Final Debt-Ceiling Agreement Permitting Provisions

The now-passed Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), memorializing the debt-ceiling agreement, includes a number of federal permitting provisions. These include:

• 2-year time limit for completion of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)-required Environmental Impact Statements (EIS);
• 1-year time limit for completion of NEPA-required Environmental Assessments (EA);
• Court intervention will be allowed if deadlines are not met;
• A single federal agency can now act as the lead for the EIS (similar to expedited permitting for Fast-41 projects) with one set of agency documents;
• Battery storage projects will now be covered by the same expedited permitting provisions as Fast-41 projects, which had been allowed only for projects of $200M or more;