220.6—Categorical exclusions.
(a) General.
A proposed action may be categorically excluded from further analysis and documentation in an EIS or EA only if there are no extraordinary circumstances related to the proposed action and if:
(1)
The proposed action is within one of the categories established by the Secretary at 7 CFR part 1b.3; or
(b) Resource conditions.
(1)
Resource conditions that should be considered in determining whether extraordinary circumstances related to a proposed action warrant further analysis and documentation in an EA or an EIS are:
(i)
Federally listed threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat, species proposed for Federal listing or proposed critical habitat, or Forest Service sensitive species;
(iii)
Congressionally designated areas, such as wilderness, wilderness study areas, or national recreation areas;
(2)
The mere presence of one or more of these resource conditions does not preclude use of a categorical exclusion (CE). It is the existence of a cause-effect relationship between a proposed action and the potential effect on these resource conditions, and if such a relationship exists, the degree of the potential effect of a proposed action on these resource conditions that determines whether extraordinary circumstances exist.
(c) Scoping.
If the responsible official determines, based on scoping, that it is uncertain whether the proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment, prepare an EA. If the responsible official determines, based on scoping, that the proposed action may have a significant environmental effect, prepare an EIS.
(d) Categories of actions for which a project or case file and decision memo are not required.
A supporting record and a decision memo are not required, but at the discretion of the responsible official, may be prepared for the following categories:
(1)
Orders issued pursuant to 36 CFR part 261 —Prohibitions to provide short-term resource protection or to protect public health and safety. Examples include but are not limited to:
(2)
Rules, regulations, or policies to establish servicewide administrative procedures, program processes, or instructions. Examples include but are not limited to:
(ii)
Proposing a technical or scientific method or procedure for screening effects of emissions on air quality related values in Class I wildernesses;
(iii)
Proposing a policy to defer payments on certain permits or contracts to reduce the risk of default;
(iv)
Proposing changes in contract terms and conditions or terms and conditions of special use authorizations;
(v)
Establishing a servicewide process for responding to offers to exchange land and for agreeing on land values; and
(4)
Repair and maintenance of roads, trails, and landline boundaries. Examples include but are not limited to:
(iv)
Pruning vegetation and cleaning culverts along a trail and grooming the surface of the trail; and
(5)
Repair and maintenance of recreation sites and facilities. Examples include but are not limited to:
(ii)
Applying registered insecticides by compressed air sprayer to control insects at a recreation site complex;
(7)
Sale or exchange of land or interest in land and resources where resulting land uses remain essentially the same. Examples include but are not limited to:
(ii)
Exchanging NFS lands or interests with a State agency, local government, or other non-Federal party (individual or organization) with similar resource management objectives and practices;
(iii)
Authorizing the Bureau of Land Management to issue leases on producing wells when mineral rights revert to the United States from private ownership and there is no change in activity; and
(8)
Approval, modification, or continuation of minor, short-term (1 year or less) special uses of NFS lands. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(i)
Approving, on an annual basis, the intermittent use and occupancy by a State-licensed outfitter or guide;
(9)
Issuance of a new permit for up to the maximum tenure allowable under the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 497b) for an existing ski area when such issuance is a purely ministerial action to account for administrative changes, such as a change in ownership of ski area improvements, expiration of the current permit, or a change in the statutory authority applicable to the current permit. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(i)
Issuing a permit to a new owner of ski area improvements within an existing ski area with no changes to the master development plan, including no changes to the facilities or activities for that ski area;
(ii)
Upon expiration of a ski area permit, issuing a new permit to the holder of the previous permit where the holder is not requesting any changes to the master development plan, including changes to the facilities or activities; and
(iii)
Issuing a new permit under the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 to the holder of a permit issued under the Term Permit and Organic Acts, where there are no changes in the type or scope of activities authorized and no other changes in the master development plan.
(10)
Amendment to or replacement of an existing special use authorization that involves only administrative changes and does not involve changes in the authorized facilities or increase in the scope or intensity of authorized activities, or extensions to the term of authorization, when the applicant or holder is in full compliance with the terms and conditions of the special use authorization. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(i)
Amending a special use authorization to reflect administrative changes such as adjustment to the land use fees, inclusion of non-discretionary environmental standards or updating a special use authorization to bring it into conformance with current laws or regulations (for example, new monitoring required by water quality standards), and
(ii)
Issuance of a new special use authorization to reflect administrative changes such as, a change of ownership or control of previously authorized facilities or activities, or conversion of the existing special use authorization to a new type of special use authorization (for example, converting a permit to a lease or easement).
(e) Categories of actions for which a project or case file and decision memo are required.
A supporting record is required and the decision to proceed must be documented in a decision memo for the categories of action in paragraphs (e)(1) through (17) of this section. As a minimum, 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. If the proposed action is approval of a land management plan, plan amendment, or plan revision, the plan approval document required by 36 CFR part 219 satisfies the decision memo requirements of this section.
(2)
Additional construction or reconstruction of existing telephone or utility lines in a designated corridor. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(3)
Approval, modification, or continuation of minor special uses of NFS lands that require less than five contiguous acres of land. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(iii)
Approving the construction of temporary facilities for filming of staged or natural events or studies of natural or cultural history;
(iv)
Approving the use of land for a 40-foot utility corridor that crosses one mile of a national forest;
(v)
Approving the installation of a driveway, mailbox, or other facilities incidental to use of a residence;
(vii)
Approving the removal of mineral materials from an existing community pit or common-use area; and
(viii)
Approving the continued use of land where such use has not changed since authorized and no change in the physical environment or facilities are proposed.
(5)
Regeneration of an area to native tree species, including site preparation that does not involve the use of herbicides or result in vegetation type conversion. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(ii)
Planting trees or mechanical seed dispersal of native tree species following a fire, flood, or landslide.
