For us retired folks, it’s hard to keep up with new CE’s, and for the regulatory ones, litigation throwing them out. I ran across this handy table comparing the Farm Bill and Wildfire Resilience CEs. It says “draft” and didn’t come from the FS website. I know the Forest Service usually puts out good training material for NEPA practitioners, so I’m hoping that one that is complete for all vegetation-related CEs is out there somewhere.
I’ve prepared a list of available USFS CEs – is that what you’re looking for? They are also all published in the Code of Federal Regulations at 36 CFR 220.6.
A list is good.. but I was thinking of a crosswalk that compares them, e.g. how many acres, does it have to be in a certain area defined by ???, does it require collaboration, and so on.
Hi Susan Jane,
Please email me the list of all the USFS CE’s and I’ll post it here. Thanks.
Here’s a link to the list from Susan Jane:
https://forestpolicypub.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/USFS-CE-Authorities-Crosswalk.docx
Hi Matthew, I’m trying to find the CE that the Forest Service is using to tear down and build anew their visitors center at Sabino Canyon in Tucson AZ. A survey of the archeology turned up loads of artifacts at the proposed building site and they are saying they have a CE. I’m sure the FS granted themselves whatever CE they’re using so NEPA says therefore they are still responsible for the analyses due under and EA or EIS, but they don’t seem to want to do that. Are you familiar with a CE they use to “refurbish” a visitor center.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=65809&exp=detail cites the language of the CE, which comes from 36 CFR §220.6(e)(22): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/220.6(b) Resource conditions.
Section 220.6(b) also requires determination of whether extraordinary circumstances exist:
“(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:
(vi) American Indians and Alaska Native religious or cultural sites; and
(vii) Archaeological sites, or historic properties or areas.”
The only thing I have seen is a table that compares the previous CEs to the new changes. That is what I generally think of as a “cross-walk” – a comparison of the old with the new to tie the two together.
Yes, I was looking more for a crosswalk that showed the relationship between the HFRA CE’s in the above crosswalk and the new CE. Using the common name would help. Also I saw this in the Q&As for the new regulations:
“The categorical exclusion for hazardous fuels treatments (CE 10) is currently the
subject of judicial review.
◦ The hazardous fuels treatment category will be retained in the NEPA
procedures subject to the continued instructions of the Chief that Forest
Service officials must refrain from use of this category while the litigation
remains unresolved. Once the judicial process has been concluded, the
category either will remain or be removed, depending upon the litigation’s
outcome.”
My questions, how does the new regulatory CE relate to the statutory HFRA CEs? Also if category 10 is a statutory CE, what about it landed it in court?