The American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act of 2026 aims to significantly streamline permitting and environmental reviews for energy and mineral infrastructure projects. It designates the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the sole lead agency for NEPA reviews of natural gas pipelines, mandating early coordination with participating agencies and requiring other agencies to defer to FERC's determined scope of environmental review. This framework seeks to expedite project approvals by centralizing authority and setting clear expectations for interagency cooperation. A key provision eliminates the requirement for Section 401 water quality certifications under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) for projects authorized by the Natural Gas Act. While states can propose conditions, FERC may only include them if it finds, with clear and convincing evidence , they are necessary for FWPCA compliance, and can only deny a project on water quality grounds with similar evidence of non-compliance. More broadly, Section 401 reforms clarify that certification decisions must be based solely on compliance with specific FWPCA provisions, and if states fail to act on a request within a federal agency-determined "reasonable period" (not exceeding one year), the certification is automatically waived without judicial review. Further FWPCA amendments extend National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit terms from 5 to 10 years and mandate the continued application of expired general permit terms under certain conditions. For Section 404 permits for dredged or fill material, the bill limits the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to restrict disposal sites to the period before permit issuance. It also mandates nationwide general permits for linear infrastructure and pipeline projects with minimal environmental impact, exempting them from certain Endangered Species Act consultations and allowing NEPA compliance via environmental assessment. The legislation also addresses hardrock mining, allowing operators to locate multiple mill sites (up to 5 acres each) if reasonably necessary for operations, though these sites do not convey mineral rights. A new Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund is established, funded by claim maintenance fees from these mill sites, to support reclamation efforts. Crucially, the bill amends NEPA to explicitly define it as a procedural statute , clarifying that it does not mandate specific environmental outcomes or confer substantive rights beyond procedural requirements. NEPA reforms narrow the scope of environmental review, allowing agencies to consider only effects with a reasonably close causal relationship to the immediate project, excluding speculative or attenuated impacts. The bill imposes strict deadlines for agencies to determine application completeness, identify cooperating agencies, and issue final agency actions, with extensions requiring applicant approval. It permits reliance on existing state or tribal environmental reviews if they meet NEPA requirements and extends the validity of programmatic environmental documents from 5 to 10 years. Finally, the bill significantly alters judicial review under NEPA, requiring courts to afford substantial deference to agency decisions. The sole remedy for non-compliance is a remand without vacatur or injunction, with a 180-day deadline for agency corrective action, and the original agency action remains in effect, while also imposing a 150-day statute of limitations for challenges and limiting standing.