Legislation, Regulation and Guidance
NEPA Implementation
FTA, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) joint regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are contained in the Environmental Impact and Related Procedures (23 CFR part 771). The agencies have modified their joint NEPA regulations and published an interim final rule to reflect the removal of the CEQ regulations, amendments to NEPA included in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, and amendments regarding efficient environmental reviews and One Federal Decision included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
The interim final rule became effective immediately upon its publication on July 3, 2025. Until a final rule is issued, project sponsors should continue to apply the interim final rule to their projects. Project sponsors should seek direction from their FTA Regional Office if they have questions regarding implementing the interim final rule.
Regulations and Executive Orders
| Environmental Impact and Related Procedures | |
|
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) | MOU |
Rulemakings
| Interim Final Rule: Environmental Impact and Related Procedures (July 3, 2025) | IFR |
| 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
| Section 139 Environmental Review Process: Efficient Environmental Reviews for Project Decisionmaking and One Federal Decision Interim Final Guidance (December 17, 2024) | |
| 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 |