National environmental policy act clean water act section 404 nepa 404 merger process for transportation projects in colorado march 2015 background in a may 12, 2003, letter from mr. Department of the interior nepa regulations and policies. Fhwa web site provides links to specific environmental topics. Ceqregulations for implementing nepa agencies shall focus on significant environmental. Applying the nepa process to weapons system acquisitions is an interactive workshop designed with both new and experienced participants in mind. For spaceport camden, the faa will prepare an environmental impact statement eis, which will. Regulations implementing national environmental policy act of 1969, 52 fr 47,89701, at 47,904 1987 hereinafter ferc order 486 to be codi. Nrc developed regulations that implement nepa in 10 cfr part 51, environmental protection regulations for domestic licensing and related regulatory functions. The merger is an agreement for complying with the clean water act substantive requirements at the same time as the nepa process, which has procedural requirements. Ceq guidance on mitigation bureau of land management. Nepa states that it is the continuing policy of the federal government, in cooperation with state and local governments, and other concerned public and private organizations, to use all practicable means and measures, including financial and technical. Review of agency requirements for complying with the. Nepa implementation 23 cfr 771 preamble to the regulation. In the early 1990s, the federal highway administration fhwa recognized the opportunity to incorporate nepa planning and decision.
The target audience is project teams district staff and their consultants responsible for the project so theycan better understand the purpose of the. Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the national environmental policy act of 1969, 40 cfr 15001508, 29 november 1978, council on environmental quality. Ncpc national environmental policy act regulations response. Frequently asked questions about nrcs role under the.
Categorical exclusions catex environmental assessments ea findings of no significant impacts fonsi. As stated in the mou, the section 404nepa merger process will generally apply to all new location projects and all projects that will likely require an individual permit under section 404 of the clean water act. The public comment period was open for 60 days, from august 16, 2007 to october 15, 2007. A means by which you use existing nepa to cover your proposed action without doing additional nepa analysis. These regulations are binding on all federal agencies. As stated in the mou, the section 404 nepa merger process will generally apply to all new location projects and all projects that will likely require an individual permit under section 404 of the clean water act. Fhwa guidance on the essential elements of the nepa process. Nepa requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions. It is these regulations, which have as their basis the earlier guidelines, that specify the procedural requirements outlined in nepa section 1022c. National environmental policy act clean water act section.
National environmental policy act nepa compliance checklist. Establish a working group to facilitate the implementation of the actions listed above as well as addressing issues related to esa section 7, nhpa. A number of agencies have developed lists of actions that are generally categorically excluded from environmental evaluation under their nepa regulations. Ceq request for comments on update on nepa regulations acec. Aashto guidance on various aspects of the nepa process. Following the merger of the white house office on environmental policy with ceq, the.
Policies and procedures is the faas guidance for complying with nepa and other special purpose environmental laws and. Eas written to comply with the national environmental policy act nepa. Aug 31, 2016 in 1978, ceq issued regulations 40 cfr parts 15001508 to implement nepa. Ceq s proposal to modernize its nepa implementing regulations on january 9, 2020, the. Nepa and ceqa governors office of planning and research. See hoecker, supra note 7, at 266 noting that nepa requires consideration of. Front cover photograph of john heinz national wildlife. Front cover photograph of john heinz national wildlife refuge. Update to the regulations implementing the procedural provisions of the. Epas nepa compliance database contains epas nepa documents, issued after august 1, 20, for its own actions. Under some circumstances, a project report or management plan may be totally merged with the eis. Review and identify needed changes in existing ceq nepa regulations.
Enhanced integration of nepa process within the acquisition management system ams to facilitate process efficiencies tasks. Nepa or the act except where compliance would be inconsistent with other statutory requirements. Nepa makes federal agencies accountable to the public for the environmental impacts of their actions. National environmental policy act of 1969, as amended, 42 u. Ceq regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of nepa. Finally, gsas resistance to the approach does not advance the administrations goal of streamlining the regulatory process especially nepa. The national environmental policy act nepa was signed into law on january 1, 1970. Ceq regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of. National environmental policy act nepa guidance document. Department of the interior process not specifically described in the council on environmental quality ceq nepa regulations. Includes web links to related code of federal regulations and other links appropriate to this video module.
Quality of environmental documents a report of the joint aashtoacec committee. Specifically, section 1022a of nepa direct all federal agencies to utilize a systemic, interdisciplinary approach which will insure the integrated use of natural and. National historic preservation act of 1966, as amended, 16 u. Discussion of major federal actions under nepa 2 healthier than it has been since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Department of transportation federal highway administration. Additional information can be found on the ceq website. Merger frequently asked questions faqs why merge nepa. Ceq to revise key nepa regs that govern ferc environmental. Nepas forty most asked questions us fish and wildlife service. Connaughton, executive office of the president, council on environmental quality, to mr. Idotfhwa nepa404 merger process, information for project teams. Nepa and the governmentwide regulations that carry out nepa 40 c.
