Streamline Transit Act Gives Big Cities NEPA Power: Shifting Environmental Review to Local Transit Agencies

This bill, the Streamline Transit Projects Act, is all about speed and delegation. It creates a new system that lets large transit agencies take over a core function of the federal government: environmental review for transit projects. Specifically, agencies in urban areas with populations over 200,000 can apply to the Secretary of Transportation to handle their own “categorical exclusion” (CE) determinations for certain projects. A CE means the project is exempt from the full, time-consuming environmental impact analysis required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The Fast Lane for Infrastructure

Think of this as handing the keys to the transit agency. If an agency proves it has the legal, technical, and financial capacity—a criteria the Secretary gets to define—it can sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to assume federal responsibility. This isn't just about NEPA; for those same CE projects, the agency also takes on the federal government's duties for environmental review under other federal laws. The goal is clear: cut the bureaucratic red tape and get major transit upgrades, like new subway lines or bus rapid transit corridors, built faster. For the average commuter, this could mean less time waiting for critical infrastructure to get off the ground.

Who Holds the Bag?

If an agency takes on this power, it also assumes all the liability. For compliance purposes, the local transit agency is now considered a federal agency, responsible for meeting all those environmental laws it just took over. The bill even allows the agency to use its federal transit funds to pay for attorney’s fees directly related to these new responsibilities. This is a massive shift, concentrating the power to decide a project’s environmental impact—and the risk of getting it wrong—at the local level. The Secretary of Transportation will monitor performance and can terminate the agreement if the agency drops the ball, but the initial decision-making power rests firmly with the local agency.

The Cost of Speed: Oversight Gaps

While accelerating projects sounds great, especially for busy people who rely on public transit, the bill raises questions about environmental oversight. When a local agency is both the project proponent and the environmental reviewer, there's an inherent tension. Historically, the federal review process provided a crucial, independent layer of scrutiny. Local communities near a proposed project, who might be concerned about noise, pollution, or displacement, will now have their environmental concerns addressed solely by the agency building the project, which could prioritize speed over thoroughness.

Crucially, the bill makes one specific exception to the assumed responsibilities: government-to-government consultation with Indian Tribes. The federal government retains this duty, but for all other environmental laws related to the CE projects, the local agency is on its own. This carve-out highlights the complexity of delegating federal authority and leaves a potential gap, as the local agency handles everything else related to environmental compliance except for that specific consultation.