S. 3970 — Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act

This section exempts financial assistance under sections 501, 502, 504, 515, 533, or 538 of the Housing Act of 1949 (i.e., USDA Rural Housing Service programs for low-income single-family loans and repairs, multi-family rental housing, and related activities) for construction or modification of residential housing on an infill site from being considered a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). (An infill site is served by existing infrastructure including water lines, sewer lines, and roads but excludes greenfields (i.e., previously undeveloped sites such as woodlands or farmland), sites served only by roads, and sites in census tracts designated very high or relatively high risk for wildfire, coastal flooding, or riverine flooding under FEMA's National Risk Index.) It further requires the Secretary of Agriculture to submit a report to Congress within five years of enactment assessing the exemption's effects on application review times and administrative costs, the rural affordable housing sector, and recommendations for future NEPA exclusions; a savings clause clarifies that the exemption does not affect other laws.