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20551 ~onstnled by a~enCiCS wi th a vie\\' to the overall. cWllulat.h'e illlpaCL of the act.ion proposed. related Federal actions .md projEct.:::: in the area. and furt.her ac- tions cont.emplated. Such actions may be localized 111 their IDlpact. but If there is pol~nlial that tile envIronment may he si!:,'llific3ntly afIccted. the statement is to be prep31"cd. Proposed major actions, the enviornmcntnl impact of \1,"hich is like};}' to be h:ghly controversIal, should be covered in all cases. In considering what constitutes major action signifi- canL!y affecting the elH'ironment, agen- cies should uear in. mind that the effect of many Federal decisions about a proj- ec;t or complex of projects can be in- di\'idllall~' limited but cumulatively con- sicler<:!.ble. This can occur when one or more a~encies over a period of years putS int.o a project individually minor but col- lectively major resources. when one dc- cision inyolv1J1g a limited amolillt of money is a precedent for action in much larg-er r3S~S or represents a declsioll in principle about a fL:ture major cour.c:.e (If action, or when several Government. agenCIes individually make declsion.:5 about p:1.rtial aspects of a m:?!jor actior.. In all such C:1ses. an environmental statement. should be prepared if it is rea- sonable to :l11tieipate n. cumulati\'ely significant impact on the envIronment from Federal action. The Council. on the basis of a .......ritten assessment o[ the im- pacts im'olved. is avallllble to assist agencies in dctcnnining whethel' specific actions require imp::lct statements. (b) Beet ion lOIlb' of the Act indi- cates the broad range of aspc-cts of the envir0nment to be surveyed in any :Jsscss. ment of significant effect. The Act. also indicates that I1d\"er~e sigrufic~nt. eITeets include those tha~ degrade the q-.13lity of the enviro~mellt. curtail the ran~e of beneficial uses of the environment. and serve short.-term, to the d:sadva:l- tage of long-term, em"ironmental gcals. Significant elTects can also include ac- tions which may have both beneftc1al and detrimenml eaects. even if on bal- ance the ~gency believes that the effect. will be benencial. Significant ~ffects also Include secondary effects. as described more fully, for example. in S 1500.8'a:' (iiD (B). The signifieanct' of a proposed action may also vary with the setting. with the result that an action that would have Iit.tle impact in an urban area may be significant in a rural setting or vice versa. While a precise definition of en. vlronmental "significance." valid in all contexts. is not possible. effects to be considered in a.<:;sessing significance in. elude, but are not limited to. those out- lined in Appendix II of these guidelines. (c) Each of the provisions of the Act. except section 102(2) ~C). applies t.o all Federal agency actions. Section 102(2) (C) requires the preparation of a detailed environmental impact statement in the case of "major Federal actions sIgnifi- ~ntly affecting the quality of the human environment." The identification of major actions significantly affectiug' the environrr..ent is the responsibIlity of each Federal agency. to be carried out again.or;t the background of its own particllII!\t' op. erati~ns. ~e action .~Ut\~~a)..{1). FEDERAL REGISTER, VOL. 38. NO. 147-WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1973 . . Ii ]~00.3 Agency anti O:nB prOi:l'tJurt'tl. (3,) Pursuant to section 2 (0 of Execu. live Order 11514, the he:Jcls of Federal agencies have been directed to proceed with measures J'f(Juired by section 102 (2) (C) of the Act. Previous guidelines of the COllncil directed each agency to est:Jblish its own formal procedures for (1 i identifYing those ngency l.1.ctlOns re- quiring el1':ironmen.tal statements. the appropriate time prior to deci~ion for the consultations required by sectIOn 102 (2) (C) and the agency rc\'iew process for which envIronmental statements are to be available, C!) obtaining informa- tion required in their preparation. IJl designat.ing the officials who are to be responsible for the statements, \4) con- sulting with and taking- account of the comments of appropriate Federal. State and local agencies and the public. in. eluding obtainl1lg the comment of the AdminIstrator of the Environmental Protection Agency when required uncleI' section 309 oC the Clean Air ACt. as amended. and (5) meeting tIle require- ments of section 2(b) of Executive Order i1514 for prOViding timely publiC infor- mation on Federal plans and programs with environmental impact. Each agency. including both departmental and sub- departmental components having such procedures. shall review its procedures r..nd shall revise tlltm. in consultation \vith the Council. as may be neces'Sary in order to respond to requirement!i im- 'po~ed by these revised guidelines as \"..ell as by such previous directives. After such consultation, proposed revisions of such agency procedUl es shall be published in the FEDEilAL REGISTER no later than Octo- ber 30, 1973. A minimum 45-da}' period for public commcnt shall be pro\lded. followed by publication of final pl'oce- dur~s no later than forty-five (45) days after the conclusion of the comment period. E.'lch agency shall submit seven (7) copies of all stich procec.ures to the Council. Any future revision of such agency procedures shall similarly be pro. posed and adopted only after prior con- sultation with the Cowlcil and. in the case of substantial revision. opportunity for public comment. All revisions shall be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER, (b) Each Federal agency should con- sult, with the as~istance of the CO'lncil and the Office of Management and Budget if desired. with other appropriate Federal agencies in the de,,'elopment and revision of the above procedures so as to achieve consistency in dealinl; with simi. lar activities and to assure effective coor- dination among agencies In their review of proposed activities. Where applicable. State and local re\'iew of such agency procedures should be conducted pursuant to procedures established by Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-85. (e) Existing mechanisms for obtain. ing the views of Federal. State. and local agencies on proposed Federal actions should be utilized to the maximum ex. tent practicable in dealing with environ- mental matters. The Ornce of Manage- ment and Budget will issue instructions, RULES AND REGULATIONS as necessa~. to take full advantage of such existing mecha1l1sms. 13 1500.4 Fellera) n:;C:Ill'icc. iu(.lut)...,!: er. Ire! or ~he Act on cAhling Olgcncy nJlmtJOlI("~. (a) Section 102(2) (C) of the Act ap- plies to all agencies of tlle Federal Gov- cn1ment. Section 102 of the Act pro- vides that "to the fullest extent. possible; (1) The policies. regulations. .and public laws of the United States shall be ll1tcr- preted and administered in accordance with the pOlicies set forth in this Act," and section 105 of the Act provides that ..the policies and goals set forth in this Act are supplementary to those set forth In existing authorizations of Federal agencies." This meallS that each ag';lley shall interpret the prO\'isions of the Act as a supplement to its existing author- itv and as a mandate to vie",' traditional POlicic.'i and mlSSlOllS m the light of the Act.s national envil'onmental objectives. In accorrlnnce with this purpose. ag('~- cies should continue to review their poli- cies', procedures. and regulations and to re\'ise them as necessary to ensure full compliance with the purposes and pro- visiolls of the Act. The phrase "to the fullest extent possible" in section 102 is me:Jnt to make clear that each agrncy of the Federal Government sholl comply with that section unless existing law :Jpplicable to the agency's operations ex- pI'essly prohibits or. makes compliance ullpossible. ~ 1 ;;00.5 T)'pes or ncliolls cOH'red h~' ,he Act. (a) "Actions" include but are not lim- ited to: (I) Recommendations or favorable re- ports relating to legisl:Jtion induding requests for appropriations. The l'e- Qwrement for following the section 102 (2) (el procedure as elaborated in the~e guidelines applies to both OJ agency rec- ommendntions on their OWr.. proposals for legislation (see ~ 1500.12); ar.d Iii) ageIlcy reports on lerJislation initiated elsewhere. In the latter case only the agency which has primary responSIbIlity for the subject matter involved will pre- pare an environmental statem~nt. (2) New and continuing projects and prcgrnm activities: directly undertaken by Federal agencies; or supported in whole or in part through Federal con- tract.s, grants. subsidies. loans. or other forms of funding as:Sistanc~ (except ",:here such assistance is solely in the form of general revenue sharing fWlds. distributed under the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972. 31 U.S.C. 1221 et. seQ. with no Federal agency con- trol over the subsequent use of such funds); or involving a Federal lease. per- mit. license certificate or other entitle- ment fol' Use. (3) The making. modification. or es- tablishment of regulations, rules, pro- cedures, and policy. fi 1500.6 . ltIentir~inJ;" miljor Ilclion,:; sil;'. nificantlr D(fcclin~ ,lie en,'ironmcnt. (a) The IStatutory clause "major Fed- eral actions signifl.cantly affecting the quality of the human environment" is to / -----