Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act - Title 41
The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act was signed into law on December 4, 2015. Title 41 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. § 4370m et seq., as amended), which is commonly referred to as “FAST-41,” is aimed at improving the timeliness, predictability, and transparency of federal environmental review and authorization processes for covered infrastructure projects.
Creation of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council
FAST-41 established the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. The Permitting Council is led by an Executive Director and is made up of 15 member agencies. The following is a list of members:
- Department of Agriculture.
- Department of the Army.
- Department of Commerce.
- Department of Energy.
- Department of Transportation.
- Department of Defense.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
- Department of Homeland Security.
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
- Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
- Office of Management and Budget.
- Council on Environmental Quality.
- Environmental Protection Agency.
- Department of the Interior.
The Permitting Council was made a permanent federal body by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
Participation by project applicants in the FAST-41 program is voluntary. Sponsors of projects that qualify under specific FAST-41 criteria apply to obtain program benefits. The program does not alter any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, environmental law, regulation, review process, or public involvement procedure, and does not predetermine the outcome of any federal decision-making process with respect to any infrastructure project receiving program benefits.
FAST-41 establishes new procedures that standardize interagency consultation and coordination practices. It codifies into law the use of the Permitting Dashboard, a public online tool used to track covered project timelines, including actions that must be taken by EPA and other federal agencies.
Current FAST-41 projects include infrastructure projects such as renewable or conventional energy production, electricity transmission, water resources, broadband, pipelines, carbon capture, mining, and other sectors that meet the statutory criteria.
EPA and FAST-41
EPA participates in FAST-41 covered projects for which it has a permitting and/or National Environmental Policy Act compliance role, by providing permit coordination and milestone tracking. Once a project becomes a covered project under FAST-41, it is placed on the Permitting Dashboard, allowing the public, federal agencies, and project developers to track project review and permitting milestones in real-time.
FAST-41 also requires that EPA prepare and submit an Annual Report to Congress on Agency best practices relating to FAST-41 initiatives.