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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it has review and approval responsibilities over all non-delegated EISs.
DOI Environmental Statement Memorandum 85-2 describes these procedures
(refer to Service NEPA Reference Handbook).
G. Advance Copies. Regional and field offices often receive courtesy or
advance copies of official draft or final EISs, project plans, section 4(f)
statements from non-DOI agencies, or other documents which are being
circulated for formal review. The advance copy will allow additional
review time between receipt of the official controlled copy and transmittal
from DHC. ES transmittal instructions for review and comment should come
from DHC in approximately one week (to allow for OEPC and DHC processing
and mail delay). If such instructions are not received, or if the reviewer
has reason to believe the action agency has failed to submit the document
to DOI for review, DHC should be notified immediately. The field and
Regional Office review should continue and the comments should be processed
as if they were controlled.
H. Technical Assistance.
{1} Other agencies and bureaus are encouraged to consult with Service
field offices during early planning for technical assistance to help ensure
full consideration of fish and wildlife resources. Requests for technical
assistance and planning documents received as part of cooperating or
scoping efforts are to be reviewed at the field level with comments sent
directly to the agency. This includes review of preliminary or working
draft EISs, other draft environmental documents, and other draft project
reviews. DHC should be advised, by copy, of significant or controversial
issues.
(2} When reviewing documents that may become part of an EIS or project
plan, the agency should be reminded that such informal coordination is
rendered as technical assistance, and does not represent the final position
of DOI. Some requests for technical assistance are routed through DOI and
controlled by OEPC. These requests are generally responded to directly by
the Service field office.
I. Processing Environmental Review Documents.
(1) Environmental documents received by OEPC from other Federal agencies
are processed in the following manner.
(a) OEA assigns an "ER" control number to the document and routes it to
DOI bureaus, via an OEPC memorandum.
(b) DHC receives the OEPC memorandum and prepares an ES Environmental
Review Distribution transmittal and routes the transmittal and the document
to reviewers, with information copies, as appropriate.
(c) ES field office (or other appropriate office) does site specific
review and prepares a comment letter for Regional Director's signature
(unless otherwise directed by ES transmittal).