This bill says that providing certain USDA housing assistance for building or modifying residential housing on infill sites may not be considered a "major Federal action" under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). It covers assistance provided under sections 501, 502, 504, 515, 533, and 538 of the Housing Act of 1949. The bill defines an "infill site" as a site served by existing infrastructure (water, sewer, roads) and excludes sites that are only served by a road, sites in census tracts rated very high or relatively high risk for wildfire, coastal flooding, or riverine flooding under FEMA’s National Risk Index, and greenfields. The Secretary of Agriculture must submit a report to Congress within five years that (1) determines whether the change reduced review time and administrative cost, (2) describes effects on the affordable housing sector in rural America, and (3) includes any recommendations for future congressional action. The bill also says it does not change requirements under laws other than NEPA.
If you seek or provide housing assistance under the listed sections for projects on qualifying infill sites, the federal assistance may not be treated as a "major Federal action" under NEPA. That is the legal step that often triggers longer environmental reviews. The bill does not itself explain other procedural changes; it requires USDA to study and report on timing, costs, and effects on rural affordable housing within five years. The exemption does not apply to greenfields or to sites in certain FEMA high-risk census tracts or sites served only by a road.
No publicly available information on estimated costs or savings is included in the bill text or metadata provided.
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