[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 877 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 877
To amend the FAST Act to improve the Federal permitting process, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 21, 2023
Mr. Cruz introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Permitting Modernization Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL PERMITTING MODERNIZATION.
(a) Permitting Process Improvement.--Section 41003 of the FAST Act
(42 U.S.C. 4370m-2) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(4)(A), by striking ``or (C)'' and
inserting ``or (D)''; and
(2) in subsection (c)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``subparagraph
(C)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (D)'';
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (G)
as subparagraphs (C) through (H), respectively;
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the
following:
``(B) Notice of intent and scoping.--
``(i) In general.--The permitting timetable
under subparagraph (A) shall require that not
later than 5 business days after the
Coordinated Project Plan is required to be
established under paragraph (1)(A), the lead
agency shall publish in the Federal Register a
notice of intent to prepare the relevant
environmental document required by NEPA.
``(ii) Environmental impact statements.--If
the relevant environmental document required by
NEPA is an environmental impact statement, the
notice of intent required under clause (i) and
the permitting timetable under subparagraph (A)
shall provide for a public scoping period of
not longer than 60 days, which shall begin not
later than 30 days after the date on which the
notice of intent is published.'';
(D) in clause (i)(IV) of subparagraph (E) (as so
redesignated), by striking ``subparagraph (B)'' and
inserting ``subparagraph (C)'';
(E) in clause (i) of subparagraph (G) (as so
redesignated), by striking ``subparagraph (D)'' and
inserting ``subparagraph (E)''; and
(F) in clause (iii) of subparagraph (H) (as so
redesignated), by striking ``subparagraph (F)'' and
inserting ``subparagraph (G)''.
(b) Coordination of Required Reviews.--Section 41005 of the FAST
Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m-4) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections
(g) and (h), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) Final Environmental Impact Statement.--
``(1) Incorporation of comments and publication of final
environmental impact statement.--Subject to paragraph (2)(C),
not later than 30 days after the date on which the public
comment period for a draft environmental impact statement under
subsection (d)(1) ends, the lead agency shall--
``(A) incorporate any necessary changes; and
``(B) approve, adopt, and publish the final
environmental impact statement.
``(2) Preparation by project sponsor.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, an environmental impact statement for
a covered project shall not be considered legally
insufficient solely because the draft environmental
impact statement was prepared by, or under the
supervision of, the project sponsor, if the lead
agency--
``(i) furnishes guidance and participates
in the preparation of the environmental impact
statement;
``(ii) independently evaluates the
environmental impact statement; and
``(iii) approves and adopts the
environmental impact statement.
``(B) Approval and adoption of draft statement.--If
the lead agency approves and adopts a draft
environmental impact statement described in
subparagraph (A), the lead agency shall publish the
draft environmental impact statement for public comment
not later than 30 days after the date on which the lead
agency receives the draft environmental impact
statement.
``(C) Resubmission.--If the lead agency determines
that a draft environmental impact statement described
in subparagraph (A) is legally insufficient or
deficient in a respect that could affect the decision
of a lead agency or a cooperating agency, the lead
agency shall, not later than 30 days after the date on
which the agency receives the draft environmental
impact statement--
``(i) indicate all deficiencies in the
draft environmental impact statement to the
project sponsor for remediation; and
``(ii) allow the project sponsor to
resubmit the draft detailed statement in
accordance with subparagraph (B).
``(D) Savings provision.--The procedures under this
paragraph shall not relieve any agency of--
``(i) any responsibilities for the scope,
objectivity, and content of an environmental
impact statement; or
``(ii) any other responsibility under
NEPA.''.
(c) Preliminary Injunctive Relief in NEPA Actions.--Section 41007
of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m-6) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) as
subsections (d) through (f), respectively;
(2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ``In addition'' and inserting ``Subject to
subsection (c), in addition''; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Preliminary Injunctive Relief in NEPA Actions.--In the case
of an action pertaining to an environmental review conducted under
NEPA, a court shall not issue a temporary restraining order or
preliminary injunction against an agency or a project sponsor in
connection with the review or authorization of a covered project unless
the court, in the discretion of the court, determines that--
``(1) the environmental review has failed substantially and
materially to comply with the requirements of NEPA; and
``(2) the failure described in paragraph (1) cannot be
cured by supplementing the environmental document or other
mitigation and monitoring measures.''.
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