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USPS Overhauls NEPA Procedures, Moving Internal Rules Out of Federal Regulations

The Postal Service is issuing an interim final rule to partially rescind and revise its National Environmental Policy Act implementing procedures at 39 CFR part 775, driven by the repeal of CEQ regulations, recent Congressional amendments, and a Supreme Court course correction.

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What the Rule Does

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is publishing an interim final rule to partially rescind and update its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing procedures, codified at 39 CFR part 775. The rule is effective September 25, 2026, and public comments are due by October 26, 2026.

Under the revised framework, the CFR-codified regulations will be narrowed to contain only: definitions of terms used in the regulations; administrative and routine actions excepted from NEPA review in appendix A; revised categorical exclusions in appendix B, updated based on experience with existing regulations and new policies and infrastructure implemented since the original categorical exclusions were established; related requirements for determining when NEPA applies to USPS actions and for the application of categorical exclusions; and a provision for emergency circumstances. USPS states it will maintain the remainder of its NEPA procedures — which apply only to USPS's internal processes — in a Handbook separate from the Code of Federal Regulations.

Background: Three Drivers of the Revision

USPS cites three concurrent legal and policy developments as necessitating the revision.

CEQ regulation repeal. USPS's existing NEPA regulations were promulgated to implement CEQ's NEPA regulations at 40 CFR part 1500, and a stated policy of those regulations was to interpret and administer applicable policies, regulations, and public laws in accordance with the policies set forth in NEPA and CEQ's rules. CEQ's NEPA regulations were repealed effective April 11, 2025, following their removal published at 90 FR 10610 (February 25, 2025) and 91 FR 618 (January 8, 2026). The document states that repeal was necessitated by and consistent with Executive Order 14154, "Unleashing American Energy" (90 FR 8353; January 29, 2025), in which President Trump rescinded President Carter's Executive Order 11991, "Relating to Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality" (42 FR 26967; May 24, 1977) — the basis CEQ had invoked for its authority to issue regulations. With CEQ's regulations gone, USPS's own implementing rules required revision.

Congressional amendments to NEPA. Congress amended NEPA in significant part in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA), Public Law 118-5, signed June 3, 2023, and in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of July 4, 2025 (OBBBA), Public Law 119-21. The document notes that the FRA added substantial detail and direction in Title I of NEPA, including on procedural issues that CEQ and individual agencies had previously addressed in their own regulations. With the passage of the FRA and CEQ's rescission of its regulations, USPS states it is necessary to conform its procedures to the statute as amended.

Supreme Court course correction. USPS also cites the Supreme Court's decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, 145 S. Ct. 1497 (2025), in which the Court described what it characterized as the transformation of NEPA from a "modest procedural requirement" into a significant "substantive roadblock" that "paralyze[s]" agency decisionmaking. The Court mandated that courts give "substantial deference" to reasonable agency conclusions underlying an agency's NEPA process, and acknowledged the effect that judicial "micromanage[ment]" has had on litigation-averse agencies, which the document states had been "tak[ing] ever more time and . . . prepar[ing] ever longer EISs for future projects." USPS states it is issuing the interim final rule to streamline its NEPA process in accordance with that decision.

Procedural Notes

USPS notes that the Administrative Procedure Act does not apply to this action under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2) and 39 U.S.C. 410(a), and that the rule is being taken pursuant to the Postal Service's general rulemaking authority under 39 U.S.C. 401(2). Nevertheless, USPS states it is voluntarily soliciting public comments on its revision of 39 CFR part 775, and that following the expiration of the comment period, it may make further revisions if its review of submitted comments suggests they are warranted.

What to Watch

  • October 26, 2026 — Deadline for public comments on the interim final rule and related matters.
  • USPS has indicated it will review submitted comments and may make further revisions to the rule thereafter.

Related

Sources

21 cited

Every hard fact above is grounded in and cited to a primary source record.

  1. The interim final rule is effective September 25, 2026.

    federalregister.gov

  2. Comments are due by October 26, 2026.

    federalregister.gov

  3. USPS will maintain the remainder of its NEPA procedures — which apply only to USPS's internal processes — in a Handbook separate from the Code of Federal Regulations.

    federalregister.gov

  4. USPS's existing NEPA regulations were promulgated to implement CEQ's NEPA regulations at 40 CFR part 1500.

    federalregister.gov

  5. A stated policy of USPS's existing regulations is to interpret and administer applicable policies, regulations, and public laws in accordance with the policies set forth in NEPA and CEQ's NEPA regulations.

    federalregister.gov

  6. CEQ's NEPA regulations were repealed as of April 11, 2025.

    federalregister.gov

  7. The removal of CEQ's NEPA regulations was published at 90 FR 10610 on February 25, 2025, and 91 FR 618 on January 8, 2026.

    federalregister.gov

  8. Executive Order 14154, 'Unleashing American Energy,' was published at 90 FR 8353 on January 29, 2025, and in it President Trump rescinded President Carter's Executive Order 11991.

    federalregister.gov

  9. President Carter's Executive Order 11991, 'Relating to Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality,' was published at 42 FR 26967 on May 24, 1977, and was the basis CEQ had invoked for its authority to issue regulations.

    federalregister.gov

  10. Congress amended NEPA in significant part in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA), Public Law 118-5, signed on June 3, 2023.

    federalregister.gov

  11. Congress also amended NEPA in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of July 4, 2025 (OBBBA), Public Law 119-21.

    federalregister.gov

  12. The FRA added substantial detail and direction in Title I of NEPA, including on procedural issues that CEQ and individual agencies had previously addressed in their own regulations.

    federalregister.gov

  13. The Supreme Court issued its decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, 145 S. Ct. 1497 (2025).

    federalregister.gov

  14. In that decision, the Supreme Court described NEPA's transformation from a 'modest procedural requirement' into a significant 'substantive roadblock' that 'paralyze[s]' agency decisionmaking.

    federalregister.gov

  15. The Supreme Court mandated that courts give 'substantial deference' to reasonable agency conclusions underlying an agency's NEPA process.

    federalregister.gov

  16. The Court acknowledged the effect that judicial 'micromanage[ment]' has had on litigation-averse agencies, which had been 'tak[ing] ever more time and . . . prepar[ing] ever longer EISs for future projects.'

    federalregister.gov

  17. The Administrative Procedure Act does not apply to this action under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2) and 39 U.S.C. 410(a).

    federalregister.gov

  18. The rule is being taken pursuant to the Postal Service's general rulemaking authority under 39 U.S.C. 401(2).

    federalregister.gov

  19. USPS states it is voluntarily soliciting public comments on its revision of 39 CFR part 775 and may make further revisions after the comment period if warranted.

    federalregister.gov

  20. USPS is publishing an interim final rule to partially rescind and update its NEPA implementing procedures at 39 CFR part 775.

    federalregister.gov

  21. The revised CFR regulations will contain definitions of terms, administrative and routine actions excepted from NEPA review in appendix A, revised categorical exclusions in appendix B, related requirements for determining when NEPA applies and for the application of categorical exclusions, and a provision for emergency circumstances.

    federalregister.gov

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