In the August 3, 2016, Federal Register, USDA's
Farm Service Agency ("FSA") consolidated, updated, and
amended its regulations implementing the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended ("NEPA"). FSA's
previous NEPA regulations had been in place since 1980. The changes
are intended to better serve the change to FSA's structure and
scope of its programs, and to align FSA's NEPA regulations with
the President's Council on Environmental Quality NEPA
regulations and meet the FSA responsibilities for periodic review
of their categorical exclusions ("CatExs"). CatExs
involve proposed actions that typically do not result in individual
or cumulative significant environmental effects or impacts and
therefore do not merit further environmental review in an
Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement. This
final rule also expands and clarifies the list of proposed actions
that require an Environmental Assessment. The FSA NEPA implementing
regulations also cover the Commodity Credit Corporation
("CCC") programs that FSA administers on behalf of
CCC.
The revisions to the FSA NEPA implementing regulations are intended
to improve transparency and clarity of the FSA NEPA process for FSA
program participants, and to provide for a more efficient
environmental review that will lead to better decisions and
outcomes for stakeholders and the environment. Finally, in
coordination with the Rural Housing Service, Rural
Business-Cooperative Service, and Rural Utilities Service, this
rule removes the old NEPA regulations. The rule was
effective August 3, 2016.
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