Environmental Protocols and Assurances

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Protocol for Environmental Review

Used by:  Recipient and HUD staff

Description: This protocol defines the information to be supplied by recipients to the HUD field Office in accord with the recipient's environmental assurance and the project agreement. The recipient's information will help HUD to complete the environmental review processing required by 24 CFR Part 50 - "Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality." Recipients must not acquire, rehabilitate, convert, lease, repair or construct property, nor commit HUD or nonfederal funds for these program activities with respect to any eligible property, until the recipient receives HUD environmental approval of the property from the CPD Division Director in the field office in which the project is located. Where recipients propose more than one property, recipients are to aggregate properties into a single group (or even a neighborhood area) so that the HUD environmental review and approval may be completed under a single evaluation by the HUD field Office. The protocol provides specific questions for the recipient to answer for each property proposed for the project. In addition, the protocol provides resources related to each question. These questions should be applied to an entire neighborhood area if the recipient proposes to use the funds to benefit the neighborhood area. The protocol document is an attachment to the grant agreement. For more information, see the HUD funds available pages.

Environmental Review Assurance

Used by: Recipient and HUD staff

Description: For HUD grant programs in which the funding approval for an applicant's program must occur before the applicant's selection of properties, the application must contain an assurance that the applicant agrees to assist HUD to comply with the environmental review requirements of 24 CFR part 50 - "Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality."   These requirements only apply to grant-funded projects fully or partially funded by HUD, undertaken by grantees and all tiers of subgrantees and subcontractors.

When a project is limited to activities described in 24 CFR 50.19, it does not require an environmental review.  All other activities (for example, acquisition of real property, construction and alteration) are subject to an environmental review.  Since the approval of the initial grants in this program must occur prior to the identification of properties to be treated, as is provided for in 24 CFR 50.3(h), the applicant hereby agrees that it will assist HUD to comply with 24 CFR part 50, and that the applicant shall:

1. Advise HUD of all projects requiring a review under 24 CFR part 50 prior to their approval and supply HUD with all available and relevant information necessary for HUD to perform for each property any environmental review required by 24 CFR part 50;
2. Carry out mitigating measures required by HUD or select an alternate property or project; and
3. Not acquire, rehabilitate, convert, lease, repair or construct property, nor commit or expend HUD or local funds for these program activities on a HUD-assisted project until HUD has completed an environmental review to the extent required under 24 CFR part 50 and has given notification of its approval in accordance with 24 CFR 50.3(h)(3).
4. Include the above requirements in all subgrants and subcontracts.