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<br />sued .pursuant to ~ 1500.3 (al. For major
<br />ca.tegories of projects 1m'olving- an RPIJIi-
<br />cant and identified pursuant to ~ 1500.6
<br />(c) (c) <iO as normally rcquiring the
<br />preparatioll of n ~tatcment, agencies
<br />should include in (hcir procedures provi-
<br />sions limiting- actioll.) which an applic:'lnt
<br />is pcrm.itted to tnke prior to completion
<br />and re\'iew of the fina.l statement wit.h
<br />respect to his application.
<br />(b) Where more t1Hl.l1 011e agency (1)
<br />directly sponsors an a.ctlOTI, or IS directly
<br />involvcd in an actIon thrcugh funding,
<br />licenses, or pernnts. or (2) is involved in
<br />a group of actions directly related to each
<br />other because of t.heir functional inter-
<br />dependence and geognl.pllical proximity,
<br />consideratIon should bt> given to preplU-~
<br />1ng one statement. for all the Federal
<br />actions involved (see ~ 1500.6(d) (1)).
<br />Agencies in such cases should consider
<br />the possibilit.y of joint preparation of a
<br />sta\..ement by all agencies concerned. 01'
<br />designation of a single "'lead agency"
<br />to assume supervbory responsibiliLy for
<br />preparation of the sLatemrnt, \Vhere a
<br />]C\ad agency prepares Lhe statement.. the
<br />other agencies involved should pl-ovidc
<br />assistance witlll'espect. to t.heir areDS of
<br />jurisdiction and expertise. In either case,
<br />the statement should conta.in an en-
<br />vironmental assessment of the full range
<br />of Federal actions im'olved. sl10uld reflect
<br />the views or all pflrticiparing agencies,
<br />and shculd be prepared before major or
<br />irreversible actIons have been taken by
<br />a.ny of the participa[.ing agencies. Fac-
<br />tors rele....ant in determining an appro-
<br />priate lead agency include the time
<br />sequence in which the agencies becomc
<br />In\"olYed. the nwgnitude of their respec-
<br />tive lm'ol\"el1lent-. and their rclnt.ive ex.
<br />pertisc with respect to the project.s en-
<br />vironmental effects. As necessary, the
<br />Council will assist in resolving Questions
<br />of responSibility for statement prepara-
<br />tion 1n the case of mUlLi-agency actions.
<br />Federal Regional Councils. agencies and
<br />the public a.re ellcourag-ed to bring t.o the
<br />s.ttention of the Council and other rele-
<br />vant agencies appropriate situations
<br />where a. geographic or regionally focuscd
<br />sta.t.cment 't',"ould be desIrable because of
<br />the eumulatl....e environmental effects
<br />likely to result from multI-agency actions
<br />in the area.
<br />(c) Where an agency relies on an ap-
<br />pl1cant to submit iTIitial envlronment.fl.l
<br />In!oml::t.tion. the agency should asslfit the
<br />applicant by outlining the types of infor-
<br />mation required. In all ca~es. the agency
<br />should make its o\\'n evaluation of the
<br />environmental issues and take respon-
<br />sibility for the scope and conLent of draft
<br />and final environmentai statements.
<br />(d) Agency procedures developed pur-
<br />suant to ~ 1500.3Ia) of these guidelines
<br />should indicate as expliCitly as possible
<br />those types of agency decisions or actions
<br />~'hlch utilize hearings as part of the nor-
<br />mal agency review process. either as a
<br />result of statut.ory requirement or agency
<br />practice. To the fullest extent possible,
<br />all such hearings shall incl~ce consiclera-
<br />tion of the environmental aspects of the
<br />. proposed action. Agency procectures shall
<br />also specifically mclude provision for
<br />public hearings on major actions with
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />RULES AND REGULATIONS
<br />
<br />20553
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />region of tl~e p~oject contained in the
<br />projrct.ion compiled for tile \Vatel' Re-
<br />sources Council by the Bur~au of Eco-
<br />nomic Analysis of the Departn:ent (If
<br />Commerce and the Economic Hesearch
<br />Senice of the Department of :\gricul-
<br />ture (the "GEERS" projection). In any
<br />e....ent It ifi essential that the sources of
<br />dR.ta used to Identify, Quantify or evalu-
<br />ate any and all envirOllmcl~t:'ll COl-..se~
<br />flucnces be expressly noted.
<br />1:3> The relatiollship or the proposed
<br />action to land use plrll1s, policies, and
<br />controls for the affected area. This re-
<br />quires a discussion of how the proposed
<br />action mnv conform or contlict with the
<br />objectives "and specific lel'ms of approved
<br />or proposed Federal. State. <'Ind locnl
<br />land use plans. policies. and controls, if
<br />any, for the ;nen. affected mcludinci those
<br />developed in response to the Clean Air
<br />Act or tile Federal Water Pollution Con-
<br />trol Act Amcndments of Hl.::::. Whe~c a.
<br />conflict or inconslstene:; exists, the state-
<br />ment shoulJ (lcscl'ibe the extent to \';h!ch
<br />the Jgency has recOl~cilf'd its proposcd
<br />act.ion wH.h the plan, poliCY or control.
<br />and the re;,sons why tl1e agency has de~
<br />cided to proceed nohvithstanding the ab-
<br />sence of full rcconciliation.
<br />(3) The probable impact of the pro~
<br />posed action on the enviror.ment.
<br />(j) This requires agencies to Msess the
<br />positive and ncg.\t;ye effects of the pro-
<br />posed act.ion as It ~nect..<; both ~nf: na-
<br />tional and international cn....lronment.
