H.R. 573 – Studying NEPA’s Impact on Projects Act

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Updated December 13, 2025 at 7:15 PM UTC

The Studying NEPA’s Impact on Projects Act requires federal lead agencies to annually report detailed information about lawsuits alleging violations of the National Environmental Policy Act, the length and cost of environmental impact statements, and the timelines for completing those statements. The Council on Environmental Quality must compile, publish, and share these reports and data with Congress and the public. The data must be broken down by specific sectors such as energy, transportation, and water resources, helping to assess how NEPA requirements affect project planning and execution.

Key Provisions

Lead agencies must, each year by July 1, submit to the Council on Environmental Quality a detailed report covering all civil lawsuits alleging NEPA violations that were active in the prior year, including parties, courts, bases of the suits, outcomes, and any awards.
The report must also provide statistics on the length (page counts) of environmental impact statements made public over the past five years, broken down by agency and sector, with average, median, and trend analysis.
Agencies must estimate the costs to prepare those impact statements, including personnel, contractor, and other direct costs, and, where possible, costs incurred by cooperating agencies or project sponsors.
The report must track timelines for major federal actions over the past ten years, noting key milestones (permit applications, scoping, notice of intent, public availability of statements and decisions, and notice to proceed), and provide average, median, and trend data.
The Council on Environmental Quality must publish these agency reports and the underlying data on its website, submit them to the relevant House and Senate committees, and may include them in its broader annual NEPA report.
The bill defines a list of “covered sectors” (e.g., aviation, broadband, carbon capture, energy production, transportation, water resources, etc.) for disaggregating the data.

Legislative Activity

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13 earlier actions

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Environment and Public Works Committee

December 10, 2025

View full timeline

HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

January 21, 2025

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Natural Resources Committee

January 21, 2025

HouseCommittee

Committee Hearings Held

Natural Resources Committee

September 10, 2025

HouseCommittee

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

Natural Resources Committee

November 20, 2025

HouseCommittee

Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by Unanimous Consent.

Natural Resources Committee

November 20, 2025

HouseCommittee

Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-393.

Natural Resources Committee

December 4, 2025

HouseCalendars

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 342.

December 4, 2025

HouseFloor

Mr. Crank moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

December 9, 2025 • 4:30 PM

HouseFloor

Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5086-5088)

December 9, 2025 • 4:30 PM

HouseFloor

DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 573.

December 9, 2025 • 4:30 PM

HouseFloor

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5086-5087)

December 9, 2025 • 4:40 PM

HouseFloor

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5086-5087)

December 9, 2025 • 4:40 PM

HouseFloor

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

December 9, 2025 • 4:40 PM

SenateIntro Referral

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Environment and Public Works Committee

December 10, 2025

Floor Debate

4 members

What members said about H.R. 573 on the floor

2 Republicans2 Democrats

Rep. Jeff CrankR-CO-5 · Dec 9, 2025

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 573) to require the Council on Environmental Quality to publish an annual report on environmental reviews and causes of action based…

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 573) 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 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 573, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 573, which would consolidate prior NEPA data collection and reporting efforts into a single report published annually by the Council on Environmental Quality, or CEQ. This bill ensures that consistent, transparent permitting data is available and accessible to the public.

It is well known that our permitting system is mired with substantial delays. Many of these issues stem from burdensome and lengthy environmental documents and lawsuits instigated by special interest groups.

In past administrations, CEQ has published reports on NEPA litigation and environmental reviews. From 2001 to 2013, annual surveys recorded the defendant agency, plaintiff category, and case results, showing that special interest groups, not individual citizens or communities, were responsible for the most NEPA cases.

Although these CEQ studies provided useful data on the cumbersome review timelines and resource strains resulting from NEPA analysis, they have either been produced ad hoc or attention to their continued production has fallen by the wayside.

Similar to CEQ's annual litigation surveys conducted between 2001 and 2013, the reports required by this bill would include information related to any NEPA-related civil action brought against an agency and would identify the lead Federal agency, each plaintiff, and case outcome. This information will allow Congress to identify who is suing to block critical infrastructure projects and examine the end result of the litigation on the project itself.

