Sponsors
Last progress June 11, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 11, 2025 by David Rouzer
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Requires the Army Corps of Engineers to keep using nationwide permits for many linear infrastructure projects that place less than 3 acres of fill and treats those discharges as minimal for environmental review. It limits the Corps’ environmental review to the direct effects of dredged or fill material for those projects, shortens some review steps, and directs the Corps to revise its regulations quickly to speed permitting. It also prevents undoing recent Corps rules that define what counts as a single and complete project for permit review.
Amends section 404(e) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) to modify the rules for general permits on a state, regional, or nationwide basis.
Extends the term of a general permit from five years to ten years by striking "five years" and inserting "ten years."
When determining environmental effects under the general-permit provisions, the Secretary must consider only the effects of any discharge of dredged or fill material resulting from the activity.
The Secretary shall treat any effects of a discharge of dredged or fill material into less than 3 acres of navigable waters as a minimal adverse environmental effect.
Requires the Secretary to maintain nationwide general permits for linear infrastructure projects that result in a discharge of dredged or fill material into less than 3 acres of navigable waters for each single and complete project (as defined in 33 CFR 330.2 as in effect on date of enactment).
Who is affected and how:
Project applicants and sponsors (developers, pipeline and utility operators): They are likely to get faster, more predictable permitting for linear projects that place less than 3 acres of fill because nationwide permits will remain available and reviews will be narrowed.
Army Corps of Engineers staff and district offices: Must revise regulations and adjust procedures to shorten review steps and focus assessments on dredge/fill impacts; administrative workload may shift toward faster processing and clearer thresholds.
Local communities and downstream water users: May experience benefits from quicker infrastructure delivery, but could face greater risk that indirect, cumulative, or watershed-scale impacts are not fully assessed in the Corps’ permit stage.
Environmental and public-interest groups: Will have fewer procedural avenues at the Corps permit stage to raise concerns about non-fill-related or cumulative impacts, which could increase focus on post-permit advocacy or litigation.
Regulators and other agencies: State and federal partners that rely on Corps determinations may see changes in consultation timelines and in the scope of information the Corps considers when issuing nationwide permits.
Overall effect: The bill narrows and speeds Corps permit review for many linear projects by treating sub-3-acre fill discharges as minimal and limiting review to direct dredge/fill effects. That increases permitting predictability for infrastructure sponsors while reducing the scope of federally required environmental analysis at the Corps level, which could leave some indirect and cumulative impacts less examined unless addressed elsewhere.