Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act

Providing assistance under section 501, 502, 504, 515, 533, or 538 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471, 1472, 1474, 1485, 1490m, or 1490p–2) for the construction or modification of residential housing located on an infill site may not be considered a major Federal action under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).

Not later than the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report that—

(1) determines whether the implementation of this section—

(A) reduced the amount of time it takes to review an application for assistance described in subsection (a); and

(B) reduced the administrative cost of providing such assistance;

(2) describes how the implementation of this section affects the affordable housing sector in rural America; and

(3) includes any recommendations from the Secretary of Agriculture for future congressional action regarding revisions to categorical exclusions or exemptions from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) related to the provision of assistance described in subsection (a).

This section does not affect any requirement under any law other than the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

In this section:

The term greenfield means a site that has not been developed, including a woodland, farmland, and an open field.

The term infill site —

(A) means a site that is served by existing infrastructure, including water lines, sewer lines, and roads; and

(B) does not include—

(i) a site that is served by existing infrastructure that only consists of a road;

(ii) a site within a census tract designated as very high or relatively high risk for wildfire, coastal flooding, and riverine flooding under the National Risk Index of the Federal Emergency Management Agency pursuant to section 206 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5136); and

(iii) a greenfield.