§ 26.12 — Definitions.

§ 26.12 Definitions.

(a) All definitions of words and phrases in section 111 of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4336e) apply to the procedures in this part.

(b) In addition to the terms defined in section 111 of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4336e), the following definitions apply to the procedures in this part:

Applicant means a non-Federal entity that seeks an action by VA such as granting a permit, license, or financial assistance. The term applicant includes Project Sponsors as referenced in sections 107(f) and 112 of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4336a(f); as amended through Pub. L. 119-21, July 4, 2025).

Approval authority means the responsibility and authority to approve and sign a decision document such as a finding of no significant impact or record of decision, a memorandum of agreement, a consultation letter, or programmatic agreement. VA has approval authority for all VA actions. VA assigns and may delegate approval authority according to § 26.13.

Connected actions means a separate Federal action within the authority of VA that is closely related to the proposed agency action and should be addressed in a single NEPA document because the proposed agency action:

(i) Automatically triggers the separate Federal action, which independently would require the preparation of additional NEPA documents;

(ii) Cannot proceed unless the separate Federal action is taken previously or simultaneously; or

(iii) Is an interdependent part of a larger Federal action that includes a separate Federal action, which mutually depend on the larger Federal action for their justification.

Decision document means a record of decision for an environmental impact statement, a finding of no significant impact for an environmental assessment, or the categorical exclusion document required for application of certain categorical exclusions as required in § 26.30(a).

Decision-maker means the entity or individual within VA with the authority to decide whether to proceed on a proposed action or select an alternative. In many, but not all, cases, the decision-maker will be the same individual or entity as the proponent. See also § 26.13(e) for a discussion of decision-maker responsibilities.

Effects or impacts means changes to the human environment from the proposed action or alternatives that are reasonably foreseeable and have a reasonably close causal relationship to the proposed action or alternatives.

(i) Effects include ecological (such as the effects on natural resources and on the components, structures, and functioning of affected ecosystems), aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic (such as the effects on employment), social, or health effects. Effects appropriate for analysis under NEPA may be either beneficial or adverse, or both, with respect to these values.

(ii) A “but-for” causal relationship is insufficient to make an agency responsible for a particular effect under NEPA. Effects should generally not be considered if they are remote in time, geographically remote, or the product of a lengthy causal chain. Effects do not include those effects that the agency has no ability to prevent due to the limits of its regulatory authority, or that would occur regardless of the proposed action, or that would need to be initiated by a third party.

Extraordinary circumstances means factors or circumstances that indicate a normally categorically excluded action may have a potentially significant effect as described in § 26.30(b).

Human environment or environment means comprehensively the natural and physical environment and the relationship of present and future generations with that environment.

Interim action means an action taken before the decision document is issued. Interim actions include but are not limited to VA actions for individual projects within a program before a programmatic analysis is complete for the entire program. See § 26.60(c) for limitations on actions during the NEPA process.

Jurisdiction by law means agency authority to approve, veto, or finance all or part of the proposal.

Mitigation means measures that avoid, minimize, or compensate for effects caused by a proposed action or alternatives as described in a NEPA document and that have a nexus to those effects. While NEPA requires consideration of mitigation, it does not mandate the form or adoption of any mitigation. Mitigation can include:

(i) Avoiding the impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an action.

(ii) Minimizing effects by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation.

(iii) Rectifying the impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment.

(iv) Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action.

(v) Compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments.

NEPA document means a categorical exclusion document, environmental assessment, environmental impact statement, finding of no significant impact, record of decision, notice of intent, notice of availability, or any other document prepared by VA pursuant to a requirement of NEPA. This is inclusive of “environmental documents” as defined in section 111(5) of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4336e(5), which refers specifically to environmental impact statements, environmental assessments, and findings of no significant impact.

NEPA Implementation Officer means the VA official responsible for helping to ensure the successful implementation of the NEPA process across all VA offices and administrations. See § 26.13(f) for a list of responsibilities.

NEPA process means all measures necessary for compliance with the requirements of section 2 and title I of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321, 4331-4336e; section 112 as amended through Pub. L. 119-21, July 4, 2025).

NEPA Specialist means a technical specialist in VA for matters relating to NEPA. See § 26.13(h) for a list of responsibilities.

No action alternative means the option of maintaining the status quo and not proceeding with any action. The no action alternative may be included in the reasonable range of alternatives and may establish a benchmark for comparative analysis under NEPA.

Notice of availability means a notice announcing the issuance and public availability of a NEPA document.

Notice of intent means a public notice that an agency will prepare and consider an environmental impact statement or, as applicable, an environmental assessment.

Other environmental planning requirements means environmental planning requirements including, but not limited to, section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) and its implementing regulations, section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536) and its implementing regulations, Executive orders, and other environmental laws.

Proponent means the VA element, employee, or representative responsible for planning and initiating the proposed action. In many, but not all, cases, the proponent will be the same individual or entity as the decision-maker. See § 26.13(g) for a list of responsibilities.

Proposed action is used synonymously with “proposal” in this part; see 42 U.S.C. 4336e(12) for the definition of a proposal.

Public means individuals, non-governmental organizations, and community groups. VA may involve the public in the NEPA process through notice and comment procedures. Affected public means those parties with a special interest in a proposed action. Affected public includes, but is not limited to, veterans, entities living in close proximity to a proposed action, and entities whose property or other interests may be affected by potential effects of a proposed action. See § 26.42 for public engagement procedures.

Publish and publication mean methods found by the agency to efficiently and effectively make NEPA documents and information available for review by interested persons, including electronic publication.

Related action means an action undertaken by an agency, for example, a permitting action, some other type of authorization action, an analysis required by statute, or the like, that bears a relationship to other actions undertaken by other agencies relevant to NEPA, such that a set of related actions are all related to one overarching project.

Reasonable alternatives means a reasonable range of alternatives that are technically and economically feasible, meet the purpose and need for the proposed action, and, where applicable, meet the goals of the applicant.

Reasonably foreseeable means sufficiently likely to occur such that a person of ordinary prudence would take it into account in reaching a decision.

Record of decision means a concise public document prepared by VA after an environmental impact statement is complete and that includes all elements listed in § 26.60(a)(2).

Scope consists of the range of actions, alternatives, and effects to be considered in a NEPA document. The scope of an individual statement may depend on its relationships to other statements.

Supplemental means an analysis performed after an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement has been issued. Supplemental analyses are prepared when the agency makes substantial changes to the proposed action that are relevant to environmental concerns or there are substantial new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the proposed action or its effects.

Tiering refers to the coverage of general matters in broader environmental impact statements or environmental assessments (such as national program or policy statements) with subsequent narrower statements or environmental analyses (such as regional or basin-wide program statements or ultimately site-specific statements) incorporating by reference the general discussions and concentrating solely on the issues specific to the statement subsequently prepared.

United States means all States, territories, and possessions of the United States, including all waters and air space subject to the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

VA elements mean all entities within VA, including but not limited to all offices, programs, and administrations within VA.