,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #cda #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dejc ,report ,no4 #aai-cib ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ag1 #bjbe,mr4 ,johnson of ,south ,dakota 7for himself and ,mr4 ,peters7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources ,december #d1 #bjbe;,additional sponsors3 ,mr4 ,crank1 ,mr4 ,magaziner1 ,mr4 ,evans of ,colorado1 ,mr4 ,gray1 ,mr4 ,calvert1 ,ms4 ,davids of ,kansas1 ,mrs4 ,kiggans of ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,auchincloss1 ,mr4 ,hurd of ,colorado1 and ,mr4 ,vindman ,december #d1 #bjbe,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,july #ag1 #bjbe ,a ,,bill ,to improve environmental reviews and authorizations through the use of interactive1 digital1 and cloud-based platforms1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the e,permit ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 coordination between ,federal1 ,state1 and local agencies and project sponsors is critical to ensuring the timely and effective completion of environmental reviews and authorizations1 including through the sharing of relevant information1 alignment of environmental review timelines1 and integration of authorizations1 while maintaining compliance with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements2 7#b7 digital strategies for environmental reviews have proven to make the community engagement process more accessible1 available1 and transparent to all stakeholders1 especially the communities in which new projects are built2 7#c7 establishing robust data architectures will ensure data integrity1 improve transparency1 reduce costs1 and enhance the ability of the ,federal ,government to serve the public2 7#d7 ,federal agency use of modern software that can track the full lifecycle of environmental reviews and authorizations is critical for-- 7,a7 effective project management and process improvement2 7,b7 enabling workflow automation1 transparency1 and tracking2 and 7,c7 simplifying reporting requirements2 7#e7 modern business process management systems that track ,federal agency workflows and produce vendor neutral1 interoperable event1 task1 and other milestone data that can be shared with other ,federal agency systems can reduce costs and improve performance for ,federal agencies responsible for environmental reviews and authorizations2 7#f7 case and project management systems-- 7,a7 are essential tools for managing the tasks and activities associated with environmental reviews and authorizations2 and 7,b7 provide ,federal agencies more data and insight into such environmental reviews and authorizations2 7#g7 well-defined business rules can enable process automation that allows ,federal agencies responsible for environmental reviews or authorizations to expedite routine tasks and workflows1 and improve transparency and accuracy of project timeline estimates1 which in turn can help project sponsors better plan for application preparation and project delivery milestones2 7#h7 taking a standardized1 digital-first perspective to environmental reviews and authorizations at ,federal agencies responsible for environmental reviews or authorizations will improve document quality1 lead to more concise reports1 enable the reuse and accessibility of the data underpinning ,federal agency analyses and decisions1 and enable objective1 technology-assisted evaluation of environmental impacts1 analysis1 and documentation1 and accelerate future environmental reviews and authorizations2 7#i7 ,federal agencies responsible for environmental reviews or authorizations1 project sponsors1 and the public should have access to up-to-date information on accurate timelines and the status of environmental reviews and authorizations2 and 7#aj7 allowing for seamless information exchange among ,federal agencies and between ,federal agencies and project sponsors will increase predictability and efficiency of environmental review and authorization schedules for project sponsors4 #c4 ,establishment of data standards 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #fj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,chair of the ,council on ,environmental ,quality1 in consultation with the ,federal ,permitting ,improvement ,steering ,council1 the ,chief ,information ,officers ,council1 the ,office of ,management and ,budget1 and other relevant stakeholders and ,federal agencies1 shall develop1 publish1 and iteratively update data standards for the collection and curation of authorization data by ,federal agencies1 which shall be used to-- 7#a7 assist with environmental reviews and authorizations2 7#b7 organize1 define1 and standardize various concepts1 formats1 and protocols that are included in environmental reviews and authorizations2 and 7#c7 reduce the need for redundant environmental reviews by creating a shared vocabulary and software systems that will support vendor neutrality1 data interoperability1 workflow automation1 and automatic data exchange between ,federal agencies4 7b7 ,inclusions ,the data standards developed1 published1 and iteratively updated under subsection 7a7 shall include the following3 7#a7 ,a standardized taxonomy that allows ,federal agencies to identify and track data types1 relationships1 and values4 7#b7 ,comprehensive categories for data1 such as-- 7,a7 projects2 7,b7 processes2 7,c7 environmental documents2 7,d7 public comments2 7,e7 geospatial information2 7,f7 public engagement events1 as applicable by process or ,federal agency2 7,g7 case events2 and 7,h7 milestones to ensure