The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act (SPEED Act) reforms the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to speed up federal environmental reviews for development projects. The bill narrows the scope of what agencies must consider in environmental assessments by limiting review to effects that are directly and proximately caused by the immediate project—excluding speculative, distant, or future impacts. It also establishes strict deadlines for environmental reviews and court challenges: agencies have 180 days to complete corrected reviews if ordered by a court, and lawsuits challenging agency decisions must be filed within 150 days of the decision and must have been raised during the public comment period. The legislation makes it harder to challenge these decisions in court by requiring plaintiffs to show the agency abused its discretion and would have reached a different result, and it prevents courts from substituting their judgment for the agency's on environmental matters. No specific funding amounts or new appropriations are mentioned in the text.
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