Community Water Project Acceleration Act

Faster local water project approvals

If enacted, the Secretary of the Army would designate certain small water and environmental infrastructure projects as categorically excluded from NEPA environmental assessments and impact statements. To qualify, a project would need to be carried out under a continuing authority program or an environmental infrastructure assistance program, and construction work would have to be done by a non‑Federal sponsor. A project would also need either a Federal share under $6,000,000, or a Federal share below 15% with total project cost at most $35,000,000. The bill would require the Secretary to publish rules within 150 days and finish the exclusion designations within 180 days of enactment.