A dozen federal agencies involved in environmental issues have signed a memorandum of understanding on interagency cooperation for processing environmental reviews and authorization decisions for proposed major infrastructure projects.
The MOU is an accompaniment to OMB memo M-18-13 to carry out the One Federal Decision policy established in Executive Order 13807 of last August.
Under that order, agencies with a role in the environmental review and permitting process for a major infrastructure project must: develop a review and decision schedule; work together to develop a single permitting timetable; prepare a single environmental impact statement; and sign a single record of decision and issue all necessary authorization decisions within 90 days of its issuance, subject to limited exceptions.
The signatory agencies are to reduce to two years the time for each agency to complete all environmental reviews and authorization decisions for major infrastructure projects; identify and remove impediments to implementing One Federal Decision policy; implement best practices that will result in more efficient reviews; and revise their internal procedures as necessary, among other provisions.
