in effect
This is an “interim final rule” from the Department of the Navy (part of the Department of Defense) — a rule that takes effect immediately rather than after a public comment period. It removes the Navy’s own regulations for carrying out the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the law requiring federal agencies to study the environmental effects of their projects. The rule also invites public comments even though the Navy states it was not legally required to seek them.
The rule deletes 32 CFR Part 775 — the Navy’s published NEPA procedures — from the Code of Federal Regulations, effective July 3, 2025, with comments accepted through August 4, 2025 (a 30-day window). The Navy says these procedures were written to supplement the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) government-wide NEPA rules, which were themselves repealed effective April 11, 2025, leaving the Navy’s rules incomplete. Going forward, the Navy will follow new Department-wide NEPA procedures issued by the DoD, which will be posted online rather than published in the Code of Federal Regulations; the Navy says this lets the procedures be updated faster in response to court rulings or presidential directives. The list of “categorical exclusions” currently in 32 CFR 775.6(f) — categories of activities that do not require detailed environmental review — will be carried into the new DoD-wide procedures and continue to be used. The document states that ongoing NEPA reviews already underway will continue under the existing procedures and are not affected.
The change applies internally to the Navy and Marine Corps — including the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, commands, operating forces, shore establishments, and reserve components — which will now follow DoD-wide procedures instead of the removed Navy-specific ones. Members of the public and outside organizations can locate the applicable procedures online rather than in the Code of Federal Regulations, and could submit comments during the 30-day window. The Navy states the rule addresses only its internal procedures and does not impose enforceable duties on private citizens, state and local governments, or Tribal governments.