Streamlining NEPA for Coal Act

H.R. 4068, the Streamlining NEPA for Coal Act, would require the Secretary of the Interior to identify existing and potential categorical exclusions (CEs) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that could be used to accelerate coal production and export. The Secretary must complete this identification within 30 days of enactment and report findings to the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The bill emphasizes the possibility that other federal agencies could increasingly rely on or adopt these exclusions under NEPA to streamline coal-related projects. In short, the bill is a mandate to scan for and flag CEs that might speed coal development and export, rather than creating new exclusions itself.