Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 18 - TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 18.2 - OVERALL DEPARTMENT RULES › Subchapter 18.2.2 - Rules Implementing the Montana Environmental Policy Act › Rule 18.2.261 - ACTIONS THAT QUALIFY FOR A CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) Categorical exclusions (CE) are types of
				actions which do not individually, collectively, or cumulatively require the
				preparation of an environment assessment or an environmental impact statement
				unless the action involves one or more of the extraordinary circumstances
				stated in (5).
(2) The following
				actions meet the criteria for categorical exclusions and normally do not
				require further approvals by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) when a
				federal action occurs:
(a) activities which
				do not involve or lead directly to construction, such as planning and research
				activities; grants for training; engineering to define the elements of a
				proposed action or alternatives so that social, economic, and environmental
				effects can be assessed; and federal-aid system revisions which establish
				classes of highways on the federal-aid highway system;
(b) approval of utility installations along
				or across a transportation facility;
(c) construction of bicycle and pedestrian
				lanes, paths, and facilities;
(d)
				activities included in the state's highway safety plan under
				23 U.S.C.
				402;
(e) transfer of federal lands pursuant to
				23 U.S.C.
				107 (d) and/or
				23 U.S.C.
				317 when the land transfer is in support of
				an action that is not otherwise subject to FHWA review under the National
				Environmental Policy Act;
(f) the
				installation of noise barriers or alterations to existing publicly owned
				buildings to provide for noise reduction;
(g) landscaping;
(h) installation of fencing, signs, pavement
				markings, small passenger shelters, traffic signals, and railroad warning
				devices where no substantial land acquisition or traffic disruption will occur;
(i) the following actions for
				transportation facilities damaged by an incident resulting in an emergency
				declared by the Governor of Montana and concurred in by the Secretary, or a
				disaster or emergency declared by the President pursuant to the Robert T.
				Stafford Act ( 42 U.S.C.
				5121 ):
(i)
				emergency repairs under 23
				U.S.C. 125; and
(ii) the repair, reconstruction, restoration,
				retrofitting, or replacement of any road, highway, bridge, tunnel, or transit
				facility (such as a ferry dock or bus transfer station), including ancillary
				transportation facilities (such as pedestrian/bicycle paths and bike lanes),
				that is in operation or under construction when damaged and the action:
(A) occurs within the existing right-of-way
				and in a manner that substantially conforms to the preexisting design,
				function, and location as the original (which may include upgrades to meet
				existing codes and standards as well as upgrades warranted to address
				conditions that have changed since the original construction); and
(B) is commenced within a two-year period
				beginning on the date of the declaration;
(j) acquisition of scenic easements;
(k) determination of payback under
				23 U.S.C.
				156 for property previously acquired with
				federal-aid participation;
(l)
				improvements to existing rest areas and truck weigh stations;
(m) ridesharing activities;
(n) bus and rail car rehabilitation;
(o) alterations to facilities or
				vehicles in order to make them accessible for elderly and handicapped persons;
(p) program administration,
				technical assistance activities, and operating assistance to transit
				authorities to continue existing service or increase service to meet routine
				changes in demand;
(q) the
				purchase of vehicles by a federal transit fund applicant where the use of these
				vehicles can be accommodated by existing facilities or by new facilities which
				themselves are within a CE;
(r)
				track and railbed maintenance and improvements when carried out within the
				existing right-of-way;
(s)
				purchase and installation of operating or maintenance equipment to be located
				within the transit facility and with no significant impacts off the site;
(t) promulgation of rules,
				regulations, and directives;
(u)
				deployment of electronics, photonics, communications, or information processing
				used singly or in combination, or as components of a fully integrated system,
				to improve the efficiency or safety of a surface transportation system or to
				enhance security or passenger convenience. Examples include, but are not
				limited to, traffic control and detector devices, lane management systems,
				electronic payment equipment, automatic vehicle locaters, automated passenger
				counters, computer-aided dispatching systems, radio communications systems,
				dynamic message signs, and security equipment including surveillance and
				detection cameras on roadways and in transit facilities and on buses;
(v) projects, as defined in
				23 U.S.C.
				101, that would take place entirely within
				the existing operational right-of-way. Existing operational right-of-way refers
				to right-of-way that has been disturbed for an existing transportation facility
				or is maintained for a transportation purpose. This area includes the features
				associated with the physical footprint of the transportation facility
				(including the roadway, bridges, interchanges, culverts, drainage, fixed
				guideways, mitigation areas, etc.) and other areas maintained for
				transportation purposes such as clear zone, traffic control signage,
				landscaping, any rest areas with direct access to a controlled access highway,
				areas maintained for safety and security of a transportation facility, parking
				facilities with direct access to an existing transportation facility, transit
				power substations, transit venting structures, and transit maintenance
				facilities. Portions of the right-of-way that have not been disturbed or that
				are not maintained for transportation purposes are not in the existing
				operational right-of-way;
(w)
				federally funded projects:
(i) that receive
				less than $5,000,000 of federal funds; or
(ii) with a total estimated cost of not more
				than $30,000,000 and federal funds comprising less than 15 percent of the total
				estimated project cost;
(x) localized geotechnical and other
				investigation to provide information for preliminary design and for
				environmental analyses and permitting purposes, such as drilling test bores for
				soil sampling; archeological investigations for archeology resources assessment
				of similar survey; and wetland surveys;
(y) environmental restoration and pollution
				abatement actions to minimize or mitigate the impacts of any existing
				transportation facility (including retrofitting and construction of stormwater
				treatment systems to meet federal and state requirements under sections 401 and
				402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (
				33 U.S.C.
				1341; 1342)) carried out to address water
				pollution or environmental degradation;
(z) modernization of a highway by
				resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation, reconstruction, adding shoulders, or
				adding auxiliary lanes (including parking, weaving, turning, and climbing
				lanes), if the action meets the constraints in (4);
(aa) highway safety or traffic operations
				improvement projects, including the installation of ramp metering control
				devices and lighting, if the project meets the constraints in (4);
(ab) bridge rehabilitation, reconstruction,
				or replacement, or the construction of grade separation to replace existing
				at-grade railroad crossings, if the actions meet the constraints in (4);
(ac) purchase, construction,
				replacement, or rehabilitation of ferry vessels (including improvements to
				ferry vessel safety, navigation, and security systems) that would not require a
				change in the function of the ferry terminals and can be accommodated by
				existing facilities or by new facilities which themselves are within a CE; or
(ad) rehabilitation or
				reconstruction of existing ferry facilities that occupy substantially the same
				geographic footprint, do not result in a change in their functional use, and do
				not result in a substantial increase in the existing facility's capacity.
				Example actions include work on pedestrian and vehicle transfer structures and
				associated utilities, buildings, and terminals.