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Requires the Department of Transportation to create standards, run a pilot, and build a centralized electronic NEPA (e-NEPA) portal that integrates high-fidelity "digital twin" models into permitting for DOT‑led infrastructure projects. It sets deadlines for guidelines and pilot testing, directs agencies to use the portal for covered projects (required starting January 1, 2028), targets at least a 25% reduction in NEPA review timelines for eligible projects, and mandates annual public reporting on outcomes. The law focuses on technical standards (interoperability, open APIs, cybersecurity), coordination with CEQ, EPA and Commerce, and public access to nonsensitive documents and comment tools. It does not appropriate funds in the text and relies on the Secretary to issue implementation guidance or regulations and to oversee compliance and reporting.
The bill aims to speed and standardize environmental permitting via digital twins and a centralized e-NEPA portal—boosting transparency, coordination, and faster infrastructure delivery—but does so at the cost of upfront IT and administrative spending, cybersecurity and equity risks, possible vendor lock-in, and potential pressure to shorten environmental reviews.
State, local, and federal project sponsors and agencies will see environmental review timelines fall (targeted at least ~25%), speeding delivery of infrastructure projects and reducing financing and delay costs.
Community members, local governments, and the public gain centralized, interactive electronic access to NEPA documents and can view timelines and submit comments more easily, improving transparency and public participation.
Federal, state, and local agencies benefit from greater interagency coordination (single environmental document/e-NEPA portal and clarified lead-agency rules), reducing duplicative analysis and improving consistency across reviews.
State and local agencies, small project sponsors, and taxpayers face upfront and ongoing IT, software, training, and administrative costs to adopt digital-twin systems and the e-NEPA portal.
Centralizing permitting data in a single federal portal and integrating digital models raises cybersecurity and data-privacy risks and could create a high-value single point of failure or target if security or maintenance lapses.
Smaller, rural, or low-income communities and under-resourced local agencies may be left behind by the digital shift—lacking funds, technical capacity, or reliable internet—widening equity and participation gaps.
Introduced November 20, 2025 by Cynthia M. Lummis · Last progress November 20, 2025