46 U.S.C. § 50505: Consistent approval of existing categorical exclusions

In accordance with section 139 of title 23 , the Maritime Administrator may approve any action qualifying as a categorical exclusion applicable to the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, or the Federal Railroad Administration when the applicable requirements of that categorical exclusion have been met that are in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and any other applicable law. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit any existing authority of the Maritime Administration to approve, promulgate, or publish categorical exclusions consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or any other applicable law. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section [ Dec. 23, 2024 ], the Maritime Administrator shall issue a notice in the Federal Register including the categorical exclusions in use as of the date of enactment of this section by the Maritime Administration for actions or projects the Maritime Administration oversees. The Maritime Administrator may subsequently update such categorical exclusions. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit any existing authority of the Maritime Administration to approve, promulgate, or publish categorical exclusions consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or any other applicable law. survey the use of categorical exclusions by the Maritime Administration with respect to projects initiated during or after 2015; publish on a public website the results of that survey, which shall include a description of the types of actions categorically excluded and any additional categorical exclusions that were legally available to the Maritime Administrator from other operating administrations and the Department of the Army but were or were not adopted; and publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to propose new Maritime Administration categorical exclusions for projects and a process by which the Maritime Administration will update the list of categorical exclusions to reflect lessons learned in grant administration and project construction. The term ‘categorical exclusion’ has the meaning given the term in section 111 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4336e ). The term ‘project’ means an eligible project as described in section 54301(a)(3) of title 46 , United States Code.”