The Streamline Transit Projects Act allows certain transit agencies to take over responsibilities from the federal government for environmental reviews on routine transit projects. Under the bill, transit agencies in areas with populations over 200,000 that demonstrate adequate legal, technical, and financial capacity can assume authority to make categorical exclusion determinations—essentially deciding whether certain projects need full environmental assessments or can proceed with streamlined review. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to establish criteria and sign memoranda of understanding with participating agencies, which would last up to three years initially and could extend to five years for agencies with ten years of experience. Transit agencies assuming these responsibilities become liable for compliance with applicable federal environmental laws and can use federal transit funding to pay attorney's fees for project-related legal work, though the federal government retains oversight authority and can terminate the arrangement if an agency fails to perform adequately.
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