{"id":29699,"date":"2024-08-16T11:55:25","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T15:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/?p=29699"},"modified":"2024-08-16T12:03:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T16:03:22","slug":"rds-intent-to-adopt-categorical-exclusions-to-national-environmental-policy-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/rds-intent-to-adopt-categorical-exclusions-to-national-environmental-policy-act\/","title":{"rendered":"RD\u2019s Intent to Adopt Categorical Exclusions to National Environmental Policy Act"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>CARH\u2019s BROADCAST EMAIL\u2014Regulatory Alert<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>August 16, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CARH\u2019s General Counsel, Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP, prepared the following information regarding the \u201ccategorical exclusions\u201d Rural Development (RD) intends to adopt regarding the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).<\/p>\n<p>NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making \u201cmajor federal actions.\u201d A major federal action is an action that a federal agency determines is subject to significant federal control and responsibility. However, categorical exclusion applies to a defined category of actions that are determined to normally not have a significant effect on the human environment and therefore do not require preparation of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement, which generally require a higher level of information and analysis.<\/p>\n<p>RD has announced its intention to adopt three categorical exclusions to use in its programs and funding opportunities. The proposed adoptions include the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><u>B5.4 Repair or replacement of pipelines.<\/u><\/strong> A categorical exclusion would include \u201c[r]epair, replacement, upgrading, rebuilding, or minor relocation of pipelines within existing rights-of-way, provided that the actions are in accordance with applicable requirements (such as Army Corps of Engineers permits under section 404 of the Clean Water Act).\u201d This could provide some relief with respect to utilities servicing a project.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>B5.5 Short pipeline segments.<\/u><\/strong> \u201cConstruction and subsequent operation of short&#8230;pipeline segments conveying materials\u2026between existing source facilities and existing receiving facilities&#8230;, provided that the pipeline segments are within previously disturbed or developed rights-of-way.\u201d An example of a project type where an RD may apply this exclusion includes, but is not limited to, the construction of short pipelines in a utility corridor to provide natural gas to an existing power plant operated by a rural utility cooperative.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>B5.23 Electric vehicle charging stations.<\/u><\/strong> \u201cThe installation, modification, operation, and\u00a0removal of electric vehicle charging stations, using commercially available technology, within a\u00a0previously disturbed or developed area.\u201d However, \u201c[c]overed actions are limited to areas where access and parking are in accordance with applicable requirements (such as local land use and zoning requirements) in the proposed project area and would incorporate appropriate control\u00a0technologies and best management practices.\u201d This categorical exclusion could have a material impact on RD that anticipates enhanced green energy efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each of these proposed efforts, which follow similar types of projects already implemented by the Department of Energy, will enhance the effectiveness of the RD\u2019s mission, saving costs and time.<\/p>\n<p>If you need further information on these potential categorical exclusions, contact Nicholas P. Tsimortos of AGG, at <a href=\"mailto:nick.tsimortos@agg.com\">nick.tsimortos@agg.com<\/a>. For other news and information affecting the affordable rural housing industry, please visit the Newsroom on CARH\u2019s website, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.carh.org\">www.carh.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CARH\u2019s BROADCAST EMAIL\u2014Regulatory Alert August 16, 2024 CARH\u2019s General Counsel, Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP, prepared the following information regarding the \u201ccategorical exclusions\u201d Rural Development (RD) intends to adopt regarding the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making \u201cmajor federal actions.\u201d A&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-1","description-off"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/263"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29699"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29701,"href":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29699\/revisions\/29701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carh.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}