(6)
Timber stand and/or wildlife habitat improvement activities that do not include the use of herbicides or do not require more than 1 mile of low standard road construction. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(ii)
Thinning or brush control to improve growth or to reduce fire hazard including the opening of an existing road to a dense timber stand;
(7)
Modification or maintenance of stream or lake aquatic habitat improvement structures using native materials or normal practices. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(8)
Short-term (1 year or less) mineral, energy, or geophysical investigations and their incidental support activities that may require cross-country travel by vehicles and equipment, construction of less than 1 mile of low standard road, or use and minor repair of existing roads. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(i)
Authorizing geophysical investigations which use existing roads that may require incidental repair to reach sites for drilling core holes, temperature gradient holes, or seismic shot holes;
(iv)
Clearing vegetation for sight paths or from areas used for investigation or support facilities;
(vii)
Approving a plan for exploration which authorizes repair of an existing road and the construction of 1/3 mile of temporary road; clearing vegetation from an acre of land for trenches, drill pads, or support facilities.
(9)
Implementation or modification of minor management practices to improve allotment condition or animal distribution when an allotment management plan is not yet in place. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(10)
Hazardous fuels reduction activities using prescribed fire, not to exceed 4,500 acres; and mechanical methods for crushing, piling, thinning, pruning, cutting, chipping, mulching, and mowing, not to exceed 1,000 acres. Such activities:
(B)
Condition Classes 2 or 3 in Fire Regime Groups I, II, or III, outside the wildland-urban interface.
(ii)
Shall be identified through a collaborative framework as described in “A Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and Environment 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy Implementation Plan”;
(iii)
Shall be conducted consistent with Agency and Departmental procedures and applicable land and resource management plans;
(iv)
Shall not be conducted in wilderness areas or impair the suitability of wilderness study areas for preservation as wilderness; and
(v)
Shall not include the use of herbicides or pesticides or the construction of new permanent roads or other new permanent infrastructure; and may include the sale of vegetative material if the primary purpose of the activity is hazardous fuels reduction.
(11)
Post-fire rehabilitation activities, not to exceed 4,200 acres (such as tree planting, fence replacement, habitat restoration, heritage site restoration, repair of roads and trails, and repair of damage to minor facilities such as campgrounds), to repair or improve lands unlikely to recover to a management approved condition from wildland fire damage, or to repair or replace minor facilities damaged by fire. Such activities:
(i)
Shall be conducted consistent with Agency and Departmental procedures and applicable land and resource management plans;
(ii)
Shall not include the use of herbicides or pesticides or the construction of new permanent roads or other new permanent infrastructure; and
(12)
Harvest of live trees not to exceed 70 acres, requiring no more than 1/2 mile of temporary road construction. Do not use this category for even-aged regeneration harvest or vegetation type conversion. The proposed action may include incidental removal of trees for landings, skid trails, and road clearing. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(ii)
Commercial thinning of overstocked stands to achieve the desired stocking level to increase health and vigor.
(13)
Salvage of dead and/or dying trees not to exceed 250 acres, requiring no more than 1/2 mile of temporary road construction. The proposed action may include incidental removal of live or dead trees for landings, skid trails, and road clearing. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(i)
Harvest of a portion of a stand damaged by a wind or ice event and construction of a short temporary road to access the damaged trees, and
(14)
Commercial and non-commercial sanitation harvest of trees to control insects or disease not to exceed 250 acres, requiring no more than 1/2 mile of temporary road construction, including removal of infested/infected trees and adjacent live uninfested/uninfected trees as determined necessary to control the spread of insects or disease. The proposed action may include incidental removal of live or dead trees for landings, skid trails, and road clearing. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(i)
Felling and harvest of trees infested with southern pine beetles and immediately adjacent uninfested trees to control expanding spot infestations, and
(ii)
Removal and/or destruction of infested trees affected by a new exotic insect or disease, such as emerald ash borer, Asian long horned beetle, and sudden oak death pathogen.
(15)
Issuance of a new special use authorization for a new term to replace an existing or expired special use authorization when the only changes are administrative, there are not changes to the authorized facilities or increases in the scope or intensity of authorized activities, and the applicant or holder is in full compliance with the terms and conditions of the special use authorization.
(16)
Land management plans, plan amendments, and plan revisions developed in accordance with 36 CFR part 219
et seq. that provide broad guidance and information for project and activity decisionmaking in a NFS unit. Proposals for actions that approve projects and activities, or that command anyone to refrain from undertaking projects and activities, or that grant, withhold or modify contracts, permits or other formal legal instruments, are outside the scope of this category and shall be considered separately under Forest Service NEPA procedures.
(17)
Approval of a Surface Use Plan of Operations for oil and natural gas exploration and initial development activities, associated with or adjacent to a new oil and/or gas field or area, so long as the approval will not authorize activities in excess of any of the following:
(f) Decision memos.
The responsible official shall notify interested or affected parties of the availability of the decision memo as soon as practical after signing. While sections may be combined or rearranged in the interest of clarity and brevity, decision memos must include the following content:
(2)
Decision to be implemented and the reasons for categorically excluding the proposed action including:
(ii)
The rationale for using the category and, if more than one category could have been used, why the specific category was chosen;
(4)
Findings required by other laws such as, but not limited to findings of consistency with the forest land and resource management plan as required by the National Forest Management Act; or a public interest determination ( 36 CFR 254.3(c) );
(5)
The date when the responsible official intends to implement the decision and any conditions related to implementation;
(6)
Whether the decision is subject to review or appeal, the applicable regulations, and when and where to file a request for review or appeal;
(7)
Name, address, and phone number of a contact person who can supply further information about the decision; and