Environmental Impact and Related Procedures-Programmatic Agreements and Additional Categorical Exclusions

Summary: This final rule amends the FHWA and FTA joint procedures that implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by adding new categorical exclusions (CE) for FHWA and FTA; allowing State departments of transportation (State DOT) to process certain CEs without FHWA's detailed project-by-project review and approval as long as the action meets specific constraints; and adding a new section on programmatic agreements between FHWA and State DOTs that allow State DOTs to apply FHWA CEs on FHWA's behalf, as described in section 1318 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21).