I would go as far as to say that it looks like a case of plagerism to me...!
Really? I would perceive three major differences:
1) The FAA rules refer only to the fuel load at the beginning of the flight. The EASA NPA refers to "fuel reserves", which customarily need to be maintained throughout a flight. Thus to answer my own question i), I think the answer is no under FAA rules and yes under the EASA NPA.
2) Related to 1, the FAA rules only require "enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing". It doesn't specify that this needs to be on the intended route, so it doesn't appear require more than direct track plus 30 mins, even if you intend a scenic tour that's 25 mins longer.
3) It has no exception for a local flight, possibly because 2) above provides some sort of exception in a different way.
Which is really why I asked about how they're normally interpreted.