49 U.S.C. § 304 — Application of categorical exclusions for

Page 105 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 304 licit feedback from coastal communities, Alaska Native subsistence co-management groups, and Alaska Native tribes. ‘‘(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act [Jan. 1, 2021], the Advisory Committee shall submit a report with its recommendations under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (c)(3) to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. ‘‘(e) TERMINATION OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Not later than 8 years after the submission of the report de- scribed in subsection (d), the Secretary of Transpor- tation shall dissolve the Advisory Committee. ‘‘(f) INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT.—If a Special Rep- resentative for the Arctic Region is appointed by the Secretary of State, the duties of that Representative shall include— ‘‘(1) coordination of any activities recommended by the implementation plan submitted by the Advisory Committee and approved by the Secretary of Trans- portation; and ‘‘(2) facilitation of multilateral dialogues with member and observer nations of the Arctic Council to encourage cooperation on Arctic maritime transpor- tation. ‘‘(g) TRIBAL CONSULTATION.—In implementing any of the recommendations provided under subsection (c)(3)(C), the Secretary of Transportation shall consult with Alaska Native tribes.’’ § 304. Application of categorical exclusions for multimodal projects (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following definitions apply: (1) COOPERATING AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘co- operating authority’’ means a Department of Transportation operating administration or secretarial office that has expertise but is not the lead authority with respect to a proposed multimodal project. (2) LEAD AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘lead au- thority’’ means a Department of Transpor- tation operating administration or secretarial office that has the lead responsibility for com- pliance with the National Environmental Pol- icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with re- spect to a proposed multimodal project. (3) MULTIMODAL PROJECT.—The term ‘‘multimodal project’’ has the meaning given the term in section 139(a) of title 23. (b) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES.—The authorities granted in this section may be exercised for a multimodal project, class of projects, or pro- gram of projects that are carried out under this title or title 23. (c) APPLICATION OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS FOR MULTIMODAL PROJECTS.—In considering the environmental impacts of a proposed multimodal project, a lead authority may apply categorical exclusions designated under the Na- tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) in implementing regulations or procedures of a cooperating authority for a proposed multimodal project, subject to the con- ditions that— (1) the lead authority makes a determina- tion, with the concurrence of the cooperating authority— (A) on the applicability of a categorical ex- clusion to a proposed multimodal project; and (B) that the project satisfies the condi- tions for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and this section; (2) the lead authority follows the imple- menting regulations of the cooperating au- thority or procedures under that Act; and (3) the lead authority determines that— (A) the proposed multimodal project does not individually or cumulatively have a sig- nificant impact on the environment; and (B) extraordinary circumstances do not exist that merit additional analysis and doc- umentation in an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment re- quired under that Act. (d) COOPERATING AUTHORITY EXPERTISE.—A co- operating authority shall provide expertise to the lead authority on aspects of the multimodal project in which the cooperating authority has expertise. (Pub. L. 97–449, § 1(b), Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2419; Pub. L. 112–141, div. A, title I, § 1314(a), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 547; Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title I, § 1310, Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1397.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 304(a) ......... 49:1653(g) (less 3d sentence). Oct. 15, 1966, Pub. L. 89–670, § 4(g), 80 Stat. 934. 304(b) ......... 49:1653(g) (3d sen- tence). In subsection (a), the text of 49:1653(g) (last sentence) is omitted as executed. In subsection (a)(4), the word ‘‘ensure’’ is substituted for ‘‘assure’’ as being more precise. The words ‘‘of the United States Government’’ are substituted for ‘‘Fed- eral’’, and the words ‘‘United States’’ are substituted for ‘‘national’’, for clarity and consistency. In subsection (b), the words ‘‘The Secretaries shall re- port on April 1 of each year’’ are substituted for ‘‘They shall, within one year after the effective date of the Act, and annually thereafter, report’’ to omit executed words and to specify the date of April 1 because the President prescribed April 1, 1967, as the effective date of the Department of Transportation Act (Pub. L. 89–670, 80 Stat. 931) by Executive Order No. 11340, March 30, 1967 (32 F.R. 5443). The word ‘‘consider’’ is sub- stituted for ‘‘determine’’ for consistency. Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, re- ferred to in subsecs. (a)(2) and (c), is Pub. L. 91–190, Jan. 1, 1970, 83 Stat. 852, which is classified generally to chapter 55 (§ 4321 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 4321 of Title 42 and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2015—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 114–94, § 1310(1)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘operating administration or secretarial office that has expertise but’’ for ‘‘operating authority that’’ and inserted ‘‘proposed multimodal’’ after ‘‘with re- spect to a’’. