S. 769 — Introduced in Senate

II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 769 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 18, 2015 Mr. Blunt (for himself, Mr. Manchin, and Mr. Thune) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To streamline the permit process for rail and transit infrastructure. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Track, Railroad, and Infrastructure Network Act. 2. Preservation of public lands (a) Highways Section 138 of title 23, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following: (4) Mitigation The Secretary may make a finding of de minimis impact under this subsection as a result of mitigation undertaken pursuant to a review of a program or project pursuant to section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f). ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (c) Rail and transit Improvements to, or the maintenance, rehabilitation, or operation of, railroad or rail transit lines or elements of such lines, with the exception of stations, that are in use or were historically used for the transportation of goods or passengers, shall not be considered a use of an historic site under subsection (a), regardless of whether the railroad or rail transit line or element of such line is listed on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic Places. . (b) Transportation projects Section 303 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (c), by striking subsection (d) and inserting subsections (d) and (e); (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following: (4) Mitigation The Secretary may make a finding of de minimis impact under this subsection as a result of mitigation undertaken pursuant to a review of a program or project pursuant to section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f). ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (e) Rail and transit Improvements to, or the maintenance, rehabilitation, or operation of, railroad or rail transit lines or elements of such lines, with the exception of stations, that are in use or were historically used for the transportation of goods or passengers, shall not be considered a use of an historic site under subsection (c), regardless of whether the railroad or rail transit line or element of such line is listed on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic Places. . 3. Efficient environmental reviews (a) In general Section 304 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in the section heading, by striking for multimodal projects and inserting and increasing the efficiency of environmental reviews; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (e) Efficient environmental reviews Any rail project that requires the approval of the Secretary of Transportation shall be subject to the project development procedures set forth in section 139 of title 23. (f) Applicability of NEPA decisions Any environmental impact statement, categorical exclusion, or other decision relating to a transportation project that is issued by an agency of the Department of Transportation under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be available to any rail project to which such statement, exclusion, or decision reasonably applies. .