SPEED Act

New detailed deadlines added for project approvals: 60 days to determine application completeness, 60 days after completeness to issue a notice of intent or exclusion determination, 21 days to identify cooperating agencies, 21 days for agencies to accept invitations, and 30 days after completing an EIS or EA to issue final agency action.

The deadline for filing the agency record with the reviewing court was extended from 30 days to 60 days after filing of the claim.

New authorization protection provision (Section 106(d)(2)) limits when Federal agencies can revoke, rescind, withdraw, or suspend authorizations. Permitted only for court orders, material breach of terms, fraud or misrepresentation, specific immediate substantial proximate harm not considered in review, or at the holder's request. Requires clear and convincing evidence, written notice with detailed explanation, and allows judicial review.

Judicial review standard changed from a two-part test (agency abused substantial discretion AND would have reached a different result) to a single deference standard requiring courts to afford 'substantial deference' and not substitute their judgment for the agency's. Remand without vacatur is now explicitly stated as the only remedy available.

New provision granting the agency and applicant the right to appeal during the pendency of a remand, which was not in the introduced version.

New provision bars administrative or judicial review of final agency actions affecting tribal trust resources (lands, minerals), except when brought by the tribe itself or involving effects outside trust lands.

Entirely new Section 4 grandfathers any agency action where a Federal agency filed a motion to voluntarily remand or otherwise reopened, reconsidered, or initiated corrective action between January 20, 2025 and the date of enactment, shielding those actions from this Act's requirements.

The prior-review exclusion in Section 106(a)(6) was broadened: tribal environmental review now includes 'ordinance, resolution, regulation, or formally adopted policy' (not just statute), and the standard changed from the prior review 'meets the requirements of this Act' to merely 'serves the function of agency compliance with this Act.'

The categorical exclusion for permits/authorizations was broadened: previously required the proposal be evaluated by the same lead agency, now allows reliance on evaluation by 'another agency' in compliance with NEPA.

Financial assistance exclusions expanded: 'grants' now explicitly includes 'capitalization grants' and adds 'cost share awards' as excluded from triggering major Federal action status.

Standing requirement for judicial review claims strengthened: a new standalone requirement (C) that the claimant 'has suffered or imminently will suffer direct harm from the final agency action' was added as a separate condition beyond the comment-based requirements.

New definition of 'Authorization' added to Section 111, covering any lease, right-of-way, easement, license, permit, approval, finding, determination, or other administrative decision required under Federal law to construct, modify, or operate a project.

The introduced version's definition of what constitutes a 'final agency action' for judicial review purposes (Section 113(f)) was removed in the engrossed version.

New provision allowing agencies to rely on previously completed environmental assessments or impact statements for substantially the same actions, or to modify/augment prior documents rather than prepare new ones (Section 108(b)).