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 114–94, § 1310(1)(B), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The term ‘lead authority’ means a Department of Transportation operating administra- tion or secretarial office that— ‘‘(A) is the lead authority over a proposed multimodal project; and ‘‘(B) has determined that the components of the project that fall under the modal expertise of the lead authority— Page 106 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 304a ‘‘(i) satisfy the conditions for a categorical exclu- sion under implementing regulations or procedures of the lead authority under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and ‘‘(ii) do not require the preparation of an environ- mental assessment or environmental impact state- ment under that Act.’’ Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 114–94, § 1310(2), inserted ‘‘or title 23’’ after ‘‘under this title’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–94, § 1310(3), added subsec. (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) which related to ap- plication of categorical exclusions for multimodal projects. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 114–94, § 1310(3), added subsec. (d) and struck out former subsec. (d). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A cooperating authority shall pro- vide modal expertise to the lead authority on such as- pects of the multimodal project in which the cooper- ating authority has expertise. ‘‘(2) USE OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—In a case de- scribed in paragraph (1), the 1 or more categorical ex- clusions of a cooperating authority may be applied by the lead authority once the cooperating authority re- views the project on behalf of the lead authority and determines the project satisfies the conditions for a categorical exclusion under the implementing regula- tions or procedures of the cooperating authority under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and this section.’’ 2012–Pub. L. 112–141 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to joint activities with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2015 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–94 effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as a note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2012 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 112–141 effective Oct. 1, 2012, see section 3(a) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as an Effec- tive and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment note under section 101 of Title 23, Highways. § 304a. Accelerated decisionmaking in environ- mental reviews (a) IN GENERAL.—In preparing a final environ- mental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), if the lead agency modifies the state- ment in response to comments that are minor and are confined to factual corrections or expla- nations of why the comments do not warrant ad- ditional agency response, the lead agency may write on errata sheets attached to the state- ment, instead of rewriting the draft statement, subject to the condition that the errata sheets— (1) cite the sources, authorities, and reasons that support the position of the agency; and (2) if appropriate, indicate the circumstances that would trigger agency reappraisal or fur- ther response. (b) SINGLE DOCUMENT.—To the maximum ex- tent practicable, the lead agency shall expedi- tiously develop a single document that consists of a final environmental impact statement and a record of decision, unless— (1) the final environmental impact state- ment makes substantial changes to the pro- posed action that are relevant to environ- mental or safety concerns; or (2) there is a significant new circumstance or information relevant to environmental con- cerns that bears on the proposed action or the impacts of the proposed action. (c) ADOPTION AND INCORPORATION BY REF- ERENCE OF DOCUMENTS.— (1) AVOIDING DUPLICATION.—To prevent dupli- cation of analyses and support expeditious and efficient decisions, the operating administra- tions of the Department of Transportation shall use adoption and incorporation by ref- erence in accordance with this subsection. (2) ADOPTION OF DOCUMENTS OF OTHER OPER- ATING ADMINISTRATIONS.—An operating admin- istration or a secretarial office within the De- partment of Transportation may adopt a draft environmental impact statement, an environ- mental assessment, or a final environmental impact statement of another operating admin- istration for the use of the adopting operating administration when preparing an environ- mental assessment or final environmental im- pact statement for a project without recircu- lating the document for public review, if— (A) the adopting operating administration certifies that the proposed action is substan- tially the same as the project considered in the document to be adopted; (B) the other operating administration concurs with such decision; and (C) such actions are consistent with the re- quirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). (3) INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE.—An oper- ating administration or secretarial office within the Department of Transportation may incorporate by reference all or portions of a draft environmental impact statement, an en- vironmental assessment, or a final environ- mental impact statement for the use of the adopting operating administration when pre- paring an environmental assessment or final environmental impact statement for a project if— (A) the incorporated material is cited in the environmental assessment or final envi- ronmental impact statement and the con- tents of the incorporated material are brief- ly described; (B) the incorporated material is reason- ably available for inspection by potentially interested persons within the time allowed for review and comment; and (C) the incorporated material does not in- clude proprietary data that is not available for review and comment. (Added Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title I, § 1311(a), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1398.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, re- ferred to in subsecs. (a) and (c)(2)(C), is Pub. L. 91–190, Jan. 1, 1970, 83 Stat. 852, which is classified generally to chapter 55 (§ 4321 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 4321 of Title 42 and Tables.