may estab- 22 lish policies and procedures as appropriate to carry 23 out the facilitation under paragraph (1). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3671 IH ‘‘(3) COOPERATION REQUIRED.—If the Execu- 1 tive Director is facilitating the environmental review 2 and authorization process under paragraph (1), the 3 lead agency and any cooperating or participating 4 agency shall cooperate with the Executive Director 5 to the maximum extent practicable. 6 ‘‘(4) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Facilitation of a 7 project by the Executive Director under paragraph 8 (1) shall not subject the project to any provisions 9 under this title, other than as provided in this sub- 10 section.’’. 11 (d) COORDINATION OF REQUIRED REVIEWS.—Sec- 12 tion 41005(b) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m–4(b)) 13 is amended— 14 (1) by striking ‘‘(1) STATE ENVIRONMENTAL 15 DOCUMENTS; SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS.—’’; 16 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 17 (E) as paragraphs (1) through (5), respectively, and 18 indenting appropriately; 19 (3) in paragraph (1) (as so redesignated), by 20 redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as subparagraphs 21 (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting appro- 22 priately; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 3671 IH (4) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), by 1 striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ each place it appears 2 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 3 (5) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated)— 4 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 5 striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and inserting 6 ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 7 (B) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 8 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and 9 indenting appropriately; 10 (6) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated)— 11 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 12 striking ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’ and inserting 13 ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; and 14 (B) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 15 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and 16 indenting appropriately; and 17 (7) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated)— 18 (A) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and 19 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 20 (B) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’ and 21 inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’. 22 (e) LITIGATION, JUDICIAL REVIEW, AND SAVINGS 23 PROVISION.—Section 41007 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 24 4370m–6) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3671.IH H3671 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 14 •HR 3671 IH (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 1 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 2 (i) by striking ‘‘the action’’ and in- 3 serting ‘‘the claim’’; and 4 (ii) by striking ‘‘of the final record of 5 decision or approval or denial of a permit’’ 6 and inserting ‘‘of notice of final agency ac- 7 tion on the authorization’’; and 8 (B) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking 9 ‘‘the action’’ and inserting ‘‘the claim’’; and 10 (2) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding [Text truncated for display. 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