Consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing NEPA, PHMSA is establishing agency NEPA implementing procedures and new categorical exclusions (CEs).

PHMSA's implementing procedures establish policies, responsibilities, and procedures to consider the environmental effects of their proposed actions in their decision-making processes and inform and engage the public in that process as required by NEPA (42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4335), the requirements set forth in the CEQ Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (CEQ Regulations), 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and DOT Order 5610.1C, Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts. The CEQ Regulations establish procedures for complying with NEPA. In accordance with 40 CFR § 1507.3 of the CEQ Regulations, PHMSA's implementing procedures supplement those regulations.

Under NEPA and the CEQ regulations, Categorical Exclusions (CEs) are categories of actions that the agency has determined normally do not have a significant effect on the human environment—in their agency NEPA procedures. Once established, an agency determines whether a CE covers a proposed action, and if so, whether there are extraordinary circumstances in which a normally excluded action may have a significant effect. If no extraordinary circumstances are present, the agency may apply the CE to the proposed action. If extraordinary circumstances are present, the agency nevertheless may still categorically exclude the proposed action if it determines there are circumstances that lessen the impacts or other conditions sufficient to avoid significant effects. PHMSA's existing CEs are listed below.