This bill would also build off the first Trump administration's NEPA reports conducted in 2020 by directing CEQ to review the page length of environmental impact statements and the timelines to complete such EIS, with updates published annually. This information will give Congress better insight into whether agencies are respecting the NEPA deadlines and page limits created in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the lead sponsor of this legislation, Representative Yakym, for his hard work on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Yakym), the lead sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the Studying NEPA's Impact on Projects Act will provide Congress with crucial information on NEPA litigation. It will also provide transparency to help ensure that agencies comply with the Fiscal Responsibility Act's NEPA deadlines and page limits.

I thank Mr. Yakym and Mr. Panetta for their work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Rep. Rudy Yakym IIIR-IN-2 · Dec 9, 2025

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bipartisan bill, H.R. 573, the Studying NEPA's Impact on Projects Act, which I introduced with my good…

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bipartisan bill, H.R. 573, the Studying NEPA's Impact on Projects Act, which I introduced with my good friend, Mr. Panetta from California.

The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, was passed in 1970 to look at the impacts of projects on the environment.

After decades of abuse and misuse, NEPA has strayed far from its original purpose. Now, it is a four-letter word, often weaponized to bury infrastructure, housing, energy, and other critical projects under a mound of paperwork and litigation.

NEPA is more synonymous with red tape than a green light. One recent study found that energy projects spend a median of 3 years from final agency approval to a final court decision, with some projects facing delays that last for decades.

At various points in time, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, or CEQ, has compiled reports on lawsuits, paperwork, and delays associated with NEPA, but these efforts have mostly been ad hoc.

This bill would formalize and consolidate these reports by requiring the CEQ to publish a single annual report detailing the burdens created by NEPA, including the volume of lawsuits, the length and complexity of environmental review and paperwork, and the cost of delays to taxpayers and project sponsors.

This report, coupled with the efforts of the Trump administration and this Congress to rein in permitting burdens, will allow us to conduct oversight, ensure accountability, and identify areas of further reform.

The consequences of NEPA are felt across this country, from manufacturing and construction in my district to critical forest management, mining, and housing projects. These delays impact our economy, but they also constrain our efforts to achieve energy dominance, protect our national security, and compete with China.

This bill is an important step in our work to continue reforming the permitting process. It is time to get the government and unnecessary barriers out of the way of hardworking Americans who want to make America build again.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Westerman for his help in getting this bill to the floor and to my friend, Mr. Panetta, for his partnership. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Rep. Jimmy PanettaD-CA-19 · Dec 9, 2025

Mr. Speaker, I rise as a co-lead of the Studying NEPA's Impact on Projects Act. As we have heard, this is a bill that would require the Council on Environmental Quality to provide annual reports that…

Rep. Emily RandallD-WA-6 · Dec 9, 2025

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Representative Yakym's Studying NEPA's Impact on Projects Act. This legislation would direct agencies…

Bill Text

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Referred in SenateIssued December 10, 2025

IIB

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 573

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

December 10, 2025

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

AN ACT

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 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Studying NEPA’s Impact on Projects Act.

2.

Annual report on NEPA’s impact on projects

Section 201 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4341) is amended to read as follows:

201.

Annual reports on NEPA’s impact on projects

(a)

Submissions by lead agencies

Not later than July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the head of each lead agency shall submit to the Council on Environmental Quality a report on—

(1)

each civil action alleging an agency action in violation of this Act that was active during the period beginning June 1 of the preceding year and ending June 1 of the current year, which shall identify—

(A)

with respect to each such civil action—

(i)

the defendant lead agency, where applicable, and each plaintiff; and

(ii)

the court in which the civil action was brought and any court to which a decision on the civil action was appealed;

(B)

the number of such civil actions, disaggregated by the defendant agency, with a single entry denoting the lead agency, where applicable, for cases involving multiple Federal agency defendants;

(C)

the alleged basis for each such civil action, disaggregated by covered sectors; and

(D)

the status and outcome, if applicable, of each civil action alleging an agency action in violation of this Act that was active during the period beginning June 1 of the preceding year and ending June 1 of the current year, including whether—

(i)

the civil action resulted in a decision to hold unlawful and set aside the agency action within the meaning of section 706(2) of title 5, United States Code;

