WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Reclamation is requesting public comment on its proposed revisions of seven categorical exclusions in Reclamation’s implementing procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The categorical exclusions cover water-related contracts, use authorizations, financial assistance, loans, and funding activities.
The revised categorical exclusions would allow Reclamation to complete environmental reviews more efficiently and effectively for infrastructure projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. These revisions are consistent with Council on Environmental Quality’s National Environmental Policy Act regulations by enhancing efficiencies and ensuring clear and consistent interpretation for Reclamation, project proponents, and the public.
The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to consider the potential environmental effects of proposed federal actions. The appropriate level of environmental review prepared for a federal action is determined by the degree of potential environmental impacts.
Per the National Environmental Policy Act, a categorical exclusion is a class of actions that a federal agency has determined, after review by the Council on Environmental Quality, do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and for which, therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is normally required.
You may review documents associated with this proposal at https://www.usbr.gov/nepa.
Please send written comments by July 8, 2024. You may send comments electronically to usbr_ce@usbr.gov, or by mail to Bureau of Reclamation, Attn: USBR CE, 1849 C Street, NW, Suite 7069 MIP, Washington, DC 20240.