Recent federal actions to streamline the nepa process. Nepa regulatory updates council on environmental quality. All definitions contained in the council on environmental quality ceq regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the national environmental policy act nepa 40 code of federal regulations cfr parts 15001508 apply to this instruction manual. Service, stating that the nepa claims were barred by section 312 of pub.
Review of agency requirements for complying with the national. Section 2 of nepa declares that the purpose of the act is to promote efforts which will. Ceq regulations for implementing the procedural provisions. Agencies obligation to comply with nepa to fullest extent possible a. The fccs procedures for implementing nepa are codified in title 47 of the cfr, part 1, subpart i, sections 1. The nepa task force national environmental policy act. National park service nepa policies and procedures. National environmental policy act nepa guidance document for endangered species act compliance in south carolina the national environment policy act nepa is a law passed by congress in 1969 and signed into law on january 1, 1970. Federal register national environmental policy act. National environmental policy act nepa process what is nepa. Cei comments on proposed updated nepa procedural regulations.
The target audience is project teams district staff and their consultants responsible for the project so. The information in this document provides answers to common questions about the national environmental policy act404 nepa 404 merger process. Definitions from the ceq regulations of some of the terms and. The national environmental policy act of 1969 nepa is the primary instrument for federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts caused by the decisions that they make pursuant to their statutory authority. Introduction to the national environmental policy act nepa. The council on environmental quality ceq today published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking notice seeking public comment on a vast range of potential revisions to ceqs regulations implementing the national environmental policy act nepa. Nrc develops, as required by nepa, an environmental impact statement eis for major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Ceq s proposed rule would incorporate elements of the one federal decision policy, codify certain case law and ceq. Introduction to the national environmental policy act. Nextgen national environmental policy act nepa plan. You should not combine adverse and beneficial impacts of.
Overview of nepa as applied to transportation projects. Nepa requires federal agencies to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of any proposed major federal action and to inform and involve the public in the decisionmaking process. These regulations are issued pursuant to nepa, the environmental quality improvement act of 1970, as amended 42 u. In colorado, this process was formalized in an agreement and signed by cdot, usace, and fhwa in december 2004january 2005. Principles for considering environmental justice under nepa. This 2 or 3day workshop consists of a carefully designed combination of the following. On february 18, 2010, the council on environmental quality ceq announced four steps to modernize, reinvigorate, and ease the use and increase the transparency of implementation of the national environmental policy act nepa.
The national environmental policy act of 1969, 42 u. Ceq regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of nepa white house council on environmental quality ceq regulations implementing the national environmental policy act nepa, 40 cfr parts 15001508. The regulations address the procedural provisions of nepa and the administration of the nepa process, including the preparation of environmental impact statements. Governing statutes, regulations, and executive orders nasa. For optimal learning, class size is limited to between 20 and 25 participants. At the second level of analysis, a federal agency prepares a written environmental assessment ea to determine whether or not a federal undertaking would significantly affect the environment. Applying the nepa process to weapons system acquisitions. National environmental policy act nepa for identifying and addressing environmental justice concerns. Merger frequently asked questions faqs why merge nepa and.
Ceq regulations should implement a process similar to a nepa404 merger process. Issue any additional and necessary nepa guidance to simplify and accelerate the nepa process for infrastructure projects. Enacted in 1970, nepa is a fundamental tool used to harmonize our. National environmental policy act clean water act section 404 nepa404 merger process for transportation projects in colorado march 2015 background in a may 12, 2003, letter from mr.
Nepa requires all federal agencies to stop, look, and. The information in this document provides answers to common questions about the national environmental policy act404 nepa404 merger process. Environmental quality ceq, established the national environmental policy act nepa task force. Nepa created the council on environmental quality ceq, which promulgated regulations implementing the act. Council on environmental quality provides regulations for all federal agencies implementing nepa. Council on environmental quality regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the national environmental. The council on environmental quality ceq initially issued guidelines for implementing nepa in 1970, revised those guidelines in 1973, and subsequently promulgated its nepa implementing regulations in 1978. Ncpc national environmental policy act regulations.
N a t i o n a l o c e a n i c a n d a t m o s p h e r i c a d m i n i s t r a t i o n regulations and guidance 7 the nepa process to be followed by all federal agencies is. The ceq works with federal agencies, such as nasa, to develop environmental policies and initiatives. Proposed nepa procedures summary of public comment. Why merge nepa and section 404 of the clean water act. This guidance is issued in accordance with nepa, 42 u. Instruction manual on implementation of the national. Task name opr supporting office time frame update faa nepa order 1050.
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