Categorical Exclusion

B-2.4. Categorical Exclusions for Facility Siting, Construction, and Maintenance. This category includes the list of CATEXs for FAA actions involving acquisition, repair, replacement, maintenance, or upgrading of grounds, infrastructure, buildings, structures, or facilities that generally are minor in nature. The responsible FAA official must also review Paragraph B-1, Extraordinary Circumstances, before finalizing a decision to categorically exclude a proposed action.

Exclusion Text

(z) Federal financial assistance or any other FAA approval or federal action related to topping, trimming, or removing trees (with or without their root systems), and removing obstructions to air navigation (e.g. light poles, utility lines, signs, and billboards), on or off airport property, or removal of trees to meet: 1) 14 CFR part 77, Safe, Efficient Use, and Preservation of the Navigable Airspace, standards for removing obstructions which can adversely affect navigable airspace; 2) FAA Order 8260.3, United States Standards for Terminal Instrument Procedures (TERPS), standards for the designing and evaluating instrument flight procedures prescribed under 14 CFR Part 95 and Part 97; and 3) Advisory Circular 150/5300-1313B13, Airport Design, Standards for Operational Surfaces. At a minimum, tree removal should be done either when species are not nesting or roosting, after inspection by a trained wildlife biologist indicating no nesting or roosting species present, or at a time agreed upon by the U.S. FWS and the state wildlife agency. If tree obstruction removal will include removal of the root system below grade (e.g., grubbing) and related grading or earth moving activities, documentation is required to address protection of biological resources to ensure that there are no extraordinary circumstances that would preclude the proposed action from being categorically excluded. (All)