9629

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9629
• Author: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Title: Selected NEPA Documents.
• USFW Year: 1993.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

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"Legislation" includes a bill or legislative proposal to Congress developed by or with the
significant cooperation and support of a Federal agency, but does not include requests for
appropriations. The test for significant cooperation is whether the proposal is in fact
predominantly that of the agency rather than another source. Drafting does not by itself
constitute significant cooperation. Proposals for legislation include requests for ratification
of treaties. Only the agency which has primary responsibility for the subject matter involved
will prepare a legislative environmental impact statement.
1508.18 Major Federal action.
"Major Federal action" includes actions with effects that may be major and which are
potentially subject to Federal control and responsibility. Major reinforces but does not have
a meaning independent of significantly (SS 1508.27). Actions include the circumstance
where the responsible officials fail to act and that failure to act is reviewable by courts or
administrative tribunals under the Administrative Procedure Act or other applicable law as
agency action.
(a) Actions include new and continuing activities, including projects and programs
entirely or partly financed, assisted, conducted, regulated, or approved by federal agencies;
new or revised agency rules, regulations, plans, policies, or procedures; and legislative
proposals (SS 1506.8, 1508.17). Actions do not include funding assistance solely in the
form of general revenue sharing funds, distributed under the State and Local Fiscal
Assistance Act of 1972, 31 U.S.C. 1221 et seq., with no Federal agency control over the
subsequent use of such funds. Actions do not include bringing judicial or administrative civil
or criminal enforcement actions.
(b) Federal actions tend to fall within one of the following categories:
(1) Adoption of official policy, such as rules, regulations, and interpretations adopted
pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 551 et seq.; treaties and inter-
national conventions or agreements; formal documents establishing an agency's policies
which will result in or substantially alter agency programs.
(2) Adoption of formal plans, such as official documents prepared or approved by federal
agencies which guide or prescribe alterative uses of federal resources, upon which future
agency actions will be based.
(3) Adoption of programs, such as a group of concerted actions to implement a specific
policy or plan; systematic and connected agency decisions allocating agency resources to
implement a specific statutory program or executive directive.
(4) Approval of specific projects, such as construction or management activities located
in a defined geographic area. Projects include actions approved by permit or other
regulatory decision as well as federal and federally assisted activities.
1508.19 Matter.
"Matter" includes for purposes of Part 1504:
(a) With respect to the Environmental Protection Agency, any proposed legislation,
project, action or regulation as those terms are used in Section 309(a) of the Clean Air Act
(42 U.S.C. 7609).