NASA Procedural Requirements

NPR 8580.1A Effective Date: August 01, 2012 Expiration Date: February 01, 2031

Subject: Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act and Executive Order 12114 (Revalidated with Change 2 on April 1, 2025)

Responsible Office: Office of Strategic Infrastructure

Table C-1. Actions Categorically Excluded from EA and EIS Review (14 CFR 1216.304(d))

Section	Description
§ 1216.304(d)(1) Administrative Activities
§ 1216.304 (d)(1)(i)	Personnel actions, organizational changes, and procurement of routine goods and services.
§ 1216.304 (d)(1)(ii)	Issuing procedural rules, manuals, directives, and requirements.
§ 1216.304 (d)(1)(iii)	Program budget proposals, disbursements, and transfer or reprogramming of funds.
§ 1216.304 (d)(1)(iv)	Preparing documents, including design and feasibility studies, analytical supply and demand studies, reports and recommendations, master and strategic plans, and other advisory documents.
§ 1216.304 (d)(1)(v)	Information-gathering exercises, such as inventories, audits, and studies.
§ 1216.304 (d)(1)(vi)	Preparing and disseminating information, including document mailings, publications, classroom materials, conferences, speaking engagements, websites, and other educational/informational activities.
§ 1216.304 (d)(1)(vii)	Software development, data analysis, and/or testing, including computer modeling.
§ 1216.304 (d)(2)(viii)	Interpretations, amendments, and modifications to contracts, grants, or other awards.
§ 1216.304 (d)(1)(ix)	Field studies, including water sampling, monitoring wells, cultural resources surveys, biological surveys, geologic surveys, modeling or simulations, routine data collection and analysis, and/or temporary equipment.
§ 1216.304 (d)(2) Operations and Management Activities
§ 1216.304 (d)(2)(i)	Routine maintenance, minor construction or rehabilitation, minor demolition, minor modification, minor repair, and continuing or altered operations at, or of, existing NASA or NASA-funded or NASA-approved facilities and equipment, such as buildings, roads, grounds, utilities, communication systems, and ground support systems (e.g., space tracking and data systems). This includes routine operations such as security, public health and safety, and environmental services.
§ 1216.304 (d)(2)(ii)	Installing or removing equipment, including component parts, at existing Government or private facilities.
§ 1216.304 (d)(2)(iii)	Contributing equipment, software, or technical advice; exchanging data; and consulting with other agencies and public and private entities.
§ 1216.304 (d)(2)(iv)	NASA ceremonies, commemorative events, and memorial services.
§ 1216.304 (d)(2)(v)	Routine packaging, labeling, storage, transportation, and disposal of materials and wastes, in accordance with applicable Federal, state, Tribal, or local laws or requirements. Examples include but are not limited to hazardous, nonhazardous, and other regulated materials and wastes.
§ 1216.304 (d)(2)(vi)	Habitat and species management activities conducted within the boundaries of NASA-controlled properties in accordance with applicable Federal, state, or local requirements. Examples include, but are not limited to, restoration of unique or critical habitats; thinning or brush control to improve growth of natural habitat, reduce invasive species, or reduce fire hazard; prescribed burning to reduce natural fuel build-up, reduce invasive species, or improve native plant vigor; planting appropriate vegetation, that does not include noxious weeds or invasive plants; or wildlife management activities (REC required).
§ 1216.304 (d)(2)(vii)	Small-scale, short-term cleanup actions under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or other authorities to reduce risk to human or environmental health from the release, or imminent and substantial threat of release, of a hazardous substance other than high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, including treatment (such as incineration, encapsulation, physical or chemical separation, and compaction), recovery, storage, or disposal of wastes at existing facilities currently handling the type of waste involved in the action.
§ 1216.304 (d)(2)(viii)	Replacement of existing energy sources with alternative or renewable energy sources that comply with existing permit conditions.
§ 1216.304 (d)(2)(ix)	Routine maintenance, repair, and operation of vessels (including unmanned autonomous surface vessels), aircraft (including unmanned aircraft systems), overland/surface transportation vehicles, and other transportation systems as applicable. Examples include, but are not limited to, transportation or relocation of NASA equipment and hardware by barge, aircraft, or surface transportation system (e.g., tractor trailer or railroad); retrieval of spent solid rocket boosters by vessel; repair or overhaul of vessel, aircraft, or surface transportation systems that do not result in a change in the environmental impacts of their normal operation.
