Appendix B to Part 651 - Categorical Exclusions
32:4.1.1.3.6.10.1.1.4 : Appendix B
Appendix B to Part 651 - Categorical Exclusions Section I -
Screening Criteria
Before any CXs can be used, Screening Criteria as referenced in
§ 651.29 must be met.
Section II - List of CXs
(a) For convenience only, the CXs are grouped under common types
of activities (for example, administration/ operation,
construction/demolition, and repair and maintenance). Certain CXs
require a REC, which will be completed and signed by the proponent.
Concurrence on the use of a CX is required from the appropriate
environmental officer (EO), and that signature is required on the
REC. The list of CXs is subject to continual review and
modification. Requests for additions or changes to the CXs (along
with justification) should be sent, through channels, to the ASA
(I&E). Subordinate Army headquarters may not modify the CX list
through supplements to this part. Proposed modifications to the
list of CXs will be published in the FR by HQDA, to provide
opportunity for public comment.
(b) Administration/operation activities:
(1) Routine law and order activities performed by
military/military police and physical plant protection and security
personnel, and civilian natural resources and environmental law
officers.
(2) Emergency or disaster assistance provided to federal, state,
or local entities (REC required).
(3) Preparation of regulations, procedures, manuals, and other
guidance documents that implement, without substantive change, the
applicable HQDA or other federal agency regulations, procedures,
manuals, and other guidance documents that have been
environmentally evaluated (subject to previous NEPA review).
(4) Proposed activities and operations to be conducted in an
existing non-historic structure which are within the scope and
compatibility of the present functional use of the building, will
not result in a substantial increase in waste discharged to the
environment, will not result in substantially different waste
discharges from current or previous activities, and emissions will
remain within established permit limits, if any (REC required).
(5) Normal personnel, fiscal, and administrative activities
involving military and civilian personnel (recruiting, processing,
paying, and records keeping).
(6) Routinely conducted recreation and welfare activities not
involving off-road recreational vehicles.
(7) Deployment of military units on a temporary duty (TDY) or
training basis where existing facilities are used for their
intended purposes consistent with the scope and size of existing
mission.
(8) Preparation of administrative or personnel-related studies,
reports, or investigations.
(9) Approval of asbestos or lead-based paint management plans
drafted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations (REC
required).
(10) Non-construction activities in support of other
agencies/organizations involving community participation projects
and law enforcement activities.
(11) Ceremonies, funerals, and concerts. This includes events
such as state funerals, to include flyovers.
(12) Reductions and realignments of civilian and/or military
personnel that: fall below the thresholds for reportable actions as
prescribed by statute (10 U.S.C. 2687) and do not involve related
activities such as construction, renovation, or demolition
activities that would otherwise require an EA or an EIS to
implement (REC required). This includes reorganizations and
reassignments with no changes in force structure, unit
redesignations, and routine administrative reorganizations and
consolidations (REC required).
(13) Actions affecting Army property that fall under another
federal agency's list of categorical exclusions when the other
federal agency is the lead agency (decision maker), or joint
actions on another federal agency's property that fall under that
agency's list of categorical exclusions (REC required).
(14) Relocation of personnel into existing federally-owned (or
state-owned in the case of ARNG) or commercially-leased space,
which does not involve a substantial change in the supporting
infrastructure (for example, an increase in vehicular traffic
beyond the capacity of the supporting road network to accommodate
such an increase is an example of substantial change) (REC
required).
(c) Construction and demolition:
(1) Construction of an addition to an existing structure or new
construction on a previously undisturbed site if the area to be
disturbed has no more than 5.0 cumulative acres of new surface
disturbance. This does not include construction of facilities for
the transportation, distribution, use, storage, treatment, and
disposal of solid waste, medical waste, and hazardous waste (REC
required).
(2) Demolition of non-historic buildings, structures, or other
improvements and disposal of debris therefrom, or removal of a part
thereof for disposal, in accordance with applicable regulations,
including those regulations applying to removal of asbestos,
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead-based paint, and other
special hazard items (REC required).
