,i #aahth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dfba ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ac1 #bjbc,mr4 ,johnson of ,south ,dakota 7for himself and ,mr4 ,stanton7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure ,a ,,bill ,to improve the environmental review process for highway projects through the use of interactive1 digital1 cloud-based platforms1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,interactive ,federal ,review ,act4 #b4 ,digital platforms for ,,nepa reviews for highway projects 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,covered project ,the term covered project means a highway project that received a grant under any of the following3 7,a7 ,the nationally significant freight and highway projects program under section #aag of title #bc1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly known as the ,infrastructure for ,rebuilding ,america 7,,infra7 grant program74 7,b7 ,the national infrastructure project assistance program under section #fgja of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly known as the ,mega grant program74 7,c7 ,the local and regional project assistance program under section #fgjb of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly known as the ,rebuilding ,american ,infrastructure with ,sustainability and ,equity 7,,raise7 grant program74 7,d7 ,the program for national infrastructure investments 7commonly known as the ,rebuilding ,american ,infrastructure with ,sustainability and ,equity 7,,raise7 grant program and formerly known as the ,better ,utilizing ,investments to ,leverage ,development 7,,build7 grant program74 7#b7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,transportation4 7b7 ,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act are-- 7#a7 to expedite the environmental review process at ,federal agencies and for the general public2 and 7#b7 to facilitate interactive public stakeholder engagement and understanding of environmental impacts of projects under the ,federal-aid highway system4 7c7 ,encouraged use of digital platforms 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall encourage recipients of ,federal funds from the ,secretary to utilize interactive1 digital1 cloud-based platforms when carrying out environmental reviews under the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcba et seq47 by publishing the guidance described in paragraph 7#b74 7#b7 ,guidance ,not later than #ij days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall publish technology-neutral best practice guidance to encourage sponsors of projects that receive ,federal funds from the ,secretary to use an interactive1 digital1 cloud-based platform in carrying out the environmental impact analysis and community engagement processes required under the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcba et seq474 7d7 ,use of digital platforms in covered projects 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall select not less than #aj covered projects to demonstrate the use of interactive1 digital1 cloud-based platforms in carrying out the environmental impact analysis and community engagement processes required under that ,act1 which may include projects in ,states participating in the surface transportation project delivery program under section #cbg of title #bc1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,additional projects ,in addition to the covered projects selected by the ,secretary under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall include additional projects that utilize interactive1 digital1 cloud-based platforms in the report under subsection 7e71 on request of the sponsors of those projects4 7#c7 ,priority ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 in selecting covered projects under a program described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,d7 of subsection 7a77#a71 the ,secretary shall give priority to applications for projects that demonstrate a plan to implement an interactive1 cloud-based platform to carry out the environmental impact analysis and community engagement processes required under the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcba et seq474 7e7 ,reports 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,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 on the efficacy of using interactive1 cloud-based platforms in carrying out environmental impact analysis and community engagement requirements under the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcba et seq471 including-- 7,a7 metrics that describe estimates of achieved efficiencies1 community engagement measures1 and efficiencies enjoyed across ,federal agencies2 and 7,b7 examples of digital workflows enabled4 7#b7 ,publication of examples ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall publish on the website of the ,department of ,transportation1 and submit to the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure of the ,house of ,representatives1 not less than #e examples of an environmental impact statement1 environmental assessment1 or categorical exclusion document developed using an interactive1 digital1 cloud-based platform4 7f7 ,savings provision ,nothing in this section affects or interferes with the authorities or responsibilities assumed by a ,state under section #cbg of title #bc1 ,united ,states ,code4