[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 16391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6760]


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COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY


Call for Innovative National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
Pilot Project Proposals

AGENCY: Council On Environmental Quality.

ACTION: Notice of Availability, Call for Innovative National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Pilot Project Proposals.

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SUMMARY: The Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
invites the public and federal agencies to nominate innovative pilot 
projects that accomplish the NEPA goals of transparency and informed 
decisionmaking in a more timely and effective manner. Nominations will 
be accepted via online submission until June 15, 2011. CEQ will track 
and publicize the progress of selected pilot projects as part of its 
NEPA Pilot Program, to identify and promote more efficient ways to do 
effective environmental reviews that can be replicated across the 
Federal Government. The NEPA Pilot Project Program is part of CEQ's 
broad effort to modernize and reinvigorate federal agency 
implementation of NEPA through innovation, public engagement, and 
transparency. The NEPA Pilot Program will also facilitate a review 
under section 6 of Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory Review,'' of provisions of CEQ's NEPA Regulations that may 
be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome. 76 
FR 3821, Jan. 21, 2011; 40 CFR 1500-1508.

DATES: The Call for Innovative National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
Pilot Project Proposals is available as of March 17, 2011. Nominations 
may be submitted online until June 15, 2011, and will not be considered 
after that date.

ADDRESSES: The Call for Innovative National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) Pilot Project Proposals and online nomination submission form is 
available at http://whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/nepa/nepa-pilot-project.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Scharf, Deputy General Counsel, 
Council on Environmental Quality, 202-456-2464.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 17, 2011, the Council on 
Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a Call for Innovative National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Pilot Project Proposals, inviting the 
public and federal agencies, to nominate innovative pilot projects that 
accomplish the NEPA goals of transparency and informed decisionmaking 
in a more timely and effective manner. Nominations may be submitted 
online at http://whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/nepa/nepa-pilot-project. Nominations will be accepted until June 15, 
2011, and will be publicly posted on the CEQ Web site, http://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq. CEQ will not consider nominations submitted 
after June 15, 2011.
    In consultation with a panel of agency NEPA experts, CEQ will 
select up to five (5) nominated pilot projects for further study and 
trial implementation, based on their potential to: (1) Reduce the costs 
and/or time needed to complete the NEPA process; (2) ensure 
environmental protection; (3) improve the quality and transparency of 
Federal agency decision-making; and (4) yield replicable best practices 
or procedural innovations that can be replicated by other agencies or 
applied to other Federal actions or programs so as to improve NEPA 
implementation beyond a specific project. CEQ will coordinate with 
relevant agencies to track project implementation for the purpose of 
evaluating and publicizing the efficiencies realized. These outcomes 
will be published on the CEQ Web site and on the NEPA Web site, 
nepa.gov. Where appropriate, CEQ will advocate that agencies 
incorporate these best practices into new or revised NEPA procedures. 
Accordingly, the NEPA Pilot Program will facilitate a review under 
section 6 of Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory Review,'' of provisions of CEQ's NEPA Regulations that may 
be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome. 76 
FR 3821, Jan. 21, 2011; 40 CFR 1500-1508.

(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4342, 4344)

    Dated: March 17, 2011.
Nancy H. Sutley,
Chair.
[FR Doc. 2011-6760 Filed 3-22-11; 8:45 am]
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