117 S3 IS: Interactive Federal Review Act U.S. Senate 2022-11-17 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

II117th CONGRESS2d SessionS. 3IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESNovember 17, 2022Ms. Lummis (for herself, Mr. Kelly, and Mr. Ossoff) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public WorksA BILLTo improve the environmental review process for Federal-aid highway projects through the use of interactive, digital, cloud-based platforms, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Interactive Federal Review Act.

2.

Digital platforms for NEPA reviews for highway projects

(a)

In general

In order to expedite the environmental review process at Federal agencies and for the general public, and to facilitate interactive public stakeholder engagement and understanding of environmental impacts of projects under the Federal-aid highway system, the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in this section as the Secretary) shall—(1)encourage recipients of Federal highway funding to utilize interactive, digital, cloud-based platforms when carrying out environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by publishing the guidance described in subsection (b)(1); and(2)select not less than 10 Federal-aid highway projects to demonstrate the use of interactive, digital, cloud-based platforms in carrying out the environmental impact analysis and community engagement processes required under that Act, which may include projects in States participating in the surface transportation project delivery program under section 327 of title 23, United States Code.(b)

Administration

(1)

Guidance

Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish technology-neutral best practice guidance to encourage sponsors of projects that receive Federal funds from the Secretary to use an interactive, digital, cloud-based platform in carrying out the environmental impact analysis and community engagement processes required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). (2)

Reports

(A)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report on the efficacy of using interactive, cloud-based platforms in carrying out environmental impact analysis and community engagement requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), including—(i)metrics that describe estimates of achieved efficiencies, community engagement measures, and efficiencies enjoyed across Federal agencies; and(ii)examples of digital workflows enabled. (B)

Publication of examples

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish on the website of the Department of Transportation, and submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, not less than 5 examples of an environmental impact statement, environmental assessment, or categorical exclusion document developed using an interactive, digital, cloud-based platform.