S. 1894: Small Projects Expedited Execution and Delivery Act

This bill, titled the Small Projects Expedited Execution and Delivery Act (or SPEED Act), seeks to make changes to how certain federal assistance projects are processed and approved. The primary amendments focus on increasing the thresholds for categorical exclusions under Section 1317 of the MAP-21 act.

Increase in Project Cost Limits

The bill proposes to modify the existing limits that determine which projects can be eligible for a categorical exclusion from environmental review and other lengthy federal procedures. Specifically, it aims to:

• Increase the limit for projects that receive limited federal assistance from $6 million to $12 million.
• Raise the limit for other types of projects from $35 million to $70 million.

Impact on Project Timelines

By raising these thresholds, the bill is designed to expedite the execution and delivery of small projects, potentially allowing for quicker initiation and completion of infrastructure and development initiatives. The intention behind this change is to alleviate some of the bureaucratic hurdles that currently delay project approval processes in federal funding for certain smaller-scale projects.

Overall Goals

The overall objective of the SPEED Act is to facilitate a more efficient use of federal resources in project development, enabling communities and states to better address their infrastructure needs by making more projects eligible for expedited processing.

Relevant Companies

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