• Establishing the Department of Commerce as the lead federal agency to carry out NEPA reviews for any CHIPS Act project deemed to be a major federal action.
• Clarifying that certain CHIPS Act projects are not major federal actions and therefore not subject to NEPA review, including those that have already received necessary federal and state permits and begun construction; expansions of existing sites that do not more than double the size of the site; projects that are required to undergo a state-levelenvironmental review, which is at least as stringent as NEPA; and projects where the federal assistance does not account for more than 15% of the cost of the facility.
• Granting the Secretary of Commerce greater tools to more effectively and efficiently carry out federal reviews, including through partnering with state and local governments on completing environmental reviews.
1 Comment
[More about the bill.](https://scottpeters.house.gov/2023/7/rep-peters-colleagues-introduce-bipartisan-bicameral-bill-to-speed-up-historic-domestic-manufacturing-provisions-included-in-chips-act) It’s basically NEPA reform for CHIPS Act investments
• Establishing the Department of Commerce as the lead federal agency to carry out NEPA reviews for any CHIPS Act project deemed to be a major federal action.
• Clarifying that certain CHIPS Act projects are not major federal actions and therefore not subject to NEPA review, including those that have already received necessary federal and state permits and begun construction; expansions of existing sites that do not more than double the size of the site; projects that are required to undergo a state-levelenvironmental review, which is at least as stringent as NEPA; and projects where the federal assistance does not account for more than 15% of the cost of the facility.
• Granting the Secretary of Commerce greater tools to more effectively and efficiently carry out federal reviews, including through partnering with state and local governments on completing environmental reviews.
• Limiting the timeline for court challenges.