The Center for Biological Diversity, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Humane Society Legislative Fund filed a petition with the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) nearly a year ago, favoring more process in rulemaking.

The 51-page petition was submitted on June 20, 2024, but FSIS did not release it until Tuesday, June 24, 2025.

The petition requests that the U.S. Department of Agriculture initiate rulemaking to rescind FSIS’s categorical exclusion from Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Statement requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

In certain instances, NEPA requires the federal government’s agencies to evaluate and consider the environmental impacts of proposed actions before deciding what action to take.  The USDA promulgated a final rule in 1983 making FSIS categorically exempt  from certain NEPA requirements.

Federal agencies are bound by the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) to review such exemptions every 10 years, and the petition says  FSIS  is long overdue for such a review.

The petition is located on the FSIS website under 25-02l. FSIS Regulation Development staff are assigned to work on the issue.

The sponsors said they are requesting this amendment “to align USDA with its obligations” under NEPA and to help ensure that FSIS finally conducts appropriate environmental reviews of its agency and actions, including those that relate to significant effects on endangered and threatened species, and their habitats.

According to the petition, “NEPA remains a critically important law that facilitates objective analysis of the potential environmental consequences of proposed actions and feasible alternatives.” It is also often the only opportunity for meaningful government transparency and public involvement related to the environmental implications of those actions. Given the critical role of NEPA review in agency decisionmaking, USDA and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) cannot continue allowing an entire agency that produces industry-wide rulemakings with significant environmental effects to completely sidestep its NEPA obligations.”

The petitioners,  represented by the Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, include:

• The Center for Biological Diversity (the Center) is a non-profit, public interest environmental organization dedicated to protecting species and their habitats through science, policy, and environmental law.
• The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a national nonprofit animal protection organization headquartered in Washington D.C., with millions of members and constituents.
• The Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and formed in 2004 as a separate lobbying affiliate of the HSUS.