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An environmental review is the process of reviewing a project and its potential environmental impacts to determine whether it meets federal, state, and local environmental standards. The environmental review process is required for all HUD-assisted projects to ensure that the proposed project does not negatively impact the surrounding environment, and that the property site itself will not have an adverse environmental or health effect on residents. HUD’s Office of Environment and Energy (OEE) manages the overall environmental review process for HUD. You will find an overview of HUD environmental requirements, as well as regulations, formats, guidance and training materials on the Environmental Review page. If you have questions about environmental review, please contact the assigned Grants Management Specialist or Grants Evaluation Specialist in your Area Office.

 

TRAINING

  • Web-Based Instructional System for Environmental Reviews (WISER)
    WISER teaches grantees how to understand and address all aspects of the environmental review process required for all HUD-assisted projects. This set of self-paced online learning modules can be completed in any order. Each module includes its own learning assessment and opportunity for obtaining a certificate of completion.
  • Webinars
    The Environmental Reviews Training webinars, held by HUD's Office of Environment and Energy, provide comprehensive information for grantees and staff on the various components of the environmental review process. All major topics are discussed by subject matter experts. HUD records all Environmental Review Training webinars; these webinar presentations and accompanying materials are available here.

  • ONAP Environmental Webinar Series

    • Use of Environmental Review Forms
      This webinar provided a basic overview of the three HUD environmental review forms: exempt/categorical exclusions not subject to 58.5 (CENST), categorical exclusions subject to 58.5 (CEST), and environmental assessments (EA). This webinar focused on applying these forms to activities in a typical Indian Housing Plan or other projects commonly seen in tribal communities and clarified who signs these environmental reviews.
    • Aggregation
      Aggregating geographically and/or functionally related activities improves the efficiency of environmental reviews and is required by HUD regulations. This webinar discussed how to include the full scope of a project in a project description for an environmental review and presented common examples of project aggregation for projects in tribal communities.
    • Emergency Repairs
      HUD’s regulations at 24 CFR 58.34(a)(10) include an exemption for emergency repairs. This webinar will discuss how and when 24 CFR 58.34(a)(10) may be used to expedite the environmental review process and provide different examples.
    • Re-evaluation
      Project scopes or environmental conditions can change after an environmental review has already been completed. This webinar will discuss how and when to update an existing environmental review under reevaluation at 24 CFR 58.47 and provide different examples.

CONSULTATION

Office of Environment and Energy

Consultation on HUD’s Draft Departmental Policy for Addressing Radon in the Environmental Review Process Notice

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is in the process of developing a departmentwide radon policy to fully   HUD’s mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes that provide a healthy place to live and thrive. HUD’s FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan recognizes housing’s essential role in the health of residents and identifies minimizing residential radon exposure as one of the strategies for improving health outcomes for residents of HUD-assisted housing.

HUD recognizes that each Tribe has its own unique circumstances and that they have utilized a variety of actions to address radon. HUD welcomes discussion on those activities and comments on the potential impacts (positive and negative) of HUD’s radon policy on, whether
the proposed strategies for considering radon are implementable, what are roadblocks to success, and any other concerns related to radon in Indian country that can inform and help develop a radon policy that can be successfully implemented under a variety of circumstances. HUD is specifically interested in:

  • What concerns do you have about implementing the proposed radon policy?
  • What specific guidance would help you successfully identify and mitigate radon?

Consultation session 1 is scheduled for Thursday, October 20, 2022 at 3:00 pm ET

Consultation session 2 is scheduled for Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 4:00 pm ET

 

Consultation on Tribal Directory Assessment Tool (TDAT) Enhancement Project

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is in the process of updating its Tribal Directory Assessment Tool (TDAT) through the TDAT Enhancement Project. TDAT is a tool developed by HUD to assist HUD staff and its Responsible Entities (RE) in identifying the federally recognized Indian tribes to consult with per Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), when assessing potential impacts a project may have on Tribal cultural resources and sites located on ancestral lands. REs are units of government who, as per regulation, assume the responsibility for environmental review, decision-making, and actions that would otherwise apply to HUD and can include Tribes.

TDAT Information Session:  HUD will host a virtual webinar on November 10, 2022, to provide background and context on TDAT, its features, and its use for consulting with Tribes under Section 106. The TDAT Information Session begins at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Transcript

Tribal Consultation Session:  As a follow-up to the TDAT Information Session and to allow time for prepared remarks, HUD will host a virtual Tribal Consultation via webex on November 17, 2022, to solicit feedback on the TDAT Enhancement Project and the proposed Information Request Form associated with the project.  The Consultation begins at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 

In accordance with HUD’s Tribal Consultation Policy, HUD is inviting Tribal leaders to participate in a 60-day comment period to solicit feedback on an Information Request Form that will be incorporated into TDAT as part of the TDAT Enhancement Project. Please send your recommendations or comments via email to: TDAT_info@hud.gov by December 13, 2022.

 

Floodplain Management and Wetlands Protection

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is in the process of updating its floodplain management and wetlands protection regulations. In accordance with HUD’s Tribal Consultation Policy, HUD is reaching out to Tribal leaders to solicit feedback during a consultation on June 28, 2021. Specifically, HUD is seeking comments regarding HUD’s floodplain management and wetlands protection regulations at 24 CFR Part 55 and how to implement the Federal Flood Risk Management Standards (FFRMS). Please send comments to:  EnvironmentalPlanningDivision@hud.gov. The comment period expires on July 13, 2021.


HEROS

HEROS is an online system for developing, documenting, and managing environmental reviews. It covers all levels of environmental reviews for both Part 50 and Part 58 projects and includes on-screen guidance for completing HUD environmental reviews.


THRIITF

  • Tribal Housing and Related Infrastructure Interagency Task Force
    The Tribal Housing and Related Infrastructure Interagency Task Force (THRIITF) is comprised of Federal agencies and Tribal representatives to develop a coordinated and streamlined environmental review for Tribal housing and related infrastructure projects. THRIITF background, documents and reports are available here.