Notice2026-10794
National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures for the Bureau of Reclamation (516 DM 1)
Primary source
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Published
May 29, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior Department
Abstract
This notice announces a revision to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing procedures for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) at Chapter 1 of Part 516 of the Department of the Interior's (Department or DOI) Departmental Manual (516 DM 1)--DOI Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures. The revision adds two new categorical exclusions (CEs) for hydropower-related activities in the DOI Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures, Appendix 2: Bureau Categorical Exclusions.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 103 (Friday, May 29, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 103 (Friday, May 29, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32087-32089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10794]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTEROR
Office of the Secretary
[RR83530000, 267R5065C6, RX.59389832.1009676]
National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures for the
Bureau of Reclamation (516 DM 1)
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces a revision to the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) implementing procedures for the Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) at Chapter 1 of Part 516 of the Department of the
Interior's (Department or DOI) Departmental Manual (516 DM 1)--DOI
Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures. The revision adds two new
categorical exclusions (CEs) for hydropower-related activities in the
DOI Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures, Appendix 2: Bureau
Categorical Exclusions.
DATES: The revision is effective upon publication with the CEs
available for immediate use upon this publication.
ADDRESSES: The substantiation record and supporting materials,
including relevant Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Findings of No
Significant Impact (FONSIs), are available at <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/nepa">https://www.usbr.gov/nepa</a>. The public can also view the CE substantiation report at <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/nepa">https://www.usbr.gov/nepa</a>. The web address for the DOI Handbook of NEPA
Implementing Procedures where the new CEs are being added is: <a href="https://www.doi.gov/document-library/handbook/516-dm-1-handbook-national-environmental-policy-act-implementing">https://www.doi.gov/document-library/handbook/516-dm-1-handbook-national-environmental-policy-act-implementing</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Hunt via phone at 916-202-7158,
or via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1d686e7f6f427e785d686e7f6f337a726b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f88d8b9a8aa79b9db88d8b9a8ad69f978e">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals who are deaf, deafblind,
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in
the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) was established in 1902.
Its original mission was civil works construction to develop the water
resources of the arid Western United States to promote the settlement
and economic development of that region. Reclamation developed hundreds
of projects to store and deliver water. That substantial infrastructure
development contributed to making Reclamation the largest wholesale
supplier of water in the United States.
Reclamation has had a long, successful history generating reliable,
low-cost hydropower--delivering energy, economic, and national security
benefits to western communities for over a century. Reclamation is the
second-largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States,
owning 77 facilities and directly operating 53 of them, which together
comprise over 14,750 megawatts of capacity. These ``reserved''
facilities generate an average of 37 million megawatt-hours of
electricity annually--the equivalent demand of over 3.5 million U.S.
homes.
In alignment with Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American
Energy, and Secretary's Order 3418, Unleashing American Energy,
Reclamation is
[[Page 32088]]
actively implementing a Hydropower Action Plan. This plan prioritizes
capital investment, deregulation and process improvement, and
technological innovation to maximize hydropower energy production,
cost-savings, and operational efficiencies.
As part of this effort, Reclamation developed two CEs to add to its
NEPA implementing procedures to improve the efficiency of NEPA
compliance for hydropower activities that have consistently
demonstrated no significant environmental impacts to the human
environment. When appropriately established and applied, CEs allow
agencies to operate more efficiently to protect the environment by
focusing their resources on proposals that may have significant
environmental impacts.
II. NEPA
NEPA, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347, 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. 42 U.S.C. 4331.
NEPA also established the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) as
an advisory agency within the Executive Office of the President on
environmental matters and the implementation of NEPA. NEPA requires
Federal agencies to identify and develop methods and procedures, in
consultation with CEQ, to ensure appropriate consideration of
environmental concerns. 42 U.S.C 4332(2)(B).
