Bill > S3970

This bill, titled the Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act, aims to streamline the process for providing federal assistance for building or improving homes on "infill sites" in rural areas. An infill site is defined as a location already connected to essential infrastructure like water, sewer, and roads, and importantly, it excludes undeveloped land (called "greenfield") and sites in areas with high wildfire or flood risk according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index. The core provision exempts such housing projects from the environmental review requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a law that typically requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impact of their actions. This exemption is intended to reduce delays and administrative costs associated with receiving housing assistance. The bill also mandates that the Secretary of Agriculture report to Congress in five years on the impact of this exemption, specifically looking at whether it sped up application reviews, lowered costs, and affected the affordable housing sector in rural America, and to offer recommendations for future NEPA policy. This exemption does not alter any other environmental laws besides NEPA.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3970/all-info