28 C.F.R. Subpart A—General
Title 28 - Judicial Administration
(a) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., establishes national policies and goals for the protection of the environment. Section 102(2) of NEPA contains certain procedural requirements directed toward the attainment of such goals. In particular, all federal agencies are required to give appropriate consideration to the environmental effects of their proposed actions in their decisionmaking and to prepare detailed environmental statements on proposals for legislation significantly affecting the quality of the human environment and on other major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. (b) Executive Order No. 11991 of May 24, 1977, directed the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to issue regulations to implement the procedural provisions of NEPA. Accordingly, CEQ issued final NEPA regulations, 40 CFR parts 1500–1508, (“The NEPA regulations”). These regulations provide that each federal agency shall, as necessary, adopt implementing procedures to supplement the regulations. The NEPA regulations identify those sections of the regulations which must be addressed in agency procedures. The purpose of this part is to establish Department of Justice procedures which supplement the relevant provisions of the NEPA regulations and to provide for the implementation of those provisions identified in 40 CFR 1507.3(b). The procedures set forth in this part, with the exception of the appendices, apply to all organizational elements of the Department of Justice. Internal procedures applicable, respectively, to the Bureau of Prisons, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Office of Justice Assistance, Research and Statistics are set forth in the appendices to this part, for informational purposes. The NEPA regulations define “major federal action.” “Major federal action” does not include action taken by the Department of Justice within the framework of judicial or administrative enforcement proceedings or civil or criminal litigation, including but not limited to the submission of consent or settlement agreements and investigations. Neither does “major federal action” include the rendering of legal advice.
Title 28: Judicial Administration
PART 61—PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT
Subpart A—General
§ 61.1 Background.
§ 61.2 Purpose.
§ 61.3 Applicability.
§ 61.4 Major federal action.