To comply with NEPA, agencies determine the appropriate level of
review of major Federal actions subject to NEPA, with the level of
review corresponding to anticipated effects on the quality of the human
environment. If a proposed major Federal action is likely to have
reasonably foreseeable significant environmental effects, the agency
must prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to support its
approval. 42 U.S.C. 4336(b)(1). If the proposed action is not likely to
have reasonably foreseeable significant environmental effects or if the
significance of the effects is unknown, the agency may instead prepare
an environmental assessment (EA), which is a concise public document
used to support agency decision-making. 43 U.S.C. 4336(b)(2). After
completing the analysis in an EA, the agency may conclude that the
action will have no significant effects and document that conclusion in
a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) or conclude that the action
is likely to have significant effects and therefore requires
preparation of an EIS. 42 U.S.C. 4336(b)(2).
Under NEPA, an agency also may establish CEs--categories of actions
that the agency has determined normally do not significantly affect the
quality of the human environment--in its agency NEPA procedures as an
additional form of NEPA review. 42 U.S.C. 4336e(1). If Reclamation or
another bureau or office within DOI determines that a CE covers a
proposed action, it must then evaluate the proposed action for
extraordinary circumstances, which are factors or circumstances that
indicate a normally categorically excluded action may have a
significant effect. 43 CFR 46.205, 46.215. If Reclamation or another
bureau cannot categorically exclude the proposed action following
review for extraordinary circumstances (i.e., there are extraordinary
circumstances present), it will prepare an EA or EIS, as appropriate,
before issuing any decision to authorize the action. 43 CFR 46.205(c),
42 U.S.C. 4336(b).
Bureaus and DOI establish new or revise existing CEs by
substantiating the proposed new or revised CEs with sufficient
information to demonstrate that the actions included in the category
normally do not have a significant effect on the quality of the human
environment and provides this substantiation in a written record that
is made publicly available. In developing NEPA procedures, bureaus and
DOI also consult with CEQ in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(B).
III. Categorical Exclusions Justification
The Department and Reclamation find that the categories of actions
described in the two CEs being added to DOI's NEPA implementing
procedures normally do not have a significant effect on the human
environment, absent extraordinary circumstances. This finding is based
on Reclamation's history and over 40 years of experience analyzing
actions under NEPA and using CEs; and post-implementation review of
authorized actions that confirms that these actions normally do not
have a significant effect on the human environment.
To demonstrate the finding that actions under the proposed CEs
would not normally result in significant effects on the human
environment, Reclamation reviewed proposed actions evaluated in 10 EAs
that supported FONSIs as well as post-implementation information and
summarized them in the CE substantiation report included in this
notice's supporting documentation. These 10 EAs that supported FONSIs
analyze actions that these CEs are designed to cover in the future.
DOI recognizes that certain proposed actions, when reviewed on a
case-by-case basis, may implicate one or more extraordinary
circumstances, and for those proposed actions where a normally excluded
action may have a significant effect, bureaus will prepare an EA or
EIS. Thus, prior to applying any CE, bureaus will review the proposed
action to ensure it is covered by the CE and evaluate the proposed
action for the presence of any extraordinary circumstances.
Reclamation requires that any action for which one of the new CEs
is applied must be documented. Reclamation documents CE use with a
checklist to demonstrate a) the applicability of the CE, and b) that no
extraordinary circumstances are present such that a normally excluded
action may have a significant effect. In such cases where a normally
excluded action may have a significant effect, Reclamation will conduct
additional NEPA analysis and prepare an EA or EIS, as appropriate.
IV. Text for the DOI Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures
The Department's NEPA procedures are modified with additions as
follows. The DOI Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures, Appendix 2:
Bureau Categorical Exclusions:
Bureau of Reclamation
14.5 Categorical Exclusions
C. Project Implementation Activities
(5) *Issuance of a lease of power privilege or alternative
authorization by Reclamation, approving non-federal hydropower
development which merely augments or supplements existing Reclamation
Project facilities.
D. Operation and Maintenance Activities
(10) *Maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement of existing
hydropower facilities and equipment, including all powertrain and
balance of plant equipment, which may involve a minor change in size,
location, and/or operation. Covered facilities and equipment include,
but are not limited to, turbines, generators, transformers, cranes,
pumps, gates, control and communication systems, and new
instrumentation.
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Authorities
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.).
Stephen G. Tryon,
Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2026-10794 Filed 5-28-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4332-90-P
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