(3) Road or trail construction and repair on existing
rights-of-ways or on previously disturbed areas.
(d) Cultural and natural resource management activities:
(1) Land regeneration activities using only native trees and
vegetation, including site preparation. This does not include
forestry operations (REC required).
(2) Routine maintenance of streams and ditches or other
rainwater conveyance structures (in accordance with USACE permit
authority under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and applicable
state and local permits), and erosion control and stormwater
control structures (REC required).
(3) Implementation of hunting and fishing policies or
regulations that are consistent with state and local
regulations.
(4) Studies, data collection, monitoring and information
gathering that do not involve major surface disturbance. Examples
include topographic surveys, bird counts, wetland mapping, and
other resources inventories (REC required).
(5) Maintenance of archaeological, historical, and
endangered/threatened species avoidance markers, fencing, and
signs.
(e) Procurement and contract activities:
(1) Routine procurement of goods and services (complying with
applicable procedures for sustainable or “green” procurement) to
support operations and infrastructure, including routine utility
services and contracts.
(2) Acquisition, installation, and operation of utility and
communication systems, mobile antennas, data processing cable and
similar electronic equipment that use existing right-of-way,
easement, distribution systems, and/or facilities (REC
required).
(3) Conversion of commercial activities under the provisions of
AR 5-20. This includes only those actions that do not change the
actions or the missions of the organization or alter the existing
land-use patterns.
(4) Modification, product improvement, or configuration
engineering design change to materiel, structure, or item that does
not change the original impact of the materiel, structure, or item
on the environment (REC required).
(5) Procurement, testing, use, and/or conversion of a
commercially available product (for example, forklift, generator,
chain saw, etc.) which does not meet the definition of a weapon
system (Title 10, U.S.C., Section 2403. “Major weapon systems:
Contractor guarantees”), and does not result in any unusual
disposal requirements.
(6) Acquisition or contracting for spares and spare parts,
consistent with the approved Technical Data Package (TDP).
(7) Modification and adaptation of commercially available items
and products for military application (for example, sportsman's
products and wear such as holsters, shotguns, sidearms, protective
shields, etc.), as long as modifications do not alter the normal
impact to the environment (REC required).
(8) Adaptation of non-lethal munitions and restraints from law
enforcement suppliers and industry (such as rubber bullets, stun
grenades, smoke bombs, etc.) for military police and crowd control
activities where there is no change from the original product
design and there are no unusual disposal requirements. The
development and use by the military of non-lethal munitions and
restraints which are similar to those used by local police forces
and in which there are no unusual disposal requirements (REC
required).
(f) Real estate activities:
(1) Grants or acquisitions of leases, licenses, easements, and
permits for use of real property or facilities in which there is no
significant change in land or facility use. Examples include, but
are not limited to, Army controlled property and Army leases of
civilian property to include leases of training, administrative,
general use, special purpose, or warehouse space (REC
required).
(2) Disposal of excess easement areas to the underlying fee
owner (REC required).
(3) Transfer of real property administrative control within the
Army, to another military department, or to other federal agency,
including the return of public domain lands to the Department of
Interior, and reporting of property as excess and surplus to the
GSA for disposal (REC required).
(4) Transfer of active installation utilities to a commercial or
governmental utility provider, except for those systems on property
that has been declared excess and proposed for disposal (REC
required).
(5) Acquisition of real property (including facilities) where
the land use will not change substantially or where the land
acquired will not exceed 40 acres and the use will be similar to
current or ongoing Army activities on adjacent land (REC
required).
(6) Disposal of real property (including facilities) by the Army
where the reasonably foreseeable use will not change significantly
(REC required).
(g) Repair and maintenance activities:
(1) Routine repair and maintenance of buildings, airfields,
grounds, equipment, and other facilities. Examples include, but are
not limited to: Removal and disposal of asbestos-containing
material (for example, roof material and floor tile) or lead-based
paint in accordance with applicable regulations; removal of dead,
diseased, or damaged trees; and repair of roofs, doors, windows, or
fixtures (REC required for removal and disposal of
asbestos-containing material and lead-based paint or work on
historic structures).
