U.S. Department of Energy

Agency-published source DOE NEPA Procedures, App. C, USDA-40d-USFS

Categorical Exclusion

USDA-40d-USFS — Adopted from U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service

Restoring wetlands, streams, riparian areas or other water bodies by removing, replacing, or modifying water control structures such as, but not limited to, dams, levees, dikes, ditches, culverts, pipes, drainage tiles, valves, gates, and fencing, to allow waters to flow into natural channels and floodplains and restore natural flow regimes to the extent practicable where valid existing rights or special use authorizations are not unilaterally altered or canceled. Examples include but are not limited to:
(i) Repairing an existing water control structure that is no longer functioning properly with minimal dredging, excavation, or placement of fill, and does not involve releasing hazardous substances;
(ii) Installing a newly-designed structure that replaces an existing culvert to improve aquatic organism passage and prevent resource and property damage where the road or trail maintenance level does not change;
(iii) Removing a culvert and installing a bridge to improve aquatic and/or terrestrial organism passage or prevent resource or property damage where the road or trail maintenance level does not change; and
(iv) Removing a small earthen and rock fill dam with a low hazard potential classification that is no longer needed.

DOE has adopted the categorical exclusions listed below from other Federal agencies pursuant to section 109 of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4336(c)). These categorical exclusions are available for use by all DOE offices pursuant to procedures contained in section 5.2. DOE’s notices of adoption, cited below, may contain additional information relevant to the adoption and use of particular categorical exclusions. DOE maintains a webpage for adoptions of categorical exclusions pursuant to section 109 of NEPA, as amended (https://www.energy.gov/nepa/section-109-adopting-categorical-exclusions).
Strikeouts indicate an administrative change to the categorical exclusion text, as adopted, in alignment with Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) guidance on categorical exclusions. CEQ’s April 2026 guidance on "Establishing, Revising, Adopting, and Applying Categorical Exclusions Under the National Environmental Policy Act” provides for non- substantive changes when adopting another agency’s categorical exclusion. Specifically, CEQ guidance states: “[i]f an agency needs to clarify that an adopted categorical exclusion applies to its proposed action despite non-substantive language in the categorical exclusion referencing the establishing agency, it may explain this in the public notice adopting the categorical exclusion.”

CE source references

DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures — DOE NEPA Procedures, App. C, USDA-40d-USFS (implementing procedures)

Application conditions

As described in section II.B.2 of this notice, USFS lists resource conditions to evaluate for extraordinary circumstances. In deciding whether to use the adopted USFS categorical exclusions, DOE will evaluate whether there are extraordinary circumstances associated with the proposed action. In doing so, DOE will refer to the resource conditions identified by USFS. These resource conditions parallel the list of integral elements at the start of appendix B to DOE’s NEPA procedures. 10 CFR part 1021, subpart D. DOE also will refer to the definition of extraordinary circumstances in its own NEPA procedures. 10 CFR 1021.410(b)(2).

DOE Adoption of Multiple Forest Service Categorical Exclusions, July 23, 2024 (adoption notice)
USDA NEPA Regulations, Extraordinary Circumstances — 7 CFR 1b.3(f) (regulation)

Application procedures

(a) Proposed recurring activities to be undertaken during a specified time period, such as routine maintenance activities for a year, may be addressed in a single categorical exclusion determination after considering the potential aggregated impacts.

DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures — Section 5.4(a) (implementing procedures)

(c) To find that a proposal is categorically excluded, DOE shall affirmatively determine the factors listed below. When applying more than one categorical exclusion to a proposal, DOE shall consider these factors for the full scope of the proposal and the collective scope of the categorical exclusions.
(1) The proposal fits within one or more classes of actions listed in appendices B–C of these procedures;
(2) The proposal has not been segmented to meet the definition of a categorical exclusion. Segmentation can occur when a proposal is broken down into small parts in order to avoid the appearance of significance of the total action. However, segmentation does not include proposals that are developed and potentially implemented over multiple phases where each phase results in a decision whether to proceed to the subsequent phase.

DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures — Section 5.4(c), (c)(1), and (c)(2) (implementing procedures)

Documentation requirements

(d) DOE will document its determination that one or more categorical exclusions applies to a proposed agency action for any application of a categorical exclusion included in appendices B or C of these procedures.

DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures — Section 5.4(d) (implementing procedures)

As described in section II.B.1 of this notice, USFS requires documentation of the decision to apply any of the categorical exclusions previously listed. DOE requires documentation and posting online categorical exclusion determinations that rely on any categorical exclusion listed in appendix B to DOE’s NEPA procedures (10 CFR 1021.410(e)). DOE will extend these current practices of documentation and posting online to categorical exclusion determinations made using the adopted USFS categorical exclusions. In addition, USFS requires that the ‘‘project or case file should include any records prepared, such as: The names of interested and affected people, groups, and agencies contacted; the determination that no extraordinary circumstances exist; a copy of the decision memo; and a list of the people notified of the decision.’’ 36 CFR 220.6(e). Maintaining these records aligns with DOE practice, and DOE would maintain similar records associated with its use of the adopted USFS categorical exclusions.

DOE Adoption of Multiple Forest Service Categorical Exclusions, July 23, 2024 (adoption notice)

Extraordinary circumstances

(3) There are no extraordinary circumstances related to the proposal that indicate a normally excluded agency action is likely to have a reasonably foreseeable significant adverse effect. It is not the presence of an extraordinary circumstance that precludes application of a categorical exclusion, but rather application of a categorical exclusion is not possible only when DOE concludes that the extraordinary circumstance is likely to cause a reasonably foreseeable significant adverse effect or that DOE does not know the environmental effect of the extraordinary circumstance. DOE or an applicant may modify the proposal to avoid reasonably foreseeable adverse significant effects such that the categorical exclusion would apply. Extraordinary circumstances are unique situations presented by specific proposals, including, but not limited to, uncertain effects or effects involving unique or unknown risks.

DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures — Section 5.4(c)(3) (implementing procedures)

Classification

Water Resources — tags: streams, leasing, dredging, roads, bridges, trails

Adopted from

U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service — 7 CFR 1b.4(d)(40) (matching origin identifier: 5a24a94e-011e-5502-8d60-513ee6fc2573) — View current originating CE (not a historical-version verification)

Originating CE identifier: 5a24a94e-011e-5502-8d60-513ee6fc2573
Scope not supplied; do not assume full adoption.
Notice date: 2024-07-23 (not necessarily the adoption or effective date)

DOE announced adoption of this categorical exclusion (formerly U.S. Forest Service categorical exclusion (e)(18)) on July 23, 2024 (89 FR 59726).
Originating CE citation: 7 CFR 1b.4(d)(40).

Adopted text supplied by the adopting agency

Provenance

Agency: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Dataset: U.S. Department of Energy
Source provenance: Agency-published source
Source type: agency hosted
Identifier: b41f8ba6-49cc-5ef9-bad5-b080a14de305
Identity status: provisional (publisher declaration, not independently verified)
Source release: 2026-07
Source last updated: 2026-07-13
Source current as of: 2026-08-12
Fetched at: 1970-01-01T00:00:00+00:00 (not an agency verification date)
Catalog scope: agency — DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures; publisher declares complete: true

Source legal reference

DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures

DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures (implementing procedures)

Disclaimer

This CE Explorer tool is not an authoritative source and creates no rights or obligations. Review the relevant agency's NEPA procedures before applying a categorical exclusion.

When using the CE Explorer Tool, Federal agencies and stakeholders should review the relevant agency's NEPA procedures for information about how to apply the CE, including any limitations or potential extraordinary circumstances, and to ensure that a CE is current and applicable to a given proposed action. To adopt and use another agency's categorical exclusion, an agency must follow the steps described in section 109 of NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4336c.

Categorical Exclusion (CE)