clarity and uniformity4 #d4 ,development of prototype tools ,the ,chair of the ,council on ,environmental ,quality1 in consultation with the ,administrator of ,general ,services1 the ,federal ,permitting ,improvement ,steering ,council1 the ,chief ,information ,officers ,council1 the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget1 and other relevant stakeholders and ,federal agencies1 shall design1 test1 and build prototype tools for environmental reviews and authorizations that will assist ,federal agencies in implementing the minimum functional requirements described in section #e4 ,the ,chair of the ,council on ,environmental ,quality shall prioritize designing1 testing1 and building tools under this section that-- 7#a7 support authorization case or project management systems that manage tasks1 milestones1 and activities associated with environmental reviews and authorizations1 and provide ,federal agencies more data and insight into such reviews and authorizations2 7#b7 enable-- 7,a7 application submission and tracking portals used by project sponsors1 enabling greater transparency2 and 7,b7 public comment opportunity tracking portals to increase transparency2 7#c7 facilitate automated applications1 environmental reviews4 and authorizations2 7#d7 allow data exchange between ,federal agency systems2 and 7#e7 accelerate complex environmental reviews4 #e4 ,publication of guidance for implementation of data standards and minimum functional requirements 7a7 ,publication ,not later than #abj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,chair of the ,council on ,environmental ,quality shall publish guidance for how each ,federal agency responsible for environmental reviews or authorizations implements-- 7#a7 the data standards published under section #c2 and 7#b7 the following minimum functional requirements3 7,a7 ,application data sharing that enables automated transfer of relevant environmental review and authorization data among ,federal agencies4 7,b7 ,automated project screening to assist frontline staff with reviewing project sponsor provided information for completeness and accuracy and determining if a categorical exclusion or other general authorization applies to an action4 ,automated project screening may not be used by the ,council on ,environmental ,quality or a ,federal agency to unlawfully restrict any activities on ,federal lands4 7,c7 ,public availability of screening criteria and related decision models4 7,d7 ,automated case or project management tools which include a repository of relevant data and metadata that enable advanced tracking1 reporting1 and optimization to aid workflows4 7,e7 ,integrated geographic information system analysis tools which incorporate geospatial data layers and models for each resource analyzed as part of an environmental review or authorization for a given study area4 7,f7 ,document management tools that preserve metadata associated with geospatial analysis1 modeling1 and other analytic processes conducted during an environmental review or authorization1 to support future reviews and enable ,artificial ,intelligence-assisted analysis of past decisions4 7,g7 ,automated comment compilation and analysis tools1 including services for comment categorization and response that handle the lifecycle of comment submission1 analysis1 categorization and response with ,artificial ,intelligence support where appropriate4 7,h7 ,administrative record management tools that maintain both portable document formats and data-rich repositories accessible to both machine and human users4 7,i7 ,common or interoperable ,federal agency services that integrate shared services1 shared applications1 and common user experiences for ,federal agency staff1 project sponsors1 and the public4 7b7 ,inclusions ,the guidance published under this section shall include the following3 7#a7 ,guidelines for cloud-based storage1 data sharing protocols1 and application programming interfaces to enable the ,council on ,environmental ,quality to work with ,federal agencies to use authorization data to aid ,federal agencies in modernizing their environmental reviews and authorizations and for iterative development of the authorization portal4 7#b7 ,provisions that support scalability and adaptability of the minimum requirements to emerging technologies4 #f4 ,implementation of data standards and minimum functional requirements 7a7 ,implementation ,the head of each ,federal agency responsible for environmental reviews or authorizations shall-- 7#a7 not later than #ij days after the date of enactment of this ,act-- 7,a7 compare existing ,federal agency systems for environmental reviews and authorizations under their authority with the data standards published under section #c and the minimum functional requirements described in section #e7;a77#b7 and report findings from such comparison to the ,council on ,environmental ,quality2 7,b7 assess whether existing ,federal agency technological capabilities are consistent with the data standards published under section #c and the minimum functional requirements described in section #e7;a77#b72 7,c7 submit to the ,council on ,environmental ,quality a report that estimates the completion dates for implementing the data standards published under section #c and the minimum functional requirements described in section #e7;a77#b72 and 7,d7 submit to the ,council on ,environmental ,quality1 in consultation with the ,council on ,environmental ,quality1 an implementation plan that-- 7i7 describes how the ,federal agency will implement the data standards published under section #c and the minimum functional requirements described in section #e7;a77#b72 and 7ii7 describes how1 to the extent the ,federal agency determines necessary to meet relevant statutory requirements1 the ,federal agency will adopt or implement the prototype tools tested1 designed1 and built under section #d2 and 7#b7 not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 begin implementing the data standards published under section #c and the minimum functional requirements described in section #e7;a77#b74 7b7 ,report ,not less frequently than twice each year1 the ,chief ,information ,officer of each ,federal agency1 in consultation with the ,chief ,environmental ,review and ,permitting ,officer of each ,federal agency1 shall submit to the ,council on ,environmental ,quality and the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget a report on the progress of the ,federal agency towards meeting the requirements of subsection 7a74 #g4 ,unified interagency data system 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,unified interagency data system ,to the maximum extent practicable1 the ,chair of the ,council of ,environmental ,quality and the head of each ,federal agency responsible for environmental reviews or authorizations shall iteratively develop and maintain a unified interagency data system consisting of interconnected ,federal agency systems and shared services for environmental reviews and authorizations4 7#b7 ,authorization portal 7,a7 ,in general ,the shared services developed and maintained under paragraph 7#a7 shall include a common interactive1 digital1 cloud-based authorization portal1 which shall-- 7i7 be designed in a manner consistent with-- 7,i7 the recommendations of the ,council on ,environmental ,quality included in the study submitted pursuant to section #aaj of the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dccf;d7 titled ,council on ,environmental ,quality ,report to ,congress on the ,potential for ,online and ,digital ,technologies to ,address ,delays in ,reviews and ,improve ,public ,accessibility and ,transparency under #db ,u4,s4,c4 #dccb7b77;,c72 and 7,,ii7 the minimum functional requirements described in section #e7;a77#b72 7ii7 serve as a platform for tracking and displaying real-time data on environmental reviews and authorizations made available through application programming interfaces or other reporting mechanisms from ,federal agency systems that are compliant with the data standards and data architecture described in this ,act2 7iii7 be supported by a decentralized1 cross-network digital infrastructure software that ensures vendor neutrality and interoperability of data and models across ,federal agencies2 7iv7 include a mechanism for the dissemination of relevant information 7such as a notice of intent for public comment1 public meetings1 project statuses1 or a notice of intent to begin an environmental review7 to local communities1 as applicable2 7v7 allow a project sponsor to submit all necessary documentation for environmental reviews and authorizations in one unified and secure portal2 7vi7 support interactive1 digital1 and cloud-based tools enabling applicants to edit documents and collaborate with relevant ,federal agencies in real time2 7vii7 support visual features1 including video1 animation1 geographic information system displays1 interactive maps1 and three-dimensional renderings2 7viii7 provide for the exchange of information to and from ,federal agency data systems via an application programming interface or another reporting mechanisms2 7ix7 allow for the submission of geospatial data associated with project location1 footprint1 and impact2 7x7 support automatic documentation of submission and process timelines2 and 7xi7 allow the following metrics to be tracked over time-- 7,i7 estimates of achieved efficiencies1 such as reductions in the time between receipt of applications and final authorization decisions2 7,,ii7 comparisons of authorization timelines before and after the implementation of this ,act2 7,,iii7 usage of the authorization portal and other statistics from the ,digital ,analytics ,program2 7,,iv7 metrics on the number of public comments received1 responses provided1 and community meetings held2 7,v7 the number of projects subject to litigation based on authorization deficiencies or inefficiencies2 7,,vi7 a list of ,federal agencies that are not yet fully compliant with the data standards published under section #c and the minimum functional requirements described in section #e7;a77#b71 along with their progress toward compliance2 and 7,,vii7 examples or repositories of ,federal agency-developed digital workflows enabled by the implementation of this ,act1 including visualizations of data sharing1 authorizations and decision logic1 and environmental reviews4 7,b7 ,administrative support ,the ,administrator of ,general ,services shall host the authorization portal as a shared service for ,congress1 ,federal agencies1 and the public4 7,c7 ,accessability ,the authorization portal shall be accessible to ,congress1 ,federal agencies1 and the public1 with appropriate safeguards to protect sensitive or classified information and information restricted by user type as appropriate4 7,d7 ,public accessibility ,to the extent practicable and consistent with other law1 the authorization portal shall provide public access to non-sensitive data1 including authorization timelines1 location1 project type1 environmental reviews1 and mitigation measures4 7,e7 ,congressional access and oversight 7i7 ,in general ,the authorization portal shall provide ,congress with direct access to aggregated performance data and other analytics to enable real-time oversight of ,federal agencies4 7ii7 ,artificial intelligence support systems and training materials ,congress shall have access to the data1 fine-tuning procedures1 and prompt configurations specifically created or adapted for ,artificial ,intelligence systems used to support environmental review or authorization activities1 excluding proprietary or general pretraining materials unrelated to such agency-specific customization4 7iii7 ,technical assistance ,the ,council on ,environmental ,quality shall provide to ,congress technical assistance upon request to ensure effective use of the authorization portal and ,artificial ,intelligence systems for oversight purposes4 7#c7 ,cybersecurity and compliance considerations ,the authorization portal shall be designed to promote vendor neutral interoperability1 reduce redundancy1 and ensure compliance and coordination with other laws1 including-- 7,a7 section #eeb;a of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly referred to as the ,privacy ,act of #aigd71 and subchapter ,,ii of chapter #ce of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code2 7,b7 the ,federal ,risk and ,authorization ,management ,program established under section #cfjh of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7,c7 the ,cybersecurity and ,infrastructure ,security ,agency of the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 for a case in which the project is in coordination with a ,federal agency with stringent security requirements4 7b7 ,deadlines 7#a7 ,shared services pilot ,not later than one year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,council on ,environmental ,quality shall oversee piloting of shared services for environmental reviews and authorizations1 including the authorization portal under subsection 7a77#b74 7#b7 ,unified system development and implementation ,to the maximum extent practicable1 not later than ,december #a1 #bjbg1 the ,chair of the ,council on ,environmental ,quality shall develop and implement the unified interagency data system required under subsection 7a77#a74 7c7 ,report ,not less frequently than annually1 the ,chair of the ,council on ,environmental ,quality1 in consultation with the ,federal ,permitting ,improvement ,steering ,council1 the ,chief ,information ,officers ,council1 and other relevant stakeholders and ,federal agencies1 shall submit to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works of the ,senate a report on the ,council on ,environmental ,quality's progress on developing a unified interagency data system under subsection 7a74 #h4 ,authority to enter into contracts ,the ,council on ,environmental ,quality may enter into contracts and other arrangements for analyses1 services1 and products with ,federal agencies1 private organizations1 and businesses1 and make such payments as determined necessary by the ,council on ,environmental ,quality to carry out the provisions of this ,act4 #i4 ,clarifying rulemaking authority ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed to authorize the ,council on ,environmental ,quality or a ,federal agency to impose additional regulatory processes or requirements beyond those expressly stipulated under the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcba et seq47 or any other law4 #aj4 ,savings clause ,to the extent that a data system1 technology1 or tool developed or incorporated into a unified interagency data system under this ,act is not limited by project type1 the data system1 technology1 or tool shall not have its use be restricted by project type4 #aa4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,authorization ,the term authorization means any license1 permit1 approval1 finding1 determination1 or other administrative decision issued by an agency and any interagency consultation that is required or authorized under ,federal law in order to site1 construct1 reconstruct1 or commence operations of a project administered by a ,federal agency4 7#b7 ,authorization data ,the term authorization data means-- 7,a7 any data relevant for a ,federal agency to-- 7i7 determine the effect on the environment of an action for which an authorization is required by the ,federal agency2 and 7ii7 determine whether to issue such authorization2 and 7,b7 any community input or public comment on such determinations4 7#c7 ,data architecture ,the term data architecture means the design and organization of data systems1 including frameworks for data storage1 processing1 and exchange4 7#d7 ,data standards ,the term data standards means agreed-upon specifications for data formats1 structures1 and definitions to ensure consistency and vendor neutral interoperability4 7#e7 ,environmental review ,the term environmental review means any ,federal agency procedures or processes for-- 7,a7 applying a categorical exclusion2 or 7,b7 preparing an environmental assessment1 an environmental impact statement1 or another document required under the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcba et seq474 7#f7 ,federal agency ,the term ,federal agency has the meaning given the term agency in section #eea of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#g7 ,federal ,permitting ,improvement ,steering ,council ,the term ,federal ,permitting ,improvement ,steering ,council has the meaning given the term ,council in section #dajja of the ,,fast ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcgjm74 ,december #d1 #bjbe,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed