[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 964 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 964

 To amend the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to exempt any 
solar energy project on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management 
          from an environmental impact statement requirement.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 2009

  Mr. Rohrabacher (for himself, Mr. Jones, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Ms. 
Foxx, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Latta, Mr. 
Gary G. Miller of California, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. 
Goodlatte, Mrs. Myrick, and Mr. Bilbray) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to exempt any 
solar energy project on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management 
          from an environmental impact statement requirement.

    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 ``Emergency Solar Power Permit Act''.

SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF SOLAR ENERGY PROJECTS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 
              STATEMENT REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Title I of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:
    ``Sec. 106.  No action relating to the development, deployment, or 
operation of a solar energy project on lands managed by the Bureau of 
Land Management shall be considered a major Federal action for the 
purposes of section 102(2)(C).''.
    (b) Effect for Statements Underway.--Each department and agency of 
the Federal Government shall cease the preparation of a statement, 
commenced pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), for any action described in 
the amendment made by subsection (a), to the extent that the 
preparation of such statement would delay or otherwise interfere with 
such action.
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