BUILD Housing Act
The BUILD Housing Act would modify HUD’s governing statute to create a designated environmental review pathway for certain HUD-assisted housing activities. Specifically, HUD could designate some assistance as “funds for a special project” under the MF Housing Property Disposition Reform Act of 1994 (section 305(c)) for purposes of NEPA review and related environmental decision-making. In practice, this could streamline or tailor environmental reviews for those HUD programs, potentially speeding project approvals where the law allows such designation, while preserving existing NEPA procedures where law already specifies a particular process. The bill also expands who can take on environmental review duties by adding Indian Tribes to the list of entities that may assume those obligations, and it redefines “Indian Tribe” to align with federal NAHASDA definitions.
Key Points
- 1Designation mechanism: The Secretary of HUD may designate HUD-administered assistance as “funds for a special project” under section 305(c) to streamline environmental review, decision-making, and action under NEPA and related laws.
- 2Limitation: The designation cannot apply to assistance for which a NEPA procedure is already specified in law; in such cases, the existing procedure remains in effect.
- 3Tribal authority expansion: The bill inserts Indian Tribes into the set of entities (along with states and units of general local government) that may assume environmental review obligations under section 305(c).
- 4Definition update: The bill defines “Indian Tribe” to mean a federally recognized tribe as defined in NAHASDA, ensuring a consistent federal recognition standard.
- 5Purpose and scope: Aims to simplify and potentially accelerate environmental reviews for certain HUD housing programs, while preserving mandatory review requirements where explicitly prescribed by law.