,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #deia ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #af1 #bjbj,mr4 ,lee introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi to reform agency process requirements1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,nepa ,agency ,process ,reform ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,agency process reforms under ,,nepa 7a7 ,in general ,title ,i of the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating section #aje 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcce7 as section #ajf2 and 7#b7 by inserting after section #ajd 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dccd7 the following3 #aje4 ,agency process reforms 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,environmental assessment ,the term environmental assessment has the meaning given the term in section #aejh4i of title #dj1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or a successor regulation74 7#b7 ,environmental impact statement ,the term environmental impact statement means a detailed statement required under section #ajb7b77;,c74 7#c7 ,federal agency ,the term ,federal agency includes a ,state that has assumed responsibility under section #cbg of title #bc1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#d7 ,head of a ,federal agency ,the term head of a ,federal agency includes the governor or head of an applicable ,state agency of a ,state that has assumed responsibility under section #cbg of title #bc1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#e7 ,,nepa process 7,a7 ,in general ,the term ,,nepa process means the entirety of every process1 analysis1 or other measure1 including an environmental impact statement1 required to be carried out by a ,federal agency under this title before the agency undertakes a proposed action4 7,b7 ,period ,for purposes of subparagraph 7,a71 the ,,nepa process-- 7i7 begins on the date on which the head of a ,federal agency receives an application for a proposed action from a project sponsor2 and 7ii7 ends on the date on which the ,federal agency issues1 with respect to the proposed action-- 7,i7 a record of decision1 including1 if necessary1 a revised record of decision2 7,,ii7 a finding of no significant impact2 or 7,,iii7 a categorical exclusion under this title4 7#f7 ,project sponsor ,the term project sponsor means a ,federal agency or other entity1 including a private or public-private entity1 that seeks approval of a proposed action4 7b7 ,prohibitions ,in carrying out the ,,nepa process1 the head of a ,federal agency may not-- 7#a7 consider whether a proposed action or an alternative to the proposed action considered by the head of the ,federal agency1 including the design1 environmental impact1 mitigation measures1 or adaptation measures of the proposed action or alternative to the proposed action1 has an effect on climate change2 7#b7 with respect to a proposed action or an alternative to the proposed action considered by the head of the ,federal agency1 consider the effects of the emission of greenhouse gases on climate change2 7#c7 consider an alternative to the proposed action if the proposed action is not technically or economically feasible to the project sponsor2 or 7#d7 consider an alternative to the proposed action that is not within the jurisdiction of the ,federal agency4 7c7 ,environmental documents 7#a7 ,,eis required ,in carrying out the ,,nepa process for a proposed action that requires the preparation of an environmental impact statement1 the head of a ,federal agency shall produce for the proposed action not more than #a-- 7,a7 environmental impact statement2 7,b7 if necessary1 environmental assessment2 and 7,c7 record of decision4 7#b7 ,,eis not required ,in carrying out the ,,nepa process for a proposed action that does not require the preparation of an environmental impact statement1 the head of a ,federal agency shall produce for the proposed action not more than #a-- 7,a7 environmental assessment2 or 7,b7 finding of no significant impact4 7d7 ,categorical exclusions 7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject to paragraph 7#b71 the head of a ,federal agency may1 without further approval1 use a categorical exclusion under this title that has been approved by-- 7,a7 7i7 another ,federal agency2 and 7ii7 the ,council on ,environmental ,quality2 or 7,b7 an ,act of ,congress4 7#b7 ,requirements ,the head of a ,federal agency may use a categorical exclusion described in paragraph 7#a7 if the head of the ,federal agency-- 7,a7 carefully reviews the description of the proposed action to ensure that it fits within the category of actions described in the categorical exclusion2 and 7,b7 considers the circumstances associated with the proposed action to ensure that there are no extraordinary circumstances that warrant the preparation of an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement4 7#c7 ,extraordinary circumstances ,if the head of a ,federal agency determines that extraordinary circumstances are present with respect to a proposed action1 the head of the ,federal agency shall-- 7,a7 consider whether mitigating circumstances or other conditions are sufficient to avoid significant effects of the proposed action2 and 7,b7 if the head of the ,federal agency determines that those significant effects can be avoided1 apply a categorical