# Plain Language Summary: NEPA Agency Process Accountability Act

This bill makes changes to how federal agencies review environmental impacts before approving major projects like highways, pipelines, power plants, or development proposals. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) currently requires agencies to thoroughly study environmental effects and consider alternatives before moving forward. This bill aims to speed up that process and reduce paperwork, though it also limits what agencies can examine.

The main changes streamline how agencies conduct environmental reviews. Instead of producing multiple versions of environmental documents, agencies would now create just one of each type needed. The bill also allows agencies to reuse environmental studies from previous similar projects and lets project sponsors hire private consultants to prepare environmental documents (though the government agency still has to review them). When unexpected problems pop up during a project, agencies can now fix them without starting the whole review process over, as long as they can mitigate the harm. For projects involving multiple federal agencies, one lead agency coordinates everything rather than each agency doing separate reviews.

However, the bill restricts what alternatives agencies must consider. Agencies cannot evaluate alternatives that aren't technically or economically feasible for the project sponsor, and they cannot consider alternatives outside their jurisdiction. This means if a company says a different approach costs too much, the agency must accept that and won't study it. The bill also makes it easier to use "categorical exclusions"—shortcuts that skip detailed environmental review for certain types of projects—even if unusual circumstances might warrant closer examination.

Finally, the bill requires federal agencies to track and report to Congress how long environmental reviews take and how much they cost. This creates accountability for the timeline and expense of the review process itself.

NEPA Agency Process Accountability Act

Gosar, Paul A.

NEPA Agency Process Accountability Act This bill revises the environmental review process required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), including by limiting the number of assessment documents required for proposed major federal actions, requiring agencies to reuse certain research or documents in the NEPA process, and allowing agencies to adopt environmental documents prepared by states or third parties as specified under the bill. In addition, the bill requires agencies to only consider alternatives to proposed major federal actions that are technically and economically feasible. Agencies must track and report on specified NEPA data, such as the comprehensive costs of the NEPA process.