II
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5263
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 25, 2024
Mr. Braun (for himself, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Risch, and Mr. Crapo) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
A BILL
To amend the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to require the Council on Environmental Quality to publish an annual report on environmental reviews and causes of action based on alleged non-compliance with that Act, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Studying NEPA’s Impact on Projects Act
.
CEQ annual report
In general
Section 201 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4341) is amended to read as follows:
CEQ annual report
Report required
Beginning on July 1, 2025, the Council on Environmental Quality (referred to in this section as the Council) shall annually publish on the website of the Council, and submit to Congress, a report on—
each cause of action based on alleged non-compliance with this Act filed during the 1-year period ending on June 1 of the calendar year in which the report is submitted, which shall identify—
with respect to each cause of action, the lead defendant Federal agency and the lead plaintiff;
the number of causes of action, disaggregated by the lead defendant Federal agency;
the alleged basis for each cause of action, disaggregated by type; and
the status and outcome, if applicable, of each cause of action based on alleged non-compliance with this Act filed during that period, including whether—
the cause of action resulted in the major Federal action being reversed;
the lead defendant Federal agency was allowed to move forward with the major Federal action;
the court issued a ruling directing the lead defendant Federal agency to take additional measures to be in compliance with this Act;
the lead plaintiff and the lead defendant Federal agency entered into a settlement agreement; and
the cause of action is still in progress;
the length of environmental impact statements prepared pursuant to section 102(2)(C) and environmental assessments prepared pursuant to section 106(b)(2) during the 5-year period ending on June 1 of the calendar year in which the report is submitted, which shall include—
the average and median page count of each draft and final environmental impact statement (including the appendix) published in the Federal Register during that period, including the page counts disaggregated by quartiles;
the average and median page count of each final environmental assessment (including the appendix) published in the Federal Register during that period, including the page counts disaggregated by quartiles;
the number of draft and final environmental impact statements published in the Federal Register during that period, disaggregated by lead Federal agency and subagency, as applicable;
the number of final environmental assessments published in the Federal Register during that period, disaggregated by lead Federal agency and subagency, as applicable;
a description of trends in average and median page count of draft and final environmental impact statements published in the Federal Register during that period compared those identified in prior reports published by the Council under this section; and
a description of trends in average and median page count of final environmental assessments published in the Federal Register during that period compared to those identified in prior reports published by the Council under this section; and
the timelines to complete environmental reviews pursuant to section 102(2)(C) during the 10-year period ending on June 1 of the calendar year in which the report is submitted, which shall include—
with respect to each major Federal action commenced during that period, the date on which, as applicable—
the notice of intent to prepare the environmental impact statement was published in the Federal Register;
the draft environmental impact statement was published in the Federal Register;
the final environmental impact statement was published in the Federal Register; and
the record of decision was published in the Federal Register;
the average and median publication timelines during that period for each document described in subparagraph (A); and
a description of trends in completion times during that period for those documents compared to the documents identified in prior reports published by the Council under this section.
Public availability of data
The Council shall publish with each report published under subsection (a) the underlying data used to prepare the report.
.
Conforming amendments
Section 204 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4344) is amended—
by striking paragraph (1); and
by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (8) as paragraphs (1) through (7), respectively.