Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the CHIPS Act

banner image of a tree growing with semiconductor transistor lines coming out from behind it and "NEPA program" text displayed at the top-right of the image
Digital tree with green background

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C § 4321 et seq., requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental effects of their proposed actions as part of their decision-making processes. Federal agencies are responsible for complying with NEPA and the NEPA regulations at 40 C.F.R. Parts 1500-1508. 
NEPA reviews generally take one of three forms:

  • Categorical Exclusion (CE) – A determination that a proposed action falls in a category of actions that typically do not have significant environmental effects and do not require an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 
  • Environmental Assessment (EA) – A concise public document that an agency prepares for an action that is not likely to have significant environmental effects or where the significance of the effects is unknown. An EA supports an agency’s determination of a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) or the decision to prepare an environmental impact statement. 
  • Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) – A detailed written statement that an agency prepares to thoroughly evaluate the reasonably foreseeable environmental effects of a proposed action and a reasonable range of alternatives to the proposed action and inform decision-makers and the public.  An agency concludes the EIS process by issuing a Record of Decision (ROD).

The NEPA Process

flowchart displaying the NEPA Process and the decision-making points where a yes or no response can route a user down a different path of steps
Credit: CHIPS for America / NEPA

* Significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns or substantial changes in the proposed action that are relevant to environmental concerns may necessitate preparation of a supplemental EIS following either the draft or final EIS, or the Record of Decision. 40 CFR 1502.9(d).

A Citizen's Guide to NEPA (doe.gov)

For more information on NEPA, please see the following resources: 

NIST NEPA Procedures

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed NEPA Implementing Procedures (NEPA Procedures) and established 16 new Categorical Exclusions.  NIST published a notice in the Federal Register on December 11, 2024, announcing a 30-day public comment period on the draft NEPA Procedures (89 Fed. Reg. 99834). NIST received no public comments.  The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has reviewed NIST’s NEPA Procedures and CEs to ensure conformity with NEPA and the CEQ regulations, and determined that they are in conformity with NEPA and the CEQ regulations implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA.

For the NIST NEPA Procedures, click here.

For the Categorical Exclusion Substantiation Document, click here.

For the CEQ Conformity Letter, click here

NEPA Process for CHIPS Projects

To ensure an effective and efficient environmental review process for CHIPS projects subject to NEPA, applicants are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with NEPA and ensure that their project teams obtain NEPA expertise, which could include hiring companies or consultants with NEPA qualifications and experience. 

CHIPS NEPA-related documents and notices will be added to this website as they become available. To receive notifications on all NEPA documents please join our mailing list; be sure to select the NEPA notifications. 

The CHIPS Program Office will work with applicants to determine whether a CHIPS project does not require a NEPA review based on the Building CHIPS in America Act, which exempts CHIPS Act funding decisions for certain semiconductor projects from the definition of major Federal action under NEPA.

Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA)

On June 28, 2024, CHIPS for America announced the availability of a Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the modernization and expansion of existing semiconductor fabrication facilities funded through the CHIPS Incentives Program.  The Final PEA addresses federal financial assistance under the CHIPS Incentives Program for the proposed modernization or expansion of existing current-generation, mature-node, or leading-edge front- or back-end commercial semiconductor fabrication facilities within existing facility footprints.  
 

For inquiries about the CHIPS NEPA process, please email CHIPSNEPA [at] chips.gov (CHIPSNEPA[at]chips[dot]gov).

To receive CHIPS for America NEPA Updates, here: How to Sign up for CHIPS for America NEPA Updates.

Learn More

Created July 22, 2024, Updated January 21, 2025