{
  "id": "RL32032",
  "type": "CRS Report",
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      "id": 306624,
      "date": "2005-07-22",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:37:08.804029",
      "title": "Streamlining Environmental Reviews of Highway and Transit Projects: Analysis of TEA-LU (H.R. 3) and SAFETEA (S. 732)",
      "summary": "Before final design activities, property acquisition, or construction for a federally funded surface\ntransportation project can proceed, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is required by law to\ncomply with environmental review provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42\nU.S.C.  4321, et seq.). In addition, any surface transportation project will potentially require\ncompliance with a variety of federal, state, and local environmental laws, rules, and regulations, in\nturn requiring the cooperation of federal, state, and local agencies.\n Some Members of Congress have expressed concerns that the interagency coordination required\nto complete the environmental review process for large, complex transportation projects can lead to\nproject delays. To address this concern, \"Environmental Streamlining\" provisions were included in\nlegislation that reauthorized federal surface transportation programs for FY1998-FY2003 in the\nTransportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21;  P.L. 105-178 ). \n During the 108th Congress, House- and Senate-passed legislation to reauthorize surface\ntransportation programs for FY2004-FY2009 ( H.R. 3550  and  S. 1072 )\nagain included streamlining provisions. Conferees failed to reach an agreement on final\nreauthorization legislation before adjournment of the 108th Congress. Essentially the same\nstreamlining provisions were included in legislation passed in the 109th Congress by the House\n( H.R. 3 ) and the Senate ( S. 732 ). The House passed its bill, the\nTransportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA-LU), on March 10, 2005. On May 17, 2005,\nthe Senate passed its amended version of H.R.  3 (previously S.  732), the Safe,\nAccountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 (SAFETEA). The bills now\ngo to conference.  Streamlining provisions include the designation of DOT as the \"lead agency\"\nin the\nenvironmental review process; the designation of authority to the lead agency to define a project's\npurpose and need, and to determine the range of alternatives to be considered; the creation of a\ndispute resolution process to address issues of concern between agencies; amendments to current\nstatutory requirements to potentially allow for the use of certain public lands or historic sites for\ntransportation projects; delegation of certain authority to state agencies; and the establishment of a\nstatute of limitations on final agency actions or comment deadlines applicable to agencies and the\npublic.\n This report provides background and detail on streamlining provisions proposed during the\n109th Congress. This report will be updated. For more information on issues regarding the\nenvironmental review process, see  CRS Report RL32024 ,  Background on NEPA\nImplementation\nfor Highway Projects: Streamlining the Process .",
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      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc807076/",
      "id": "RL32032_2005May31",
      "date": "2005-05-31",
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      "id": "RL32032_2004Dec07",
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      "id": "RL32032_2004Oct01",
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      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc813341/",
      "id": "RL32032_2004Jun02",
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