Sec. 1001. Improving State and Federal agency engagement in environmental reviews
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/bill/114/hr/3064/ih/section-1001A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 306 the following: A public entity receiving financial assistance from the Department of Transportation for one or more projects or for a program of projects, may request that the Secretary allow the public entity to provide funds to Federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation, State agencies, and Indian tribes participating in the environmental planning and review process for the project, projects, or program.
The funds may be provided only to support activities that directly and meaningfully contribute to expediting and improving permitting and review processes, including planning, approval and consultation processes for the project, projects, or program. Activities for which funds may be provided under subsection
(a)include transportation planning activities that precede the initiation of the environmental review process, activities directly related to the environmental review process, dedicated staffing, training of agency personnel, information gathering and mapping, and development of programmatic agreements. Requests under subsection
(a)may be approved only for the additional amounts that the Secretary determines are necessary for the Federal agencies, State agencies, or Indian tribes participating in the environmental review process to timely conduct their review. Prior to providing funds approved by the Secretary for dedicated staffing at an affected Federal agency under subsection (a), the affected Federal agency and the requesting public entity shall enter into an agreement that establishes a process to identify projects or priorities to be addressed by the use of the funds. Nothing in this section shall be construed as conflicting with the provisions of section 139(j) of title 23. . The analysis of chapter 3 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 306 the following: 307. Improving State and Federal agency engagement in environmental reviews .