BLUF: The U.S. Postal Service published an interim final rule on September 25, 2026 partially rescinding and updating its own NEPA environmental-review procedures, effective immediately, with comments due by October 26, 2026.

USPS's procedures implemented environmental-review rules previously issued by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). With CEQ's own NEPA regulations now rescinded, USPS is conforming its internal procedures to match, using the interim-final-rule mechanism to make the change effective while still taking public comment.

Why it matters: Contractors and vendors involved in USPS facility, fleet, or infrastructure projects that trigger environmental review should expect USPS's internal NEPA process — not the former CEQ-wide regulatory framework — to govern how those reviews are scoped and documented going forward. Firms with pending or upcoming USPS environmental-review obligations have a narrow window to weigh in before the comment period closes.

By the numbers:

• Effective date: September 25, 2026
• Comment deadline: October 26, 2026
• Document type: Interim final rule with request for comments
• Issuing agency: U.S. Postal Service

The rule takes effect immediately as an interim final rule, meaning USPS is not waiting for the comment period to close before the changes apply — but the agency says it will consider comments received by the October deadline and may revise the procedures afterward. The rule affects only USPS's own implementing procedures, not NEPA itself or other agencies' environmental-review rules.

Source: Federal Register