Judicial review

Title I of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 113. Judicial review (a) Definition of agency action In this section, the term agency action has the meaning given the term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. (b) Standard of review Notwithstanding chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, in reviewing a claim of whether a final agency action complies with the procedural requirements of this Act, a court may only hold that the final agency action does not comply with those procedural requirements if the court determines that— (1) the agency abused its substantial discretion in complying with those procedural requirements; and (2) the agency would have reached a different result with respect to the final agency action absent such abuse of substantial discretion. (c) Role of the court A court reviewing a claim described in subsection (b) may not substitute its judgment for that of the agency with respect to the environmental effects of a proposed agency action. (d) Remand (1) In general If a court holds that a final agency action does not comply with the procedural requirements of this Act, the court may only remand the final agency action to the agency with— (A) specific instruction to correct the errors or deficiencies in compliance; and (B) a reasonable schedule and deadline, which such deadline may not exceed— (i) with respect to an order entered before the date of enactment of this section, the date that is 180 days after that date of enactment; and (ii) with respect to an order entered on or after the date of enactment of this section, the date that is 180 days after the date on which the order was entered. (2) Continued effect of final agency action A final agency action remanded under paragraph (1) shall remain in effect while the Federal agency corrects any errors or deficiencies specified by the court. (e) Limitations on claims (1) In general Notwithstanding chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, a claim described in subsection (b) shall be barred unless— (A) the claim is filed not later than 150 days after the date on which the final agency action is made public, unless a shorter timeline is specified under Federal law; (B) in the case of a final agency action for which there was a public comment period on an environmental document, the claim— (i) is filed by a party that submitted a substantive and unique comment during the public comment period by the noticed comment deadline for the environmental document and the comment was sufficiently detailed to put the applicable Federal agency on notice of the issue on which the party seeks review and shows that the party would suffer direct harm if its comments were not addressed; and (ii) concerns the same subject matter raised in the comment submitted during the public comment period; and (C) the claim does not challenge the establishment of a categorical exclusion. (2) Supplemental environmental documents (A) In general If an agency issues a supplemental environmental document in response to a court order remanding a final agency action, the deadline described in paragraph (1)(A) shall be the date on which the agency makes public the agency action for which the supplemental environmental document is prepared. (B) Limitation A claim for review of a final agency action described in subparagraph (A) shall be limited to information contained in the final supplemental environmental document that was not contained in a previous environmental document for the final agency action. (f) Deadline for resolution (1) In general A court shall issue a final judgment on a claim described in subsection (b)— (A) as expeditiously as practicable; and (B) unless a shorter timeline is specified under Federal law, not later than the date that is 180 days after the date on which the agency record for the review is filed with the reviewing court, which shall not be more than 30 days from the filing of the claim. (2) Accelerated deadlines Nothing in this subsection prevents a court from further expediting review of a claim described in subsection (b). (3) Appeals (A) Filing A notice of appeal of a final judgment described in this subsection shall be filed not later than 60 days after the final judgment is issued. (B) Deadline for review A court shall issue a final decision on an appeal filed under subparagraph (A)— (i) as expeditiously as practicable; and (ii) not later than the date that is 180 days after the date on which the appeal is filed. (g) Final agency actions The completion of an environmental assessment, an environmental impact statement, or a finding of no significant impact, or a determination to categorically exclude an action, shall not be considered a final agency action under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. (h) No effect on review of compliance with other deadlines Nothing in this section affects the right to obtain review under section 107(g)(3)..