HR 3927119th CongressIntroduced

Nationwide Permitting Improvement Act

Introduced: Jun 11, 2025

Environment & ClimateInfrastructure

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

Nationwide Permitting Improvement Act would overhaul how the federal government issues general permits for discharges of dredged or fill material under the Clean Water Act (Section 404). The bill would expand and standardize general permits to operate on a state, regional, or nationwide basis, extend the allowable duration of general permits from five to ten years, and tighten the way environmental effects are considered—limiting analysis to the discharge-related effects and treating discharges into less than 3 acres of navigable waters as having minimal adverse effects. It would require nationwide general permits specifically for linear infrastructure projects (such as pipelines and transmission/transport infrastructure) that discharge less than 3 acres per single and complete project. The bill also changes procedures for reissuing nationwide permits, reducing certain ESA and federal agency consultation requirements and requiring NEPA-based environmental assessments. In addition, it directs the Army Corps to streamline regulations implementing these changes and prohibits modifying several existing rule definitions related to “single and complete project” or “single and complete linear project.” Overall, the bill aims to accelerate permitting for many infrastructure projects, while preserving a baseline environmental review through NEPA and focused considerations on discharge effects.

Key Points

1General permits on a state, regional, or nationwide basis; a ten-year term for general permits (instead of the current five years).
2Environmental review narrowed to discharge-related effects; discharges into under 3 acres of navigable waters are deemed to have minimal adverse environmental effect.
3Nationwide general permits for linear infrastructure projects discharging less than 3 acres per single and complete project, broadening the scope to pipelines and related facilities.
4Reissuance of nationwide permits would waive certain ESA consultations (state and federal) but require environmental assessments under NEPA.
5The Army Corps is directed to expeditiously revise regulations to streamline the general-permit processes, and to refrain from finalizing modifications to certain existing rules and definitions (e.g., single and complete projects and the linear-project definitions).

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Infrastructure developers and project proponents (e.g., energy, communications, water/wastewater, and transportation sectors) seeking to build, expand, maintain, modify, or remove linear infrastructure projects.- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state implementing agencies, which would administer and revise permit regulations and manage general-permit programs.Secondary group/area affected- Wetlands, streams, and other navigable waters that could be impacted by discharges; environmental advocacy groups and communities concerned about water quality and ecosystem protection.- Local governments and permitting offices that rely on federal permit processes for large-scale projects.Additional impacts- Potentially faster project timelines and lower upfront permitting burdens for large-scale infrastructure, possibly increasing development activity.- Reduced ESA consultation requirements for reissuance of nationwide permits, which could raise environmental-oversight concerns among some stakeholders.- NEPA-based environmental assessments would continue to provide some environmental review, but the emphasis would be on discharge effects rather than broader ecosystem or species analyses for reissued permits.- Regulatory and administrative shifts in how “single and complete project” and related definitions are interpreted and applied, which may affect project categorization and permit applicability.

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