National Environmental Policy Act; Proposed Implementing Procedures and Categorical Exclusions

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBJECT>National Environmental Policy Act; Proposed Implementing Procedures and Categorical Exclusions</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Notice; request for comments. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> Federal agencies are required to develop procedures to implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing NEPA. Consistent with these requirements, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is proposing new NEPA implementing procedures (NEPA Procedures), including the establishment of new categorical exclusions (CEs) as part of its NEPA Procedures. CEs are categories of actions that an agency has determined normally do not have a significant effect on the human environment, individually or in the aggregate. CEs are a form of review that agencies use to comply with NEPA for proposed actions that normally have no or minimal environmental effects. NIST requests the views of the public on its draft NEPA Procedures as well as its substantiation record for the proposed CEs. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Submit written comments on or before January 10, 2025. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> The draft NEPA Procedures and CE substantiation record are available for review at <E T="03">https://www.nist.gov/chips/national-environmental-policy-act-nepa.</E> Submit all electronic public comments via email to <E T="03">CHIPSNEPA@chips.gov</E> citing “NEPA Procedures” in the subject line. NIST will accept comments in attached Word or PDF formats or within the body of the email. Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NIST. All comments received are a part of the public record; commenters should not include personal identifying information ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> name, address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information. NIST will accept anonymous comments. The most helpful comments include a specific recommendation, explain the reason for any recommended change, and provide supporting information. NIST will consider all relevant comments received on or before the closing date. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> David Frenkel, NIST, telephone number 240-204-1960, email <E T="03">David.Frenkel@chips.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Legal Framework</HD> The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 <E T="03">et seq.,</E> requires Federal agencies to consider the environmental effects of their proposed actions in their decision-making processes and inform and engage the public in that process. Section 101(a) of NEPA sets forth a national policy to use all practicable means and measures, including financial and technical assistance, in a manner calculated to foster and promote the general welfare, to create and maintain conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans. 42 U.S.C. 4331(a). Section 102 of NEPA directs agencies to interpret and administer Federal policies, regulations and laws consistent with NEPA's policies. 42 U.S.C. 4332. NEPA also created the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which has issued regulations implementing NEPA, 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508 (CEQ regulations). CEQ also has issued numerous guidance documents to facilitate agency implementation of NEPA. <E T="03">See</E> CEQ, CEQ Guidance Documents, <E T="03">https://ceq.doe.gov/guidance/guidance.html.</E> To comply with NEPA, agencies determine the appropriate level of review of any major Federal action—an environmental impact statement (EIS), environmental assessment (EA), or categorical exclusion (CE). 40 CFR 1501.3. If a proposed action is likely to have significant environmental effects, the agency must prepare an EIS and document its decision in a record of decision. 40 CFR 1501.3(c)(3), part 1502, 1505.2. If the proposed action is not likely to have significant environmental effects or the effects are unknown, the agency may instead prepare an EA, which is a concise public document used to support agency decision making. 40 CFR 1501.3(c)(2), 1501.5, 1508.1(j). After completing the analysis in the EA, the agency may conclude that the action will have no significant effects and document that conclusion in a finding of no significant impact, or conclude that the action is likely to have significant effects and therefore requires preparation of an EIS. 40 CFR 1501.6(a), 1508.1(j). Under NEPA and the CEQ regulations, a Federal agency may establish CEs— categories of actions that the agency has determined normally do not have a significant effect on the human environment, individually or in the aggregate—in its agency NEPA procedures. 42 U.S.C. 4336(e)(1); 40 CFR 1501.4(a), 1507.3(c)(8), 1508.1(e). If an agency determines that a CE established in its agency NEPA procedures covers a proposed action, it then evaluates the proposed action for extraordinary circumstances, which are factors or circumstances that indicate a normally categorically excluded action may have a significant effect. 40 CFR 1501.4(b), 1508.1(o). If an extraordinary circumstance exists, the agency nevertheless may apply the CE if it conducts an analysis and determines that the proposed action does not in fact have the potential to result in significant effects notwithstanding the extraordinary circumstance, or the agency modifies the action to avoid the potential to result in significant effects. 40 CFR 1501.4(b)(1). In these cases, the agency must document such determination. <E T="03">Id.</E> If the agency cannot categorically exclude the proposed action, it will prepare an EA or EIS, as appropriate. 40 CFR 1501.4(b)(2). On May 1, 2024, CEQ finalized its “Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule” to revise its regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA, including the amendments to NEPA in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Under the revised regulations, each Federal agency must, by July 1, 2025, develop procedures to implement NEPA and the CEQ regulations, facilitate efficient decision making, and ensure that the agencies make decisions in accordance with the policies and requirements of NEPA. 40 CFR 1507.3. As part of their procedures, agencies must establish CEs and identify extraordinary circumstances. 40 CFR 1507.3(c)(8). When establishing new or revising existing CEs in agency NEPA procedures, agencies must substantiate the proposed new or revised CEs with sufficient information to conclude that each category of actions does not have a significant effect, individually or in the aggregate, on the human environment, and provide this substantiation in a written record that is made publicly available as part of the notice and comment process for developing or revising proposed agency procedures. <E T="03">See</E> 40 CFR 1507.3(b), (c)(8). In developing NEPA procedures, agencies must consult with CEQ and provide an opportunity for public review. 40 CFR 1507.3(b)(1), (2). Before publishing final procedures, agencies must receive a determination from CEQ that the procedures conform with NEPA and the CEQ regulations. <E T="03">See</E> 40 CFR 1507.3(b)(2). <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> Founded in 1901, NIST's mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. Historically, NIST has carried out this mission through operation of the NIST Laboratories, which conduct world-class research, often in close collaboration with industry, that advances the nation's technology infrastructure and helps U.S. companies continually improve products and services. In August 2022, Congress passed the CHIPS Act of 2022, which amended title XCIX of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, 15 U.S.C. 4651 <E T="03">et seq.,</E> also known as the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act. The law provides the Department of Commerce with $50 billion for a suite of programs to strengthen and revitalize the U.S. position in semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing. The CHIPS for America program encompasses two offices within NIST responsible for implementing the law: the CHIPS Research and Development Office is investing $11 billion into developing a robust domestic semiconductor R&D ecosystem, while the CHIPS Program Office is dedicating $39 billion to provide incentives for investment in semiconductor facilities and equipment in the United States. NIST is uniquely positioned to successfully administer the CHIPS for America program because of the bureau's strong relationships with U.S. industries, its deep understanding of the semiconductor ecosystem, and its reputation as fair and trustworthy. NEPA may apply to activities conducted by NIST, including on its campuses in Gaithersburg, MD, and Boulder, CO, as well as to activities for which NIST provides financial assistance. NIST's NEPA Procedures are intended to make the NEPA process more useful to both NIST and the public and will serve as a repository for guidance and resources to aid NIST in implementation of NEPA. As part of its NEPA Procedures, NIST is proposing 18 new CEs and has prepared a substantiation record to support establishment of each CE. The proposed CEs are supported by long-standing CEs and substantiation records that have been ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 38k characters. 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