A. - Administrative and Routine Actions Excepted from NEPA Review
Formerly, this list (A1 through A15) contained categorical exclusions applicable to general agency actions. Following the issuance of DOE's Notice of Interim Final Rule on July 3, 2025, A1 through A15 are now administrative and routine actions excepted from NEPA review.
A1 - Routine DOE business actions
A2 - Clarifying or administrative contract actions
A3 - Certain actions by Office of Hearings and Appeals
A4 - Interpretations and rulings for existing regulations
A5 - Interpretive rulemakings with no change in environmental effect
A6 - Procedural rulemakings
A7 - [Reserved]
A8 - Awards of certain contracts
A9 - Information gathering, analysis, and dissemination
A10 - Reports and recommendations on non-DOE legislation
A11 - Technical advice and assistance to organizations
A12 - Emergency preparedness planning
A13 - Procedural Documents
A14 - Approval of technical exchange arrangements
A15 - International agreements for energy research and development
B1. - Categorical Exclusions Applicable to Facility Operation
B1.1 - Changing rates and prices
B1.2 - Training exercises and simulations
B1.3 - Routine maintenance
B1.4 - Air conditioning systems for existing equipment
B1.5 - Existing steam plants and cooling water systems
B1.6 - Tanks and equipment to control runoff and spills
B1.7 - Electronic equipment
B1.8 - Screened water intake and outflow structures
B1.9 - Airway safety markings and painting
B1.10 - Onsite storage of activated material
B1.11 - Fencing
B1.12 - Detonation or burning of explosives or propellants after testing
B1.13 - Pathways, short access roads, and rail lines
B1.14 - Refueling of nuclear reactors
B1.15 - Support buildings
B1.16 - Asbestos removal
B1.17 - Polychlorinated biphenyl removal
B1.18 - Water supply wells
B1.19 - Microwave, meteorological, and radio towers
B1.20 - Protection of cultural resources, fish and wildlife habitat
B1.21 - Noise abatement
B1.22 - Relocation of buildings
B1.23 - Demolition and disposal of buildings
B1.24 - Property transfers
B1.25 - Real property transfers for cultural resources protection, habitat preservation, and wildlife management
B1.26 - Small water treatment facilities
B1.27 - Disconnection of utilities
B1.28 - Placing a facility in an environmentally safe condition
B1.29 - Disposal facilities for construction and demolition waste
B1.30 - Transfer actions
B1.31 - Installation or relocation of machinery and equipment
B1.32 - Traffic flow adjustments
B1.33 - Stormwater runoff control
B1.34 - Lead-based paint containment, removal, and disposal
B1.35 - Drop-off, collection and transfer facilities for recyclable materials
B1.36 - Determinations of excess real property
B2. - Categorical Exclusions Applicable to Safety and Health
B2.1 - Workplace enhancements
B2.2 - Building and equipment instrumentation
B2.3 - Personnel safety and health equipment
B2.4 - Equipment qualification
B2.5 - Facility safety and environmental improvements
B2.6 - Recovery of radioactive sealed sources
B3. - Categorical Exclusions Applicable to Site Characterization, Monitoring, and General Research
B3.1 - Site characterization and environmental monitoring
B3.2 - Aviation activities
B3.3 - Research related to conservation of fish, wildlife, and cultural resources
B3.4 - Transport packaging tests for radioactive or hazardous material
B3.5 - Tank car tests
B3.6 - Small-scale research and development, laboratory operations, and pilot projects
B3.7 - New terrestrial infill exploratory and experimental wells
B3.8 - Outdoor terrestrial ecological and environmental research
B3.9 - Projects to reduce emissions and waste generation
B3.10 - Particle accelerators
B3.11 - Outdoor tests and experiments on materials and equipment components
B3.12 - Microbiological and biomedical facilities
B3.13 - Magnetic fusion experiments
B3.14 - Small-scale educational facilities
B3.15 - Small-scale indoor research and development projects using nanoscale materials
B3.16 - Research activities in aquatic environments
B4. - Categorical Exclusions Applicable to Electrical Power and Transmission
B4.1 - Contracts, policies, and marketing and allocation plans for electric power
B4.2 - Export of electric energy
B4.3 - Electric power marketing rate changes
B4.4 - Power marketing services and activities
B4.5 - Temporary adjustments to river operations
B4.6 - Additions and modifications to transmission facilities
B4.7 - Fiber optic cable
B4.8 - Electricity transmission agreements
B4.9 - Multiple use of powerline rights-of-way
B4.10 - Removal of electric transmission facilities
B4.11 - Electric power substations and interconnection facilities
B4.12 - Construction of powerlines
B4.13 - Upgrading and rebuilding existing powerlines
B4.14 - Construction and operation of electrochemical-battery or flywheel energy storage systems
B5. - Categorical Exclusions Applicable to Conservation, Fossil, and Renewable Energy Activities
B5.1 - Actions to conserve energy or water
B5.2 - Modifications to pumps and piping
B5.3 - Modification or abandonment of wells
B5.4 - Repair or replacement of pipelines
B5.5 - Short pipeline segments
B5.6 - Oil spill cleanup
B5.7 - Export of natural gas and associated transportation by marine vessel
B5.8 - [Reserved]
B5.9 - Temporary exemptions for electric powerplants
B5.10 - Certain permanent exemptions for existing electric powerplants
B5.11 - Permanent exemptions allowing mixed natural gas and petroleum
B5.12 - Workover of existing wells
B5.13 - Experimental wells for injection of small quantities of carbon dioxide
B5.14 - Combined heat and power or cogeneration systems
B5.15 - Small-scale renewable energy research and development and pilot projects
B5.16 - Solar photovoltaic systems
B5.17 - Solar thermal systems
B5.18 - Wind turbines
B5.19 - Ground source heat pumps
B5.20 - Biomass power plants
B5.21 - Methane gas recovery and utilization systems
B5.22 - Alternative fuel vehicle fueling stations
B5.23 - Electric vehicle charging stations
B5.24 - Drop-in hydroelectric systems
B5.25 - Small-scale renewable energy research and development and pilot projects in aquatic environments
B6. - Categorical Exclusions Applicable to Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Activities
B6.1 - Cleanup actions
B6.2 - Waste collection, treatment, stabilization, and containment facilities
B6.3 - Improvements to environmental control systems
B6.4 - Facilities for storing packaged hazardous waste for 90 days or less
B6.5 - Facilities for characterizing and sorting packaged waste and overpacking waste
B6.6 - Modification of facilities for storing, packaging, and repacking waste
B6.7 - [Reserved]
B6.8 - Modifications for waste minimization and reuse of materials
B6.9 - Measures to reduce migration of contaminated groundwater
B6.10 - Upgraded or replacement waste storage facilities
B7. - Categorical Exclusions Applicable to International Activities
B7.1 - Emergency measures under the International Energy Program
B7.2 - Import and export of special nuclear or isotopic materials