<br />The attention given to different er.\'iron-
<br />Dl{'ntal factors will v:uy ac~ordiJlg to the
<br />nature, scale. and loc....tion of propos~d
<br />actions. Among factors to consider should
<br />he the po{{'ntial effect of the action on
<br />stich MPects of t.he enyironment as t.llOs~
<br />listed in Appcndix II or tilese f;lii{ieliEes.
<br />Primary attenl:ol1 should be gi\'cn :n the
<br />statement t.o discu:;;s:ng these factors
<br />most evidently impacted by the proposed
<br />action.
<br />1 ii) Secondary Of indirect., as well as
<br />pnmary or direct, consequences for tr.~
<br />environment should be included in the
<br />analysis. Many major Federal a('tiol1s. in
<br />particular those that involve the COll~
<br />stmction or licensing of infrastructure
<br />investments I.e.g., highways, fllrport.s,
<br />sewer syst.ems. water resource project.c::,
<br />etc.), stimulate or induce secondary ef-
<br />fects in tile form of a.s!'=oClated invest-
<br />ments and changed pattenls of social
<br />and economic a.cti\..ities. Such secondary
<br />effects, through their impacts 011 existing
<br />community fClcilities and acti\'ities,
<br />through inducing new facilihes and ac-
<br />tivities, or through changes in natural
<br />conditions. may often be even more sub~
<br />stantial limn the primary effects of the
<br />original action itself. For example, the
<br />effects of the proposed action on popula-
<br />tion and growth may be among the more
<br />signifil;ant seconclary effects. Such popu-
<br />lation and growth imp;:>.cLS should be es-
<br />timated if expected to be SiID'1ificant
<br />l tlsin'g- data identified as indica.ted in
<br />~ 1500.8/a) (1)) and an a.<:;S€5Sment made
<br />of the effect of any possible chf!.nge in
<br />population-patterns or growth upon the
<br />resource base, including land use. water,
<br />and public !et"\'1ces, of the area In
<br />question.
<br />
<br />FEDERAL il:EGISTER, VOL. 38, NO. 147-WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 1, 1973
<br />
<br />0539
<br />
<br />environment51 impact. \\heneyel' <lppro-
<br />priate. and fol' providing lh~ public with
<br />rele\'."\nt information. mcluding in.iorma~
<br />lion or.. alternative course'S or action. In
<br />deciding whether fL Pl:bllC hearing is ap-
<br />propriate. an agency should cons!der:
<br />(1) The magrutllde of the propo~al in
<br />terms of economIC costs. the geographic
<br />are.:!. lllyolyed, and the w1iQllenc!;-s or size
<br />of commitment of the resources inyol\'ed;
<br />(~) the degree of intf:rest in the pl'O-
<br />pos:il. as evidenced hy requests from the
<br />pllblic find f!'om Fedcrnl, St"te and local
<br />authorities that a hearing be held: (3)
<br />the complexity of the issue nnd the like-
<br />lihood that information will be presented
<br />at the h~armg which will be of assist-
<br />ance to the ::\gency in fulfilling its re-
<br />sponSibilities under the Act; and (41 the
<br />e:d.el~t to which publlC involvement a1-
<br />reacJ~' has been achie\.ed through other
<br />means, such liS ea rlie!' pUblic hearings,
<br />meetings with citizen rcpresent.1li\'es,
<br />and/or written comments on the pro-
<br />posed a.ction. Agencirs shQt:ld make [my
<br />draft em'ironmentnl stateme:-:ts to be Js- .
<br />,med a....ailable to the plll'lic at least
<br />filt.een (15) days prior to tl:.e time of such
<br />hrorillgs.
<br />
<br />~ 1500.8 Conlent or em'ironmental
<br />f,IOtlemC'uls.
<br />
<br />(a) The foIlo\I,'lng points are to be
<br />cm'ered:
<br />q) A <lescription of the proposed nc-
<br />lion. a st.atement. of' its purposes. and a
<br />description of the environment aITerted.
<br />inclllcling infonnation. summary tcch-
<br />nic;\l dat.n, and maps and d:flgranls whe}'e
<br />relevant., adequate to Pl'rmit an assess-
<br />ment of potential environmental Impact
<br />by commenting agencies <'Iud t.he public.
<br />Highly technical and .<:;perialized anal-
<br />yses and data ::;houJd be avoided in Ule
<br />body of the draft impact statement. Such
<br />mfi.terials should be attached as ap-
<br />pendices or footnoted ,...ith adequate
<br />bibllographi.: references. The st.atement
<br />should also succinctly describe the envi-
<br />ronment of the area affected as it exists
<br />prior to a proposed action. }D,cluding
<br />other Federal acthitles in the area af-
<br />fected by the proposed action which are
<br />related. to the pr(lposed Action. The in~
<br />terrelationshlps and cumu]ntive environ-
<br />mental impacts of tile proposed action
<br />and other related Federal projects shall
<br />be presented in the statement. The
<br />amount of detail provided in such de~
<br />script ions should be commensurate with
<br />the extent and expected impact of t.he
<br />action. and with the amormt of informa-
<br />tion required at the particul[lr level of
<br />decisionmaking (planning, feasibility,
<br />des1gn, etcJ. In order to ensure accurate
<br />descriptions and en\'ironmental assess-
<br />ments. site visits should be made where
<br />feaSIble. Agencies should also ta ke care to
<br />identify, as appropriate. population and
<br />growth characteristics of the affected
<br />area and any population and growth as-
<br />sumptions used to justify the project or
<br />program or to determine secondary popu-
<br />lation and grol','th impacts resultmg from
<br />the proposed action and its alternatives
<br />(see parag-raph U\,)(1)13)(jj), of this
<br />section). In dISCussing these population
<br />aspect-c;, agencies should give consldera-
<br />tion to using the rates of growth in the
<br />
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