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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

52129 

Vol. 74, No. 195 

Friday, October 9, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 1021 

Online Posting of Certain DOE 

Categorical Exclusion Determinations; 

Policy Statement 

AGENCY: Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Policy statement. 

SUMMARY: To further transparency and 

openness in its implementation of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), the Department of Energy 

(DOE) has established a new policy with 

regard to the online posting of certain 

categorical exclusion determinations. 

Under the new policy, each Program 

and Field Office (including the National 

Nuclear Security Administration and 

the Power Marketing Administrations) 

will document and post online all 

categorical exclusion determinations 

involving classes of actions listed in 

Appendix B to Subpart D of the 

Department’s NEPA regulations, 10 CFR 

Part 1021. Posted categorical exclusion 

determinations shall not disclose 

classified, confidential, or other 

information that DOE otherwise would 

not disclose pursuant to the Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. Part 552). 

Generally, each Program and Field 

Office will post categorical exclusion 

determinations on its Web site; where 

this is not feasible, the Office of NEPA 

Policy and Compliance will post 

categorical exclusions on the DOE 

NEPA Web site (http:// 

www.gc.energy.gov/nepa). 

DATES: The effective date of the policy 

is November 2, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information on the policy, 

contact: Carol Borgstrom, Director, 

Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance 

(GC–20), U.S. Department of Energy, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585; e-mail: 

askNEPA@hq.doe.gov; telephone: 202– 

586–4600; leave a message at 800–472– 

2756; or fax: 202–586–7031. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Categorical exclusions are classes of 

Departmental actions that DOE has, by 

regulation, determined do not 

individually or cumulatively have a 

significant effect on the environment 

and for which, therefore, neither an 

environmental impact statement nor an 

environmental assessment is normally 

required. Under DOE’s NEPA 

regulations (10 CFR Part 1021), absent 

any extraordinary circumstances related 

to the proposal that may affect the 

significance of its environmental effects, 

a proposed activity can be categorically 

excluded from further NEPA review if it 

falls within any of the ‘‘general’’ agency 

classes of action (such as routine 

administrative, financial, and personnel 

actions) listed in Appendix A of Subpart 

D or ‘‘specific’’ agency actions 

(involving, for example, construction of 

bench-scale research projects or actions 

to promote energy efficiency) listed in 

Appendix B. 

NEPA Compliance Officers designated 

for DOE’s Program and Field Offices 

determine whether particular proposed 

actions fit within the defined categorical 

exclusions. Under the new policy 

announced in ‘‘NEPA Process 

Transparency and Openness’’ (October 

2, 2009, memorandum from Deputy 

Secretary Daniel B. Poneman to Heads 

of Departmental Elements), each 

Program and Field Office (including the 

National Nuclear Security 

Administration and the Power 

Marketing Administrations) will 

document and post online all 

categorical exclusion determinations 

involving classes of actions listed in 

Appendix B. (This policy does not 

require posting of categorical exclusion 

determinations involving classes of 

actions listed in Appendix A.) Posted 

categorical exclusion determinations 

shall not disclose classified, 

confidential, or other information that 

DOE otherwise would not disclose 

pursuant to the Freedom of Information 

Act (5 U.S.C. 552). Generally, each 

Program and Field Office will post 

categorical exclusion determinations on 

its Web site; where this is not feasible, 

the Office of NEPA Policy and 

Compliance will post categorical 

exclusion determinations on the DOE 

NEPA Web site (http:// 

www.gc.energy.gov/nepa). Regardless of 

where the categorical exclusion 

determination is initially posted, DOE’s 

NEPA Web site will include links to 

published categorical exclusion 

determinations. 

Neither the Council on Environmental 

Quality’s NEPA regulations (40 CFR 

Parts 1500–1508) nor DOE’s NEPA 

regulations require that categorical 

exclusion determinations be in writing 

or that the public be informed of 

categorical exclusion determinations. 

Nevertheless, DOE finds it appropriate 

to do so. Posting categorical exclusion 

determinations online is consistent with 

the spirit of President Obama’s 

memorandum on ‘‘Transparency and 

Open Government,’’ issued in the very 

first hours of his presidency on 

January 21, 2009, which announced his 

commitment to creating an 

unprecedented level of openness in 

Government. The President called on 

Federal agency heads to make 

information about agency operations 

and decisions available to the public 

online, in a form that is easy to find and 

use, so as to encourage transparency, 

participation, and collaboration. 

Similarly, Secretary of Energy Steven 

Chu, in his memorandum on the 

Freedom of Information Act (June 5, 

2009), stated that DOE should use 

modern technology to inform the public 

about DOE operations and take 

affirmative steps to post information 

online in a systematic way. Such 

openness is especially important when 

the information relates to the 

Department’s compliance with NEPA, as 

one of the primary purposes of that 

statute is to inform the public 

concerning the environmental 

implications of government decisions. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 2, 

2009. 

Scott Blake Harris, 

General Counsel, U.S. Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. E9–24220 Filed 10–8–09; 8:45 am] 

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