[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 23, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 23CFR771.117]

[Page 378-380]
 
                           TITLE 23--HIGHWAYS
 
 CHAPTER I--FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 771--ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND RELATED PROCEDURES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 771.117  Categorical exclusions.

    (a) Categorical exclusions (CEs) are actions which meet the 
definition contained in 40 CFR 1508.4, and, based on past experience 
with similar actions, do not involve significnt environmental impacts. 
They are actions which: do not induce significant impacts to planned 
growth or land use for the area; do not require the relocation of 
significant numbers of people; do not have a significant impact on any 
natural, cultural, recreational, historic or other resource; do not 
involve significant air, noise, or water quality impacts; do not have 
significant impacts on travel patterns; or do not otherwise, either 
individually or cumulatively, have any significant environmental 
impacts.
    (b) Any action which normally would be classified as a CE but could 
involve unusual circumstances will require the Administration, in 
cooperation with the applicant, to conduct appropriate environmental 
studies to determine if the CE classification is proper. Such unusual 
circumstances include:
    (1) Significant environmental impacts;
    (2) Substantial controversy on environmental grounds;
    (3) Significant impact on properties protected by section 4(f) of 
the DOT Act or section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; or
    (4) Inconsistencies with any Federal, State, or local law, 
requirement or administrative determination relating to the 
environmental aspects of the action.
    (c) The following actions meet the criteria for CEs in the CEQ 
regulation (section 1508.4) and Sec. 771.117(a) of this regulation and 
normally do not require any further NEPA approvals by the 
Administration:
    (1) Activities which do not involve or lead directly to 
construction, such as planning and technical studies; grants for 
training and research programs; research activities as defined in 23 
U.S.C. 307; approval of a unified work program and any findings required 
in the planning process pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 134; approval of statewide 
programs under 23 CFR part 630; approval of project concepts under 23 
CFR part 476; engineering to define the elements of a proposed action or 
alternatives so that social, economic, and environmental effects can be 
assessed; and Federal-aid system revisions which establish classes of 
highways on the Federal-aid highway system.

[[Page 379]]

    (2) Approval of utility installations along or across a 
transportation facility.
    (3) Construction of bicycle and pedestrian lanes, paths, and 
facilities.
    (4) Activities included in the State's highway safety plan under 23 
U.S.C. 402.
    (5) Transfer of Federal lands pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 317 when the 
subsequent action is not an FHWA action.
    (6) The installation of noise barriers or alterations to existing 
publicly owned buildings to provide for noise reduction.
    (7) Landscaping.
    (8) Installation of fencing, signs, pavement markings, small 
passenger shelters, traffic signals, and railroad warning devices where 
no substantial land acquisition or traffic disruption will occur.
    (9) Emergency repairs under 23 U.S.C. 125.
    (10) Acquisition of scenic easements.
    (11) Determination of payback under 23 CFR part 480 for property 
previously acquired with Federal-aid participation.
    (12) Improvements to existing rest areas and truck weigh stations.
    (13) Ridesharing activities.
    (14) Bus and rail car rehabilitation.
    (15) Alterations to facilities or vehicles in order to make them 
accessible for elderly and handicapped persons.
    (16) Program administration, technical assistance activities, and 
operating assistance to transit authorities to continue existing service 
or increase service to meet routine changes in demand.
    (17) The purchase of vehicles by the applicant where the use of 
these vehicles can be accommodated by existing facilities or by new 
facilities which themselves are within a CE.
    (18) Track and railbed maintenance and improvements when carried out 
within the existing right-of-way.
    (19) Purchase and installation of operating or maintenance equipment 
to be located within the transit facility and with no significant 
impacts off the site.
    (20) Promulgation of rules, regulations, and directives.
    (d) Additional actions which meet the criteria for a CE in the CEQ 
regulations (40 CFR 1508.4) and paragraph (a) of this section may be 
designated as CEs only after Administration approval. The applicant 
shall submit documentation which demonstrates that the specific 
conditions or criteria for these CEs are satisfied and that significant 
environmental effects will not result. Examples of such actions include 
but are not limited to:
    (1) Modernization of a highway by resurfacing, restoration, 
rehabilitation, reconstruction, adding shoulders, or adding auxiliary 
lanes (e.g., parking, weaving, turning, climbing).
    (2) Highway safety or traffic operations improvement projects 
including the installation of ramp metering control devices and 
lighting.
    (3) Bridge rehabilitation, reconstruction or replacement or the 
construction of grade separation to replace existing at-grade railroad 
crossings.
    (4) Transportation corridor fringe parking facilities.
    (5) Construction of new truck weigh stations or rest areas.
    (6) Approvals for disposal of excess right-of-way or for joint or 
limited use of right-of-way, where the proposed use does not have 
significant adverse impacts.
    (7) Approvals for changes in access control.
    (8) Construction of new bus storage and maintenance facilities in 
areas used predominantly for industrial or transportation purposes where 
such construction is not inconsistent with existing zoning and located 
on or near a street with adequate capacity to handle anticipated bus and 
support vehicle traffic.
    (9) Rehabilitation or reconstruction of existing rail and bus 
buildings and ancillary facilities where only minor amounts of 
additional land are required and there is not a substantial increase in 
the number of users.
    (10) Construction of bus transfer facilities (an open area 
consisting of passenger shelters, boarding areas, kiosks and related 
street improvements) when located in a commercial area or other high 
activity center in which there is adequate street capacity for projected 
bus traffic.
    (11) Construction of rail storage and maintenance facilities in 
areas used

[[Page 380]]

predominantly for industrial or transportation purposes where such 
construction is not inconsistent with existing zoning and where there is 
no significant noise impact on the surrounding community.
    (12) Acquisition of land for hardship or protective purposes; 
advance land acquisition loans under section 3(b) of the UMT Act.\3\ 
Hardship and protective buying will be permitted only for a particular 
parcel or a limited number of parcels. These types of land acquisition 
quality for a CE only where the acquisition will not limit the 
evaluation of alternatives, including shifts in alignment for planned 
construction projects, which may be required in the NEPA process. No 
project development on such land may proceed until the NEPA process has 
been completed.
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    \3\ Hardship acquisition is early acquisition of property by the 
applicant at the property owner's request to alleviate particular 
hardship to the owner, in contrast to others, because of an inability to 
sell his property. This is justified when the property owner can 
document on the basis of health, safety or financial reasons that 
remaining in the property poses an undue hardship compared to others.
    Protective acquisition is done to prevent imminent development of a 
parcel which is needed for a proposed transportation corridor or site. 
Documentation must clearly demonstrate that development of the land 
would preclude future transportation use and that such development is 
imminent. Advance acquisition is not permitted for the sole purpose of 
reducing the cost of property for a proposed project.
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    (e) Where a pattern emerges of granting CE status for a particular 
type of action, the Administration will initiate rulemaking proposing to 
add this type of action to the list of categorical exclusions in 
paragraph (c) or (d) of this section, as appropriate.

[52 FR 32660, Aug. 28, 1987; 53 FR 11066, Apr. 5, 1988]