S. 5653 — Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026

This section establishes a procedure requiring federal agencies to consider and inform the public about the reasonably foreseeable environmental effects of major federal actions on the human environment of the United States, resulting in an informational document for federal decisionmaking. It also provides that the Act does not mandate any particular outcome from use of that procedure.

This section defines terms used throughout the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, including agency CERPO as each key permitting agency's chief environmental review and permitting officer, authorization as any federal lease, permit, approval, or interagency consultation, categorical exclusion as actions that do not significantly affect the human environment, environmental assessment and environmental impact statement as documents prepared under sections 106 and 102(2)(C), and environmental infrastructure program or authority as 33 specific water resources development acts providing assistance for water-related projects.

This section requires each federal agency to revise its regulations, procedures, and policies as necessary to implement the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended by the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, not later than 180 days after enactment of that Act. It directs the Chairman to standardize agency procedures to the maximum extent practicable. It authorizes the Chairman to provide technical assistance to agencies upon request.

This section revises National Environmental Policy Act procedures by requiring federal agencies to develop methods and procedures, in consultation with the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, that implement the Act and align with minimum functional requirements and data and technology standards for eNEPA technologies. It also updates terminology in environmental impact statement requirements to refer to the lead agency and proposed agency actions.

This section expands the circumstances under which an agency need not prepare an environmental document for a proposed action. It permits use of one or a combination of multiple categorical exclusions (excluding repeated applications based on size, acreage, or dollar thresholds), including those established by Congress; adds exemptions when a project has undergone a qualifying State or Tribal environmental review or when compliance with another Federal law serves a similar function; requires a lead agency to prepare an environmental impact statement or assessment; allows a project sponsor to request that preparation switch from an assessment to an impact statement; and prohibits any other agency from preparing an environmental document once the lead agency determines none is required.

This section designates the Federal agency proposing an action as the lead agency for National Environmental Policy Act environmental reviews. When two or more agencies must decide on an authorization, it requires designation by letter or memorandum within 21 days based on the same five factors as current law and authorizes the Chairman to designate the lead agency if agencies cannot agree, with that decision final and unreviewable. It expands lead agency duties to include defining purpose and need and reasonable alternatives, presuming negative effects from a no-action alternative on Tribal trust resources when the action is initiated by the affected Indian Tribe, and eliminating alternatives that do not fulfill the action's purpose and need or a non-Federal sponsor's goals.

This section requires each federal agency to notify the Council on Environmental Quality within 30 days of enactment of all its categorical exclusions, specifying their origin, and within 7 days of creating, establishing, or adopting any new exclusion. It directs the Council to maintain a publicly available online record of all such exclusions. It allows an agency to adopt another agency's categorical exclusion from that record after identifying it, consulting with the establishing agency, and publicly documenting the adoption.

This section requires Federal agencies to notify project sponsors within 60 days whether an application for an authorization is complete or incomplete and, if complete, to decide within another 60 days whether the proposed action qualifies for a categorical exclusion, requires no further review, needs an environmental assessment, or warrants an environmental impact statement. It also requires project sponsors to submit a list of all required Federal, State, Tribal, and local authorizations, a record of stakeholder engagement, and a statement of purpose and need.

This section establishes limitations and procedures for judicial review of NEPA-based claims filed on or after enactment of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026. Claims must be filed within 150 days after the authorization is published or made public, by parties that submitted substantive comments if an opportunity was provided, and by parties alleging direct harm. It vests original and exclusive jurisdiction in the relevant circuit court of appeals, requires random judicial assignment, mandates expeditious resolution, and limits remedies to remand without vacatur or injunction, with a 180-day agency deadline. Preliminary injunctions are permitted only for violations of other federal laws under specified conditions. Authorizations remain in effect during remand, and no review is available for actions involving Tribal trust resources except by the affected Tribe.

This section establishes data standards and minimum functional requirements for federal agency collection, sharing, and use of authorization data in environmental reviews and permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act. It requires the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to develop and publish the standards and implementation guidance, including automated project screening, GIS tools, document management, and comment analysis systems, within 60 and 120 days after enactment of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, with key permitting agencies required to compare and align their systems within 90 days.

This section defines terms for the subtitle, including applicable deadlines under section 107(g) of the National Environmental Policy Act, applicable schedules for transparency projects, and various NEPA terms such as authorization, lead agency, and project sponsor. It also defines the Environmental Review and Permitting Tracker and transparency projects as proposed agency actions requiring an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment not completed by 13 months after the applicable deadline.

This section directs the Chairman, in coordination with the General Services Administration, to maintain an online Environmental Review and Permitting Tracker that lists all transparency projects and posts their environmental review status. For each project, the Tracker must include a description of its location and features, the statement of purpose and need, sponsor and lead agency contact information, quarterly-updated compliance with applicable schedules (including explanations of any modifications), and the status of related litigation. Entries must be created within 14 days after a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement or 13 months and 14 days after the deadline for a categorical exclusion determination, with all information published within 7 days of receipt.