exclusion to the proposed action4 7e7 ,reuse of work2 documents prepared by qualified #crd parties2 unexpected circumstances 7#a7 ,in general ,in carrying out the ,,nepa process for a proposed action-- 7,a7 subject to paragraph 7#b71 the head of a ,federal agency shall-- 7i7 use any applicable findings and research from a prior ,,nepa process of any ,federal agency2 and 7ii7 incorporate the findings and research described in clause 7i7 into any applicable analysis under the ,,nepa process2 and 7,b7 a ,federal agency may adopt as an environmental impact statement1 environmental assessment1 or other environmental document to achieve compliance with this title-- 7i7 an environmental document prepared under the law of the applicable ,state if the head of the ,federal agency determines that the environmental laws of the applicable ,state-- 7,i7 provide the same level of environmental analysis as the analysis required under this title2 and 7,,ii7 allow for the opportunity of public comment2 or 7ii7 subject to paragraph 7#c71 an environmental document prepared by a qualified third party chosen by the project sponsor1 at the expense of the project sponsor1 if the head of the ,federal agency-- 7,i7 provides oversight of the preparation of the environmental document by the third party2 and 7,,ii7 independently evaluates the environmental document for the compliance of the environmental document with this title4 7#b7 ,requirement for the reuse of findings and research ,the head of a ,federal agency may reuse the applicable findings and research described in paragraph 7#a77;,a7 if-- 7,a7 7i7 the project for which the head of the ,federal agency is seeking to reuse the findings and research was in close geographic proximity to the proposed action2 and 7ii7 the head of the ,federal agency determines that the conditions under which the applicable findings and research were issued have not substantially changed2 or 7,b7 7i7 the project for which the head of the ,federal agency is seeking to reuse the findings and research was not in close geographic proximity to the proposed action2 and 7ii7 the head of the ,federal agency determines that the proposed action has similar issues or decisions as the project4 7#c7 ,requirements for creation of environmental document by qualified #crd parties 7,a7 ,in general ,a qualified third party may prepare an environmental document intended to be adopted by a ,federal agency as the environmental impact statement1 environmental assessment1 or other environmental document for a proposed action under paragraph 7#a77;,b77ii7 if-- 7i7 the project sponsor submits a written request to the head of the applicable ,federal agency that the head of the ,federal agency approve the qualified third party to create the document intended to be adopted by a ,federal agency as the environmental impact statement1 environmental assessment1 or other environmental document2 and 7ii7 the head of the ,federal agency determines that-- 7,i7 the third party is qualified to prepare the document2 and 7,,ii7 the third party has no financial or other interest in the outcome of the proposed action4 7,b7 ,deadline ,the head of a ,federal agency that receives a written request under subparagraph 7,a77i7 shall issue a written decision approving or denying the request not later than #cj days after the date on which the written request is received4 7,c7 ,no prior work ,the head of a ,federal agency may not adopt an environmental document under paragraph 7#a77;,b77ii7 if the qualified third party began preparing the document prior to the date on which the head of the ,federal agency issues the written decision under subparagraph 7,b7 approving the request4 7,d7 ,denials ,if the head of a ,federal agency issues a written decision denying the request under subparagraph 7,a77i71 the head of the ,federal agency shall submit to the project sponsor with the written decision the findings that served as the basis of the denial4 7#d7 ,unexpected circumstances ,if1 while carrying out a proposed action after the completion of the ,,nepa process for that proposed action1 a ,federal agency or project sponsor encounters a new or unexpected circumstance or condition that may require the reevaluation of the proposed action under this title1 the head of the ,federal agency with responsibility for carrying out the ,,nepa process for the proposed action shall-- 7,a7 consider whether mitigating the new or unexpected circumstance or condition is sufficient to avoid significant effects that may result from the circumstance or condition2 and 7,b7 if the head of the ,federal agency determines under subparagraph 7,a7 that the significant effects that result from the circumstance or condition can be avoided1 mitigate the circumstance or condition without carrying out the ,,nepa process again4 7f7 ,multi-,agency projects 7#a7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,cooperating agency ,the term cooperating agency means a ,federal agency involved in a proposed action that-- 7i7 is not the lead agency2 and 7ii7 has the jurisdiction or special expertise such that the ,federal agency needs to be consulted-- 7,i7 to use a categorical exclusion2 or 7,,ii7 to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement1 as applicable4 7,b7 ,lead agency ,the term lead agency means the ,federal agency selected under paragraph 7#b77;,a74 7#b7 ,agency