(ii)

the civil action resulted in a decision allowing the Federal agency to proceed with the major Federal action;

(iii)

the civil action resulted in an order remanding the matter to the agency for reconsideration without vacating the analysis;

(iv)

any claim under the civil action was resolved by a settlement agreement or consent decree between any plaintiff and the defendant lead agency;

(v)

the civil action is still active; and

(vi)

any of the plaintiffs received an award, including an award of costs pursuant to section 2412 of title 28, United States Code, except that if such information is received after the lead agency submits the applicable report to the Council on Environmental Quality, the lead agency shall include such information in the subsequent report;

(2)

the length of environmental impact statements made publicly available pursuant to section 102(2)(C) during the period of 5 years that ends on June 1 of the current year, which shall include—

(A)

the average and median page count of all such environmental impact statements (not including the page count of any citations or appendices), including such page counts disaggregated by quartiles;

(B)

the average and median page count of any citations and appendices included in such environmental impact statements;

(C)

the number of such environmental impact statements, disaggregated by lead agency and subagency as applicable;

(D)

a description of trends in average and median page count of such environmental impact statements and any citations and appendices included in such environmental impact statements compared to prior reports published by the Council on Environmental Quality; and

(E)

for each report submitted under this section through 2028, a disaggregation of the data from before and after the date of the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023;

(3)

an estimate of the cost to prepare the environmental impact statements described in paragraph (2), including—

(A)

the full-time equivalent personnel hour costs, contractor costs, and other direct costs of the lead agency that prepared the environmental impact statement; and

(B)

if practicable, and noted where not practicable, the costs incurred by cooperating agencies, participating agencies, any project sponsor that prepared an environmental impact statement under the supervision of the lead agency, and contractors; and

(4)

the timelines to complete environmental impact statements pursuant to section 102(2)(C) during the period of 10 years that ends on June 1 of the current year, which shall include—

(A)

with respect to each major Federal action commenced during such period of 10 years, the date on which (as applicable)—

(i)

the project sponsor submitted an application for any permit or other authorization for the project;

(ii)

the lead agency began the scoping;

(iii)

the notice of intent to prepare the environmental impact statement was made publicly available;

(iv)

the environmental impact statement was made publicly available;

(v)

the record of decision was made publicly available; and

(vi)

the lead agency provided to the project sponsor notice to proceed on the project;

(B)

the average and median completion timelines during such period of 10 years for each document described in subparagraph (A);

(C)

a description of trends in completion timelines during such period of 10 years for such documents compared to prior reports published by the Council on Environmental Quality; and

(D)

for each report submitted under this section through 2033, a disaggregation of the data from before and after the date of the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

(b)

Publication and submission of reports by the Council on Environmental Quality

(1)

In general

The Council on Environmental Qualify shall annually—

(A)

publish the reports received under subsection (a) on the website of the Council on Environmental Quality; and

(B)

submit such reports to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate.

(2)

Inclusion in other reports

The Council on Environmental Quality may carry out paragraph (1)(B) by including the reports received under subsection (a) in the report submitted under section 107(h).

(3)

Public availability of data

The Council on Environmental Quality shall publish with each report published under paragraph (1)(A) the underlying data used to prepare each such report and include any citations or other information necessary for the public to locate records related to the court proceedings for any civil action described in subsection (a)(1).

(c)

Format

To the extent practicable, the information included in each report submitted to the Council on Environmental Quality under subsection (a) shall be disaggregated by covered sector.

(d)

Covered sector defined

In this section, the term covered sector means any of the following sectors:

(1)

Aviation and space.

(2)

Broadband.

(3)

Carbon capture and sequestration.

(4)

Conventional energy production.

(5)

Electricity transmission.

(6)

Forestry.

(7)

Information technology infrastructure.

(8)

Manufacturing.

(9)

Mining.

(10)

Pipelines.

(11)

Ports and waterways.

(12)

Renewable energy production.

(13)

Surface transportation.

(14)

Water resources.

(15)

Any other sector as determined by the Council on Environmental Quality or lead agency.

.

Passed the House of Representatives December 9, 2025.

Kevin F. McCumber,

Clerk.