This bill, the Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act, says that providing certain USDA housing assistance for building or changing residential housing on qualifying "infill sites" will not count as a "major Federal action" under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The assistance types named are those in 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) but not if the only infrastructure is a road, if the site is a greenfield, or if the site is in a census tract FEMA calls very high or relatively high risk for wildfire or coastal/riverine flooding. The bill also says the Secretary of Agriculture must report to Congress within 5 years on whether this change affected review times, administrative costs, and rural affordable housing, and may include recommendations on NEPA categorical exclusions. The bill states it does not change requirements under laws other than NEPA.
If you apply for or receive USDA housing assistance listed in the bill for construction or modification on an approved infill site, the project may not be treated as a "major Federal action" under NEPA. That could change how NEPA reviews apply to those projects. Projects on greenfields, sites with only a road as infrastructure, or sites in FEMA-designated very high or relatively high risk areas for wildfire or flooding are not covered by the exemption. The Department of Agriculture must send Congress a report in 5 years describing effects on review times, costs, and rural affordable housing.
No publicly available information on estimated federal spending or savings is included in the bill text. The bill requires the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare and submit a report to Congress within 5 years that will assess whether the change reduced review time and administrative costs and describe effects on rural affordable housing.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.