designation 7,a7 ,lead agency ,in carrying out the ,,nepa process for a proposed action that requires authorization from multiple ,federal agencies1 the heads of the applicable ,federal agencies shall determine the lead agency for the proposed action4 7,b7 ,invitation ,the head of the lead agency may invite any relevant ,state1 local1 or ,tribal agency with ,federal authorization decision responsibility to be a cooperating agency4 7#c7 ,responsibilities of lead agency ,the lead agency for a proposed action shall-- 7,a7 as soon as practicable and in consultation with the cooperating agencies1 determine whether a proposed action requires the preparation of an environmental impact statement2 and 7,b7 if the head of the lead agency determines under subparagraph 7,a7 that an environmental impact statement is necessary-- 7i7 be responsible for coordinating the preparation of an environmental impact statement2 7ii7 provide cooperating agencies with an opportunity to review and contribute to the preparation of the environmental impact statement and environmental assessment1 as applicable1 of the proposed action1 except that the cooperating agency shall limit comments to issues within the special expertise or jurisdiction of the cooperating agency2 and 7iii7 subject to subsection 7b71 as soon as practicable and in consultation with the cooperating agencies1 determine the range of alternatives to be considered for the proposed action4 7#d7 ,environmental documents ,in carrying out the ,,nepa process for a proposed action1 the lead agency shall prepare not more than #a of each type of document described in paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 of subsection 7c71 as applicable-- 7,a7 in consultation with cooperating agencies2 and 7,b7 for all applicable ,federal agencies4 7#e7 ,prohibitions 7,a7 ,in general ,a cooperating agency may not evaluate an alternative to the proposed action that has not been determined to be within the range of alternatives considered under paragraph 7#c77;,b77iii74 7,b7 ,omission ,if a cooperating agency submits to the lead agency an evaluation of an alternative that does not meet the requirements of subsection 7b71 the lead agency shall omit the alternative from the environmental impact statement4 7g7 ,reports 7#a7 ,,nepa data 7,a7 ,in general ,the head of each ,federal agency that carries out the ,,nepa process shall carry out a process to track1 and annually submit to ,congress a report containing1 the information described in subparagraph 7,b74 7,b7 ,information described ,the information referred to in subparagraph 7,a7 is1 with respect to the ,federal agency issuing the report under that subparagraph-- 7i7 the number of proposed actions for which a categorical exclusion was issued during the reporting period2 7ii7 the length of time the ,federal agency took to issue the categorical exclusions described in clause 7i72 7iii7 the number of proposed actions pending on the date on which the report is submitted for which the issuance of a categorical exclusion is pending2 7iv7 the number of proposed actions for which an environmental assessment was issued during the reporting period2 7v7 the length of time the ,federal agency took to complete each environmental assessment described in clause 7iv72 7vi7 the number of proposed actions pending on the date on which the report is submitted for which an environmental assessment is being drafted2 7vii7 the number of proposed actions for which an environmental impact statement was issued during the reporting period2 7viii7 the length of time the ,federal agency took to complete each environmental impact statement described in clause 7vii72 and 7ix7 the number of proposed actions pending on the date on which the report is submitted for which an environmental impact statement is being drafted4 7#b7 ,,nepa costs 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this subsection1 the ,chair of the ,council on ,environmental ,quality and the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget shall jointly develop a methodology to assess the comprehensive costs of the ,,nepa process4 7,b7 ,requirements ,the head of each ,federal agency that carries out the ,,nepa process shall-- 7i7 adopt the methodology developed under subparagraph 7,a72 and 7ii7 use the methodology developed under subparagraph 7,a7 to annually submit to ,congress a report describing-- 7,i7 the comprehensive cost of the ,,nepa process for each proposed action that was carried out within the reporting period2 and 7,,ii7 for a proposed action for which the head of the ,federal agency is still completing the ,,nepa process at the time the report is submitted-- 7aa7 the amount of money expended to date to carry out the ,,nepa process for the proposed action2 and 7bb7 an estimate of the remaining costs before the ,,nepa process for the proposed action is complete4 4 7b7 ,prohibition on guidance ,no ,federal agency1 including the ,council on ,environmental ,quality1 may reissue the final guidance of the ,council on ,environmental ,quality entitled ,final ,guidance for ,federal ,departments and ,agencies on ,consideration of ,greenhouse ,gas ,emissions and the ,effects of ,climate ,change in ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act ,reviews 7#ha ,fed4 ,reg4 #eahff 7,august #e1 #bjaf77 or substantially similar guidance unless authorized by an ,act of ,congress4