22 CFR 216 (“Reg. 216”) is the U.S. federal regulation defining USAID’s pre-implementation environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. The output of this process is Reg. 216 documentation—principally, Requests for Categorical Exclusions (RCEs), Initial Environmental Examinations (IEEs), and Environmental Assessments (EAs).

ADS 204 (and other ADS chapters) specifies mandatory procedures to implement the regulation.

All EAs and most IEEs establish mandatory environmental “conditions” [mitigation actions] that must be fulfilled during project or activity implementation to protect the environment and human health and welfare.

This page provides access to resources explaining the Regulation and supporting the process of developing Reg. 216 documentation:

• Text of 22 CFR 216
• Presentation: 22 CFR 216 – USAID’s EIA Process.
• Environmental Documentation: Types and Templates page– lists the various 22 CFR 216 documents, describes their use/applicability, and provides links to annotated standard agency templates for these documents. 
• USAID Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Tool – a checklist to help determine eligibility of actions for categorical exclusion, and nature of potential impacts that must be addressed in project design and/or in IEEs.
  • USAID Environmental Impact Assessment Tool (PDF 1.4 MB; Word 1.3 MB)
• USAID Environmental Compliance Database (ECD) – A searchable global database of approved 22 CFR 216 documentation. 
• USAID’s Sectoral Environmental Guidelines- Support identification of potential impacts and appropriate mitigation design for activities in typical sectors.
• the Mitigation, Monitoring, and Reporting- Provides additional resources for mitigation design.

See the Principles of EIA page for an overview of and resources on the general EIA process.