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Legislation, Regulation and Guidance

NEPA Implementation

To assist federal agencies in implementing the environmental policy and "action forcing" provisions of NEPA, CEQ issued Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508).

The regulations, first issued in 1978, were comprehensively updated, effective September 14, 2020, and CEQ’s NEPA regulations are applicable to all new environmental reviews initiated since then.   

FTA, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) joint regulations implementing NEPA are contained in the  Environmental Impact and Related Procedures (23 CFR part 771). The agencies will update the joint NEPA regulations, as necessary, to align with and implement the revised CEQ regulations. Until a final rule is issued, however, project sponsors generally should apply the existing part 771 regulations to their projects and seek direction from their FTA Regional Office if they have questions regarding implementing CEQ’s latest NEPA regulations.

Regulations and Executive Orders

Environmental Impact and Related Procedures

23 CFR part 771

Parks, Recreation Areas, Wildlife and Waterfowl Refuges and Historic Sites (Section 4(f))

23 CFR part 774
Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects (August 24, 2017)

EO 13807,

MOU

Rulemakings

Notice of Recent Statutory Changes and Change of Date for the Annual Index for Inflation of the Monetary Thresholds for the Limited Federal Financial Assistance Categorical Exclusions (January 23, 2023) Notice, 88 FR 4072
Final Rule: Environmental Impact and Related Procedures (October 29, 2018) Final Rule, 83 FR 54480
Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Environmental Impact and Related Procedures (September, 29, 2017) SNPRM, 82 FR 45531
Proposed Rulemaking: Program for Eliminating Duplication of Environmental Review established by Section 1309 of the FAST Act (September 28, 2017) NPRM, 82 FR 45220

Final Rule: Environmental Impact and Related Procedures-Programmatic Agreements and Additional Categorical Exclusions (October 6, 2014)

Final Rule, 79 FR 60100

Final Rule: Categorical Exclusions for Actions within Existing Operational ROW and Actions with Limited Federal Assistance (January 13, 2014)

Final Rule, 79 FR 2107
Final Rule: Categorical Exclusion for Emergency Actions (February 19, 2013) Final Rule, 78 FR 11593

Final Rule: Categorical Exclusions and Streamlining (February 7, 2013)

Final Rule, 78 FR 8964

FTA Guidance

Environmental Review Provisions in BIL/IIJA Questions and Answers (September 8, 2022) Guidance
USDOT Guidance on the Use of Combined Final Environmental Impact Statements/Records of Decision and Errata Sheets in NEPA Reviews (April 25, 2019) Guidance
USDOT Interim Policy on Page Limits for NEPA Documents and Focused Analysis (August 23, 2019) Interim Policy
NEPA Re-Evaluation Guidance for FHWA, FRA, and FTA (August 14, 2019) Guidance
Questions and Answers on the procedural changes to 23 U.S.C. § 139 as they relate to FHWA, FRA, and FTA projects (June 2, 2017) Q and A
Guidance for Implementation of FTA’s Categorical Exclusions (23 C.F.R. § 771.118) (January 2023) Guidance
DRAFT Section 139 Environmental Review Process Guidance for Public Comment (March 12, 2015) Draft Guidance
FTA Final Guidance on the Application of 49 U.S.C. § 5323(q) to Corridor Preservation for a Transit Project (November 19, 2014) Guidance
Keys to Efficient Development of Useful Environmental Documents Guidance
SAFETEA-LU Environmental Review Process Final Guidance (2006) Guidance