§ 1216.304 (d)(3) Research, Development, and Science Activities
§ 1216.304 (d)(3)(i)	Research, development, and testing in compliance with all applicable Federal, state, Tribal, or local laws or requirements and Executive Orders (EOs). This includes the research, development, and testing of scientific instruments proposed for use on spacecraft, aircraft (including unmanned aircraft systems), sounding rockets, balloons, laboratories, watercraft, or other outdoor activities.
§ 1216.304 (d)(3)(ii)	Use of small quantities of radioactive materials used for instrument detectors, calibration, and other purposes. Materials may be associated with the proposed use on spacecraft, aircraft (including unmanned aircraft systems), sounding rockets, balloons, laboratories, watercraft, or other outdoor activities.
§ 1216.304 (d)(3)(iii)	Use of lasers for research and development, scientific instruments and measurements, and distance and ranging, where such use meets all applicable Federal, state, Tribal, or local laws or requirements, and EOs. This includes lasers associated with spacecraft, aircraft (including unmanned aircraft systems), sounding rockets, balloons, laboratories, watercraft, or other outdoor activities.
§ 1216.304 (d)(3)(iv)	Use of non-space nuclear system payloads on various platforms (e.g., launch vehicle, sounding rocket, scientific balloon, and aircraft) (REC required).
§ 1216.304 (d)(3)(v)	Return of samples from solar system bodies (e.g., asteroids, comets, planets, dwarf planets, and planetary moons) to Earth when categorized as an Unrestricted Earth Return. NASA defines this activity as collecting extraterrestrial materials from solar system bodies, deemed by scientific opinion to have no indigenous life forms, and returning those samples to Earth (REC required).
§ 1216.304 (d)(4) Real and Personal Property Activities
§ 1216.304 (d)(4)(i)	Acquisition, transfer, or disposal of any personal property or personal property rights or interests.
§ 1216.304 (d)(4)(ii)	Granting or accepting easements, leases, licenses, rights-of-entry, and permits to use NASA property for activities that would be categorically excluded in accordance with this section (REC required).
§ 1216.304 (d)(4)(iii)	Transfer or disposal of real property, property rights, or interests if a resulting change in use is a use that would be categorically excluded under this section (REC required).
§ 1216.304 (d)(4)(iv)	Transferring real property administrative control to another Federal agency, including the return of public domain lands to the Department of the Interior (DOI) or other Federal agencies, and reporting of property as excess and surplus to the General Services Administration (GSA) for disposal, when the agency receiving administrative control (or GSA, following receipt of a report of excess) shall complete any necessary NEPA review prior to any change in land use (REC required).
§ 1216.304 (d)(4)(v)	Acquisition of real property (including facilities) where the land use will not change substantially (REC required).
§ 1216.304 (d)(4)(vi)	Change in the facility status of real property assets (e.g., active or inactive).
§ 1216.304 (d)(4)(vii)	Reductions, realignments, or relocation of personnel into existing Federally owned, or commercially leased, space that does not involve a substantial change affecting the supporting infrastructure (e.g., no increase in vehicular traffic beyond the capacity of the supporting road network to accommodate such an increase).
§ 1216.304 (d)(5) Aircraft and Airfield Activities
§ 1216.304 (d)(5)(i)	Periodic aircraft (including unmanned aircraft systems) flight activities, including training and research and development, which are routine and comply with applicable Federal, state, Tribal, or local laws or requirements, and EOs.
§ 1216.304 (d)(5)(ii)	Relocation of similar aircraft (including unmanned aircraft systems) not resulting in a substantial increase in total flying hours, number of aircraft operations, operational parameters (e.g., noise), or permanent personnel or logistics support requirements at the receiving installation (REC required).
§ 1216.304 (d)(5)(iii)	Supersonic flying operations over land and above 30,000 feet MSL, or over water and above 10,000 feet MSL and more than 15 nautical miles from land. Adopted from the U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF) 32 CFR 989, Appendix B, Categorical Exclusion A2.3.34. See DAF citation for description of extraordinary circumstances.

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