SPEED Act

Sponsor: Bruce Westerman (Republican-AR)

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

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

Federal agencies would face faster deadlines for project approvals and limit environmental lawsuits.

This bill, called the SPEED Act, would speed up federal environmental reviews and make it harder to challenge project approvals in court. It would set clear deadlines for agencies and narrow the types of environmental effects they must consider. This aims to reduce delays for projects nationwide.

What Would Change

Today, federal environmental reviews can be lengthy and face delays due to unclear rules, new research requirements, and court challenges that can halt projects. If this bill passes, federal agencies would follow clearer, faster deadlines for reviews. They would also consider a narrower range of environmental effects, and project approvals would be harder to overturn in court. Courts would be limited to sending cases back to agencies for corrections within 180 days, without stopping projects.

Key Provisions

Clarifies that federal environmental law (NEPA) sets steps for agencies to follow, not specific environmental results.
Lets federal agencies accept environmental reviews already done by states or Tribal governments for projects.
Prevents other federal agencies from conducting their own environmental reviews if a lead agency determines one is not needed.
Limits federal agencies to only consider environmental effects directly caused by a project, not future or uncertain ones.
Allows federal agencies to use past environmental reviews for new projects if they are largely the same.
Sets strict deadlines for federal agencies to review project applications and make final decisions.