USDA NEPA regulations: what replaced 36 CFR 220
USDA replaced seven agency NEPA rules, including the Forest Service's 36 CFR part 220, with 7 CFR part 1b: interim on July 3, 2025, final on April 3, 2026. Reliance on existing analysis at 1b.9(e)(8) replaced the determination of NEPA adequacy[2][8].
Part 220's categorical exclusions kept their order. The list needing no decision memo, 220.6(d)(1)-(12) less reserved (d)(10), became 7 CFR 1b.4(c)(19)-(29); the final rule removed (c)(27), the ski-area permit CE, because 16 U.S.C. 497c(i) already exempts those reissuances from NEPA[2][9]. The decision memo list, 220.6(e), became (d)(26)-(47), dropping reserved (e)(4), (e)(10) and (e)(15):
| Old citation | New code | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 220.6(e)(1) | USDA-26d-USFS | Trail construction and reconstruction |
| 220.6(e)(2) | USDA-27d-USFS | Utility lines in a designated corridor |
| 220.6(e)(3) | USDA-28d-USFS | Special uses under 20 acres |
| 220.6(e)(5) | USDA-29d-USFS | Regeneration with native tree species |
| 220.6(e)(6) | USDA-30d-USFS, set aside January 13, 2026[10] | Timber stand or wildlife habitat improvement |
| 220.6(e)(7) | USDA-31d-USFS | Aquatic habitat improvement structures |
| 220.6(e)(8) | USDA-32d-USFS | Short-term mineral, energy or geophysical investigations |
| 220.6(e)(9) | USDA-33d-USFS | Minor allotment management practices |
| 220.6(e)(11) | USDA-34d-USFS | Post-fire rehabilitation, up to 4,200 acres |
| 220.6(e)(12) | USDA-35d-USFS | Live-tree harvest, up to 70 acres |
| 220.6(e)(13) | USDA-36d-USFS | Salvage harvest, up to 250 acres |
USFS NEPA categorical exclusions that need a decision memo
On the Tahoe National Forest, the Russell Valley Fuels Reduction project used the Healthy Forests Restoration Act wildfire resilience CE: scoping opened September 13, 2024, and the decision memo was signed April 24, 2025. As a CE, it was not subject to objection[11].
Under 7 CFR 1b.4, paragraph (c) categories need no NEPA documentation and paragraph (d) categories do; the Forest Service has also adopted 46 from other agencies[9][1]. In Oregon Wild v. U.S. Forest Service, a court set aside USDA-30d-USFS on January 13, 2026[10]; the Forest Service appealed, then dropped the appeal in September 2026[12]. The rest of the (d) list is below; for real memos, see 12 signed decision memos.
| Old citation | New code | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 220.6(e)(14) | USDA-37d-USFS | Sanitation harvest, up to 250 acres |
| 220.6(e)(16) | USDA-38d-USFS | Land management plans; the plan approval document is the record |
| 220.6(e)(17) | USDA-39d-USFS | Oil and gas surface use plans |
| 220.6(e)(18) | USDA-40d-USFS | Restoring wetlands, streams and riparian areas |
| 220.6(e)(19) | USDA-41d-USFS | Debris and sediment removal after disturbances |
| 220.6(e)(20) | USDA-42d-USFS | Restoring lands under roads and trails |
| 220.6(e)(21) | USDA-43d-USFS | Administrative site buildings and infrastructure |
| 220.6(e)(22) | USDA-44d-USFS | Recreation site buildings and infrastructure |
| 220.6(e)(23) | USDA-45d-USFS | Road management, up to 8 miles |
| 220.6(e)(24) | USDA-46d-USFS | Road construction or realignment, up to 2 miles |
| 220.6(e)(25) | USDA-47d-USFS | Restoration and resilience, up to 2,800 acres |
Extraordinary circumstances: what the official screens
The official picks the resources to screen, such as listed species, wetlands, roadless areas, historic properties and tribal sacred sites. A resource's presence is not an extraordinary circumstance; one exists only when an effect may be significant, and changing the action can remove it[5].
36 CFR 218 objections: who can object, and by when
Part 218 covers projects that implement a land management plan and are decided with an EA or EIS, where a FONSI can be the decision document[4][13][2]. Only those who sent timely, specific comments may object, within 45 days of the legal notice (30 for Healthy Forests Restoration Act fuel projects)[4]. A February 2026 proposal to shorten this was not in effect on October 2, 2026[14].