The BUILD Housing Act streamlines HUD environmental reviews for certain housing assistance and allows federally recognized Indian Tribes to assume these review obligations.
Sam Liccardo
Representative
CA-16
The BUILD Housing Act streamlines environmental reviews for certain HUD housing assistance programs by allowing the Secretary to designate them as "special projects." This change enables the use of specific, established review procedures under the Multifamily Housing Property Disposition Reform Act of 1994. Furthermore, the bill expands the authority for environmental review responsibilities to include federally recognized Indian Tribes alongside states and local governments.
HUD Gets New Power to Fast-Track Housing Project Reviews, Tribes Gain Environmental Oversight
The newly proposed Better Use of Intergovernmental and Local Development for Housing Act, or the BUILD Housing Act, is looking to change how environmental reviews are handled for certain housing projects funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The bill focuses on two main changes: giving the HUD Secretary new discretionary power and expanding environmental review authority to federally recognized Indian Tribes.
The HUD Secretary’s New Fast Lane
Section 2 of the BUILD Housing Act gives the Secretary of HUD the green light to designate assistance money as a "special project" for environmental review purposes. Think of it like this: normally, housing projects have to go through the standard National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review—a process that can be comprehensive but also lengthy. If the Secretary designates a project as "special," they can instead use the procedures set out in Section 305(c) of the Multifamily Housing Property Disposition Reform Act of 1994. In plain English, this is potentially a procedural shortcut. For a developer waiting on HUD funding to break ground on an apartment complex, this could mean shaving months off the timeline. However, this new power doesn't apply if another law already dictates a specific environmental review process for that assistance. This move grants HUD significant flexibility, which could speed up housing production, but it also raises questions about whether skipping the standard NEPA process could lead to less rigorous environmental scrutiny for designated projects.
Giving Tribes the Environmental Pen
Section 3 of the Act is about inclusion and sovereignty. It amends existing law to allow federally recognized Indian Tribes to assume environmental review obligations that were previously only available to States or local governments. This is a big deal for self-determination. Currently, if a housing project is being built, say, near or on tribal lands, the environmental review might be handled by a state or local unit. Under the BUILD Act, a federally recognized Tribe can take on that responsibility themselves. This means Tribes get direct control over the environmental assessment of projects affecting their communities, ensuring that the review process aligns with their specific environmental and cultural priorities. The bill is careful to specify that only federally recognized Tribes qualify for this authority, using the definition already established in the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996.