§2348a — Title 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must keep track of Corps of Engineers project studies under NEPA and send a yearly report to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The report must give eight pieces of information about those studies: how many used a categorical exclusion; how many have a decision pending; how many environmental assessments (EAs) were issued and whether any “finding of no significant impact” relied on mitigation; how long each EA took; how many EAs are being drafted; how many environmental impact statements (EISs) were issued; how long each EIS took; and how many EISs are being drafted. Each annual report must be made public, including on a website. Key terms (one line each): categorical exclusion — a NEPA category of actions that normally don’t need further study; environmental assessment — a NEPA study to decide if impacts are significant; environmental impact statement — a full, detailed NEPA report required by NEPA; finding of no significant impact — a conclusion that no significant impact is expected; project study — a feasibility study for a Corps project that may need NEPA review.

Title 33, §2348a

Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section:

(1)The term “categorical exclusion” has the meaning given the term in section 1508.1 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).

(2)The term “environmental assessment” has the meaning given the term in section 1508.1 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).

(3)The term “environmental impact statement” means a detailed written statement required under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).

(4)The term “finding of no significant impact” has the meaning given the term in section 1508.1 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).

(5)The term “project study” means a feasibility study for a project carried out pursuant to section 2282 of this title for which a categorical exclusion may apply, or an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement is required, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

(b)(1)(A)The Secretary shall carry out a process to track, and annually submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, a report containing the information described in subparagraph (B).

(B)The information referred to in subparagraph (A) is, with respect to the Corps of Engineers—

(i)the number of project studies for which a categorical exclusion was used during the reporting period;

(ii)the number of project studies for which the decision to use a categorical exclusion, to prepare an environmental assessment, or to prepare an environmental impact statement is pending on the date on which the report is submitted;

(iii)the number of project studies for which an environmental assessment was issued during the reporting period, broken down by whether a finding of no significant impact, if applicable, was based on mitigation;

(iv)the length of time the Corps of Engineers took to complete each environmental assessment described in clause (iii);

(v)the number of project studies pending on the date on which the report is submitted for which an environmental assessment is being drafted;

(vi)the number of project studies for which an environmental impact statement was issued during the reporting period;

(vii)the length of time the Corps of Engineers took to complete each environmental impact statement described in clause (vi); and

(viii)the number of project studies pending on the date on which the report is submitted for which an environmental impact statement is being drafted.

(2)The Secretary shall make each annual report required under paragraph (1) publicly available (including on a publicly available website).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, referred to in subsec. (a)(5), 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. Codification Section was enacted as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, and also as part of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, and not as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 which comprises this chapter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

“Secretary” Defined Secretary means the Secretary of the Army, see section 8002 of Pub. L. 117–263, set out as a note under section 2201 of this title.

§2348a Nepa Reporting