This section establishes the Permitting Improvement Fund in the Treasury to improve the performance of key permitting agencies on timely environmental reviews and authorizations under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. It authorizes appropriations of $20 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2033, to be transferred for interagency detailees, professional development, project manager support, process standardization, public engagement, or other consistent uses.

This section limits judicial review of final agency actions granting or denying authorizations for energy, mineral, and forest projects by barring civil actions filed more than 150 days after the action is made public. It requires agencies to publish final actions within 3 days, directs courts to expedite review, caps remanded proceedings at 180 days, and requires agencies to notify project sponsors of filed petitions within 30 days.

This section exempts oil and gas wells on non-Federal land from federal drilling permit requirements under the Mineral Leasing Act when the Federal Government owns less than 50 percent of the minerals in the drilling or spacing unit, or when the wellbore enters and produces from or traverses but does not produce from the Federal mineral estate. It requires lessees to notify the Secretary of the Interior of state permit applications within 5 days and of approvals within 45 days. It bars the Secretary from requiring bonds to protect non-Federal land, entering such land without landowner consent, imposing mitigation requirements, or approving surface reclamation. It excludes Indian lands and preserves all Federal royalty obligations.

This section authorizes Indian tribes to grant rights-of-way over and across Tribal land for any purpose without approval by the Secretary of the Interior, if executed under a Tribal regulation approved by the Secretary. It requires the regulation to include an environmental review process with public notice and comment, mandates Secretarial review within 180 days (extendable), exempts the Secretary from NEPA, NHPA, and ESA reviews when approving regulations, limits federal liability for losses, preserves the Secretary’s enforcement and cancellation authority, and allows tribes to rely on federal agency environmental reviews for federally funded projects. It also modernizes the language of 25 U.S.C. 323 and removes the prior limitation in 25 U.S.C. 324 to tribes organized under the Indian Reorganization Act and related statutes.

This section establishes deadlines for the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to review right-of-way applications for eligible renewable energy projects on covered federal land, including 30 days to determine completeness, 90 days to issue a notice of intent for an environmental impact statement, and 30 days to grant, deny, or defer a decision. It requires both Secretaries to develop or adopt categorical exclusions under NEPA for specified low-disturbance activities within 180 days. It expands the definition of eligible project to include projects that store wind, solar, or geothermal energy. It directs the National Renewable Energy Coordination Office to promulgate renewable energy project review standards within 2 years.

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to develop or adopt categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 within 180 days for placement of electric transmission or distribution facilities in approved right-of-way corridors, repair or upgrade of existing facilities on previously disturbed land, and construction or operation of battery storage on such land.

This section authorizes owners of lode or placer mining claims to locate and use as many additional mill sites as reasonably necessary for operations, including waste rock and tailings disposal, under an approved plan of operations. Each mill site is limited to 5 acres, conveys no mineral rights or patent eligibility, and is subject to a $400 annual claim maintenance fee; the section also revises definitions in the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to address hardrock minerals.

This section establishes a categorical exclusion from full environmental review for geothermal observation test projects on leased federal land. Projects must disturb no more than 10 acres each (up to 100 acres total across multiple projects), use temporary roads that are remediated after use, employ rubber-tired equipment with downhole casing under 12 inches, and complete all work within one year (with possible 60-day extensions). The Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture must develop the exclusion within one year of enactment and treat qualifying activities as non-major federal actions.

This section revises definitions in the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 and modifies royalty terms for geothermal leases. It adds definitions for a geothermal electric generating facility (including rules for separate facilities sharing no turbines) and its in-service date (the date the facility begins operating). It applies the royalty rate of not less than 2 percent (rising to not less than 4 percent after 10 years) only to electricity produced by such a facility, and shifts the initial 10-year period to the 10 years following the facility’s in-service date (from the first 10 years of production under the lease). It also makes conforming amendments removing outdated cross-references.

This section increases the frequency of competitive geothermal lease sales to at least once per year (from every 2 years) for states with pending nominations. It requires the Secretary to hold a replacement sale in the same year if a scheduled sale is cancelled or delayed. It also establishes deadlines for geothermal drilling permit applications: 30 days for the Secretary to confirm completeness or request missing information, 30 days after completeness notice to issue the permit or defer with specified steps and timelines, and 10 days after applicant and agency actions to issue a final decision on deferred permits.

This section establishes a Geothermal Ombudsman within the Bureau of Land Management, appointed within 60 days of enactment, to act as liaison among Bureau offices, provide dispute resolution for geothermal authorization applicants, monitor permit processing timelines, develop best practices, and coordinate with the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. It also creates a Geothermal Permitting Task Force headed by the Ombudsman to support those duties, authorizes cross-office personnel assignments with retention allowances of up to 25 percent of basic pay, and requires an annual report to Congress evaluating geothermal authorization processing.

