I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 2318
To modernize permitting systems at the Department of the Interior, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH25, 2025
Ms. A
NSARIintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources
A BILL
To modernize permitting systems at the Department of the
Interior, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electronic Permitting 4
Modernization Act’’. 5
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PERMIT ACCESSI-6
BILITY. 7
(a) I
NGENERAL.—In order to improve the overall 8
economy, efficiency, and management of operations and 9
activities of the Department of the Interior (referred to 10
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in this section as the ‘‘Department’’), reduce paperwork, 1
and provide high-quality services and access to the public, 2
the Secretary of the Interior shall, to the extent prac-3
ticable— 4
(1) design and deliver modernized electronic 5
permitting systems to accept, process, and record 6
applications (including plan submissions, payment 7
activity, and other related correspondence) for per-8
mits, forms, and other paperwork required for activi-9
ties regulated by the Department; 10
(2) provide a centralized electronic permitting 11
system online repository, available to the public on 12
the Department’s website, that includes— 13
(A) hyperlinks to facilitate navigation to 14
all Department electronic permitting systems; 15
and 16
(B) with respect to permits, the contact in-17
formation for the appropriate Department em-18
ployees providing assistance to State, Tribal, 19
and local governments; and 20
(3) provide to the Committee on Natural Re-21
sources of the House of Representatives and the 22
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 23
Senate periodic updates on the implementation of 24
paragraphs (1) and (2). 25
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(b) DISCLOSURE OFINFORMATIONPROHIBITED.— 1
No information described in section 552(b) of title 5, 2
United States Code, or protected from disclosure by an-3
other law of the United States shall be disclosed under 4
this Act. 5
(c) D
UPLICATION OFSYSTEMSNOTPERMITTED.— 6
No system shall be duplicated under this Act. 7
(d) C
ONSULTATION.—In developing the permitting 8
systems required under section 2 of this Act, the Secretary 9
of the Interior shall consult with States, local govern-10
ments, Indian Tribes and other stakeholders who apply 11
for agency permits and will use the permitting systems. 12
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO ENSURE CONSIST-13
ENCY WITH THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY 14
ACT OF 2023. 15
In developing the permitting systems required under 16
section 2 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall 17
ensure that the Department’s electronic permitting sys-18
tems are consistent with the priorities identified in section 19
110 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 20
U.S.C. 4336d) with respect to any permit that requires 21
review under that Act. 22
Æ
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