(2) Routine repairs and maintenance of roads, trails, and
firebreaks. Examples include, but are not limited to: grading and
clearing the roadside of brush with or without the use of
herbicides; resurfacing a road to its original conditions; pruning
vegetation, removal of dead, diseased, or damaged trees and
cleaning culverts; and minor soil stabilization activities.
(3) Routine repair and maintenance of equipment and vehicles
(for example, autos, tractors, lawn equipment, military vehicles,
etc.) which is substantially the same as that routinely performed
by private sector owners and operators of similar equipment and
vehicles. This does not include depot maintenance of unique
military equipment.
(h) Hazardous materials/hazardous waste management and
operations:
(1) Use of gauging devices, analytical instruments, and other
devices containing sealed radiological sources; use of industrial
radiography; use of radioactive material in medical and veterinary
practices; possession of radioactive material incident to
performing services such as installation, maintenance, leak tests,
and calibration; use of uranium as shielding material in containers
or devices; and radioactive tracers (REC required).
(2) Immediate responses in accordance with emergency response
plans (for example, Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure
Plan (SPCCP)/Installation Spill Contingency Plan (ISCP), and
Chemical Accident and Incident Response Plan) for release or
discharge of oil or hazardous materials/substances; or emergency
actions taken by Explosive Ordnance Demolition (EOD) detachment or
Technical Escort Unit.
(3) Sampling, surveying, well drilling and installation,
analytical testing, site preparation, and intrusive testing to
determine if hazardous wastes, contaminants, pollutants, or special
hazards (for example, asbestos, PCBs, lead-based paint, or
unexploded ordnance) are present (REC required).
(4) Routine management, to include transportation, distribution,
use, storage, treatment, and disposal of solid waste, medical
waste, radiological and special hazards (for example, asbestos,
PCBs, lead-based paint, or unexploded ordnance), and/or hazardous
waste that complies with EPA, Army, or other regulatory agency
requirements. This CX is not applicable to new construction of
facilities for such management purposes.
(5) Research, testing, and operations conducted at existing
enclosed facilities consistent with previously established safety
levels and in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local
standards. For facilities without existing NEPA analysis, including
contractor-operated facilities, if the operation will substantially
increase the extent of potential environmental impacts or is
controversial, an EA (and possibly an EIS) is required.
(6) Reutilization, marketing, distribution, donation, and resale
of items, equipment, or materiel; normal transfer of items to the
Defense Logistics Agency. Items, equipment, or materiel that have
been contaminated with hazardous materials or wastes will be
adequately cleaned and will conform to the applicable regulatory
agency's requirements.
(i) Training and testing:
(1) Simulated war games (classroom setting) and on-post tactical
and logistical exercises involving units of battalion size or
smaller, and where tracked vehicles will not be used (REC required
to demonstrate coordination with installation range control and
environmental office).
(2) Training entirely of an administrative or classroom
nature.
(3) Intermittent on-post training activities (or off-post
training covered by an ARNG land use agreement) that involve no
live fire or vehicles off established roads or trails. Uses
include, but are not limited to, land navigation, physical
training, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved aerial
overflights, and small unit level training.
(j) Aircraft and airfield activities:
(1) Infrequent, temporary (less than 30 days) increases in air
operations up to 50 percent of the typical installation aircraft
operation rate (REC required).
(2) Flying activities in compliance with Federal Aviation
Administration Regulations and in accordance with normal flight
patterns and elevations for that facility, where the flight
patterns/elevations have been addressed in an installation master
plan or other planning document that has been subject to NEPA
public review.
(3) Installation, repair, or upgrade of airfield equipment (for
example, runway visual range equipment, visual approach slope
indicators).
(4) Army participation in established air shows sponsored or
conducted by non-Army entities on other than Army property.