This section exempts operators from federal drilling permits for geothermal exploration and production on non-federal surface estates where the United States owns less than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal estate, if the operator submits a state permit. It requires lessees or states to notify the Secretary of state permit applications and approvals that affect federal oil and gas interests, bars application to Indian lands, preserves federal royalty obligations, and authorizes onsite reviews and inspections for production accountability.

This section requires the Secretary to approve or deny applications for geothermal drilling permits, sundry notices, notices to proceed, rights-of-way, and other authorizations under valid existing geothermal leases within 60 days after completing all requirements under applicable Federal laws, including NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and historic preservation statutes, even if a civil action affecting the application is pending, unless a Federal court vacates or enjoins the lease or authorization.

This section authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, from the date of enactment through September 30, 2033, to require applicants for or holders of geothermal leases to reimburse the United States for reasonable costs of processing lease applications and related permits and of inspecting geophysical exploration, drilling, and facility construction, operation, and reclamation. It also requires the Secretary to submit a report to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources within five years assessing effects on the Bureau of Land Management geothermal program and recommending any reauthorization or updates.

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior to identify, within 1 year of enactment, standard procedures and guidelines for efficient and environmentally responsible geothermal leasing and permitting on Federal land that are not already covered in the 2007 Gold Book. It requires publication of an updated Gold Book (with possible renaming) within 270 days after identification, following consultation with Federal agencies and stakeholders; mandates review and updates at least every 5 years; and requires the book to cover exploration, geophysical operations, permitting, compliance, construction, drilling, production, and utilization.

This section exempts from review as a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 any oil, gas, or geothermal exploration or development activity conducted under the Mineral Leasing Act or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. It expands the covered activities to include geothermal wells and placement of electric transmission or distribution lines of up to 20 miles for geothermal purposes; extends the approval window for right-of-way corridors to 10 years (from 5); and eliminates NEPA requirements for any such activity that requires a drilling permit.

This section requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, to submit a report within 270 days to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The report must describe market barriers to conventional, storage, conduit, and emerging hydropower technologies; recommend ways to reduce them; identify mechanisms to encourage development and compensate hydropower for grid services such as balancing supply and demand, reliability, ancillary services, decarbonization, and integration of intermittent sources; and identify ownership models including risk-sharing partnerships and lease-sale arrangements with publicly owned utilities.

This section exempts temporary variances to hydropower project operations due to extreme weather, natural disasters, equipment failures, or other unforeseen circumstances from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission prior approval under section 10(b) of the Federal Power Act. It also exempts routine maintenance, repair, or replacement of project works from requiring a license amendment under section 10(c). The section directs the Commission to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking within 90 days of enactment and promulgate final rules within 180 days thereafter establishing standards and a process for classifying substantial alterations, nonsubstantial alterations, and routine maintenance. It preserves the Commission's authority to require notices, enforce safety requirements, and conduct informal safety consultations.

This section authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue licenses for 10 to 20 years for micro hydrokinetic energy projects with an installed capacity of not more than 5 megawatts that convert energy from waves, tides, currents, or free-flowing water without impounding water. It creates an expedited licensing process with deadlines for notifications of intent, applications, and final Commission action within 1 year; requires regulations within 180 days that include categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act; and directs a report to Congress on environmental, economic, and electricity reliability impacts within 5 years or after the first 50 projects have operated for 1 year.

This section removes the consultation requirement for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staffing. It expands certification requirements for relevant expertise to include mathematical, economic, or legal fields.

This section limits the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council's functions and responsibilities under section 4(c)(10)(B) to those arising since the date of enactment of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026.

This section authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to permit its employees to perform law enforcement duties to protect the Chairman and Commissioners while carrying out their official duties.

This section revises the standard for granting rights-of-way on the outer Continental Shelf from preventing interference with reasonable uses to preventing unreasonable interference with other uses. It prohibits application of subsection (p) within units of the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, National Marine Sanctuary System, and National Monuments, except that the Secretary may grant rights-of-way in marine sanctuaries for electric transmission cables after consultation with the Secretary of Commerce. Permits for such cables must match the duration of the right-of-way.

This section establishes definitions for offshore energy transmission on the outer Continental Shelf, including offshore generation facilities, offshore transmission facilities (such as radial and backbone lines), and optimal points of interconnection. It directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Energy to identify preferred routes for transmission cables and sub-seabed infrastructure within 2 years, with reviews at least every 3 years thereafter, taking into account existing rights-of-way, interconnection points, and marine impacts. It designates the Department of the Interior as lead agency for coordinating federal authorizations and requires a final rule within 2 years on permitting procedures for rights-of-way. It also amends section 8(p)(3) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to modify issuance of leases, easements, or rights-of-way for such facilities.