Sections 40 CFR 1501.6 and 40 CFR 1508.5 of the CEQ Regulations address cooperating agencies, which are Federal agencies other than a lead agency which have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved in a proposal or reasonable alternative. These regulations implement the NEPA mandate that Federal agencies prepare NEPA analyses and documentation "in cooperation with State and local governments" and other agencies with jurisdiction by law or special expertise (42 USC §§ 4331(a) and 42 USC §§ 4332(2)). To ensure that Federal agencies are actively considering designation of Federal and non-Federal cooperating agencies in the preparation of NEPA analyses and documentation, CEQ requests annual agency reports on cooperating agency status.
CEQ uses the information provided by the Federal agencies to prepare a summary report that synopsizes agency information, and includes trend analyses and conclusions about cooperating agency participation across the Executive Branch. Below are the reports that CEQ has prepared for cooperating agency status since 2014.