Must a project have followed the Environmental Review Process to be eligible to file a Statute of Limitations (SOL) claims notice for the project?
The SOL notice may be used for projects on which the NEPA decision was made prior to August 10, 2005, and therefore did not follow the Environmental Review process. The 180-day period will run from the date the notice is published in the Federal Register. As stated previously, the Division Office should work with FHWA field counsel to decide whether publication of a notice is a good choice for the project(s) in question. If a Division Office wants to publish notices for several projects that were approved before August 10, 2005, it may wish to use the multiproject sample form as a guide for consolidating the projects under a single notice. The SOL notice can be used for any category of NEPA project that generates a documented decision. This includes documented CEs, EAs, and EISs. Before deciding to publish a notice, the FHWA Division Office, in consultation with the State, should consider whether publication is justified.
