S.Amdt. 3611

SA 3611. Mr. ROUNDS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle B of title III, add the following:

SEC. 320A. EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS OF NATIONAL
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969 FOR DEFENSE
READINESS ACTIVITIES.

(a) In General.--On and after the date that is one year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, title I of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et
seq.) shall not apply to any defense readiness activity and
no environmental document under such title (including an
environmental assessment, a finding of no significant impact,
or an environmental impact statement) shall be prepared with
respect to such an activity.
(b) Procedures.--
(1) Requirement.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense (acting
through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and
Sustainment) and the Secretary of Energy (acting through the
Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security), after
conferring with the Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality for technical guidance, shall jointly--
(A) identify defense readiness activities that are exempt
from title I of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.); and
(B) establish monitoring measures, if practicable and
consistent with mission requirements, to minimize adverse
environmental impacts while ensuring the effectiveness of the
Armed Forces.
(2) Scope.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Energy shall ensure that the categories of defense readiness
activities identified under paragraph (1)(A) encompass the
full spectrum of defense readiness activities.
(c) Notice to Congress.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the
identification of defense readiness activities under
subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) and the establishment
of monitoring measures under subparagraph (B) of such
subsection, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Energy shall submit to the congressional defense committees a
notice of and rationale for the activities identified and the
measures established under such subsection.
(2) Revisions.--Not later than 30 days after revising the
activities identified or the measures established under
subsection (b)(1), the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary
of Energy shall submit to the congressional defense
committees a notice of such revision and a statement of the
rationale for such revision.
(d) Interim Exclusion.--During the period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the date that
is one year after such date of enactment, title I of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et
seq.) shall not apply to any defense readiness activity
carried out or authorized by the Secretary of Defense (acting
through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and
Sustainment) or the Secretary of Energy (acting through the
Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security).
(e) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to limit--
(1) the applicability of section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536);
(2) the applicability of division A of subtitle III of
title 54, United States Code (formerly known as the
``National Historic Preservation Act'');
(3) the applicability of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (commonly referred to as
the ``Clean Water Act'');
(4) the applicability of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401
et seq.);
(5) the applicability of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16
U.S.C. 703 et seq.);
(6) the applicability of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42
U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) (commonly known as the ``Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976''); or
(7) any requirement of Federal law expressly applicable to
the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy unless
such requirement is superseded by this section.
(f) Defense Readiness Activity Defined.--In this section,
the term ``defense readiness activity'' means activities
pertaining to the following:
(1) Computing infrastructure, including construction and
expansion of artificial intelligence, high-performance
computing, and conventional data centers, including cooling
tower water demand, backup and interim generation, battery
storage, and grid intertie upgrades.
(2) Energy generation on land of the Department of Defense
or the Department of Energy.
(3) Radial lines, including conductors that--
(A) interconnect energy generation located outside of an
installation solely to the point of common coupling of a
behind-the-meter system serving the installation;
(B) follow an existing roadway, a dedicated utility
easement, or a right-of-way of the Department of Defense or
the Department of Energy, except that not more than 10
circuit-miles may deviate from such corridors as necessary to
avoid environmentally sensitive areas;
(C) have a total circuit length of--
(i) not more than 10 circuit-miles if any portion crosses
previously undisturbed land; or
(ii) not more than 50 circuit-miles if the entire route
remains within the corridors described in subparagraph (B);
and
(D) include no taps (such as lateral connections to third-
party facilities) other than to facilities under the
jurisdiction, custody, or control of the Department of
Defense or the Department of Energy.
(4) Installation energy resilience projects, including--
(A) any construction, modernization, or replacement of
energy generation capabilities described in paragraph (2); or
(B) any construction of a radial line described in
paragraph (3) necessary to deliver the output of such
generation to a behind-the-meter system serving the
installation.
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