Implementing Regulation for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): Environmental Effects of the Department of Veterans Affairs Actions (AS33)

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending its regulations for implementing the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Since VA last updated its NEPA regulations in 1989, the Council on Environmental Quality removed its NEPA regulations that applied to all agencies, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 revised the NEPA statute, and significant changes have occurred within the Department. The revisions to VA's NEPA regulations provide a new, comprehensive approach aligning the NEPA process with decision-making across VA by more clearly focusing the NEPA process and analyses on the planning stages of VA actions, improving consistency in NEPA implementation throughout VA, improving the efficiency and quality of VA's NEPA process, updating the VA categorical exclusion list to reflect current VA activities, and ensuring compliance with the NEPA statute.