EPA Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act

EPA is required to comply with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for:

• Certain research and development activities.
• Its facilities construction.
• Title II wastewater treatment construction grants under Section 201 of the Clean Water Act.
• Water and wastewater infrastructure projects funded under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014.
• EPA-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for "new sources" as defined in Section 306 of the Clean Water Act.
• Certain projects funded through EPA annual appropriations acts.

EPA is exempt from NEPA under the following statutes:

• Section 511(c) of the Clean Water Act exempts most EPA actions under the Clean Water Act from the requirements of NEPA.
• Section 7(c) of the Energy Supply and Environmental Coordination Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 793(c)(1)) exempts all EPA actions under the Clean Air Act from the requirements of NEPA.

In addition, courts have consistently recognized that certain EPA procedures or environmental reviews under enabling legislation are functionally equivalent to the NEPA process and thus exempt from the procedural requirements of NEPA. The purpose of the functional equivalence exemption is avoidance of repetitious analysis in a decision making process that functions in an equivalent way to the NEPA process.

EPA NEPA Compliance Guidance and Procedures 

• EPA Procedures for Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR Part 6)
• Adoption of Categorical Exclusions under Section 109 of NEPA. Under Section 109 of NEPA, an agency may adopt a categorical exclusion listed in another agency's NEPA procedures for a category of proposed agency actions for which the categorical exclusion was established. EPA has adopted the following categorical exclusions:

  • Notice of Adoption of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Categorical Exclusion for restoration activities of wetland, riparian, instream, and native habitats. EPA adopted this categorical exclusion for use in EPA's Community Grants Program and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program.

  • Notice of Adoption of Department of Energy's (DOE) Categorical Exclusion for drop-off, collection, and transfer facilities for recyclable materials and for installation or relocation of machinery and equipment. EPA adopted this categorical exclusion for use in EPA's programs and in funding opportunities, including those administered by EPA's Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant Program.

  • Notice of Adoption of DOE Categorical Exclusion for Methane Gas Recovery and Utilization Systems. EPA adopted this categorical exclusion for use in EPA's program and funding opportunities, including those administered for Congressionally directed spending for projects identified in EPA's Appropriations Acts.

  • Notice of Adoption of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Categorical Exclusion. EPA adopted this DOE categorical exclusion to use in EPA's program and funding opportunities, including those administered by EPA's Clean School Bus Program.

  • Notice of Adoption of a Bureau of Indian Affairs Categorical Exclusion. EPA adopted this categorical exclusion for waste management activities involving remediation of hazardous waste sites under NEPA for use by EPA's Contaminated Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Lands Assistance Program.
    • Notice of Adoption of a Bureau of Indian Affair's categorical exclusion for waste management activities involving remediation of hazardous waste sites. EPA adopted this categorical exclusion for use for a single project under the Contaminated ANCSA Lands Assistance Program. 
• Statement of Policy for Voluntary Preparation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Documents (PDF) (3 pp, 156 K, About PDF)
• Environmental Review Guide for Special Appropriation Grants (pdf) (3.06 MB)

EPA NEPA Compliance Documents

EPA's NEPA Compliance Database contains EPA's NEPA documents, issued after August 1, 2013, for its own actions. The database includes:

• Categorical Exclusions (CE)
• Environmental Assessments (EA)
• Findings of No Significant Impacts (FONSI)

For information on Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) prepared by EPA for its actions, go to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Database.