|
<br />~ectio~ 106 of the National Hi::;.
<br />PreseTvation Act of 1966. ::;liOU!d be com-
<br />bi.Jl~d with compliance 't':Ith the €m'i:on-
<br />mental iUlJ}.:l.ct statement requirenlC'llts
<br />of section 1O~(2) (C) of the Act to Yll~l(l
<br />a single document WhICh meets all
<br />applicable requirements. Tl.le Advi.sory
<br />Council on Hlstoric Preservation. the
<br />Depa.rtment of Transportation, and t.he
<br />Department of the Intelior. in consulta-
<br />tion with the C01U1CII. will i~sue any nec-
<br />~ssary sup})lcm('nt~ng instructions for
<br />funlishing information or finclin2's not
<br />forthcoming under the environmental
<br />impact statement process.
<br />(b) EPA reviclV. Section 309 of the
<br />Clean Air Act, as amended (42 V.S,C.
<br />~ 1857h-7), provides that the Adminis-
<br />t.rator of the Environmental Protection
<br />Agency shall comment in \\Tit-ing on the
<br />environmental imnact of any maller re-
<br />lating to his duties and responsIbilities,
<br />and shall refer to th.:- Council ,lIly mat.-
<br />te't' that the Administrator determines is
<br />unsatisfactory from t.he standpoint of
<br />public }le31t1! or welfare or p.nvironmen-
<br />tal quality, Accordinglv, whefe\'er an
<br />ngency action nilateu i.o air or water
<br />Quality. neise abatement nnd control,
<br />pesticide re~'Ulation. ::;olict waste disposal.
<br />l:!:enerally applicable environmental 1'::1..
<br />diation criteria and t,tal1dard~; or olher.
<br />provision of the aut.horitv of th'e Admin-
<br />J:;:trator is involved. Fed~'ral af,"el1cies are
<br />required to submit sllch pl:opased ac.
<br />tions anti thrir en\'1I'Omnel'\lul impact
<br />statements, if such have been prepared.
<br />to the Administ.rator for review and
<br />comment in writ.ing. In all cases where
<br />EPA determines that proposed <lgeney
<br />action, is en\'ironmentnlly lm5ati~fac-
<br />tory. or where EPA det.ermines that an
<br />environmental statement. is so illllde-
<br />quate that such a detCl"Olllla lion cannot
<br />be made, EPA shall publish it::; determi~
<br />nation and: notify the Council as soon as
<br />prfl.clicable. The Administrator's com-
<br />ments shall constitutc his comment,<; for
<br />the purpo~es of both section 309 of the
<br />Clean Air Act and se('Uon 10~(2)(C) of
<br />the National Environmental Policy Act.
<br />(c) Stale and local review. Office of
<br />Management and Budget Circular No.
<br />A-95 (Revi~ed.1 through its system of
<br />State and areav:ide clearinghouses pro,-
<br />vldcs a mCiU1S for securnig- the views of
<br />State and local envircnmentnl ~gencies,
<br />which can assist in the preparation and
<br />review of environmcntal impact state-
<br />ments. Current inst. \Ictions for obtain-
<br />Ing. the views of SUCi1 agencies are con-
<br />tain("d.in the joint O\l1B-CEQ memoran-
<br />dum attached to these guidelines as Ap-
<br />pendix IV. A current listing of c1earing-
<br />. houses is issued pe'fladically by the Of-
<br />fiee of Management and BUdget.
<br />(d) Public rcvielc. The procedures
<br />established by these guidelines arc de-
<br />signed to encourage public pa rticJpatlon
<br />in the impact st~'lten~ent process at the
<br />earliest possible time. Agency procedures
<br />should make pro\'i.'~ion for facilitatIng
<br />the comment of p11blic and privnle orga-
<br />niz:?tions and. individuals by ann01illcing-
<br />the availabilIty of draft environme~1lal
<br />statements and by makjng copies a....ail-
<br />a.ble to orgamzatlOr.s and 1ndividuals that
<br />request an opportunity to comment.
<br />
<br />RULES AND REGULATIONS
<br />
<br />Agencies should devisc met}lods for pub-
<br />JiCIz:.ll,'); the existence oi draft statemeI1ts.
<br />for exa.mple. by publIca lion 01 notices in
<br />locnllleWSp::l.pers or hy m~mtamin2' a list
<br />of gTCJUps, including rele\'nn~ COllsen::l,-
<br />tion commi."si0ns, known to be jllterested
<br />in the a.gency's ~cUviti€s and directly
<br />not.ifyin:; wch groUps of the existence of
<br />a draft statement, or sendjn~ them a
<br />copy, ~s soon DoS it has been prepared. A
<br />copy of the draft stateme:lt. should in all
<br />cases be sent. to any applic<l.nt wl1o~c
<br />project is the ~mbject of the statement.
<br />Materials to be maclc availablc to the
<br />public shall be provicled \\.irhout charge
<br />to the extent prncLic<lblc. or at a fee
<br />\'v'hieh is not more than the actual cost of
<br />reproducing copies reqUired to be sent to
<br />other Federal agencies, inclucling the
<br />Council.
<br />(e) Responsibilities 01 commcnting
<br />entities, (1) Agencies And membC't's of the
<br />public submitt:ng commen!~<; on proposed
<br />actions on the basis of dra!:c C::'.-:'.',011men-
<br />tal staten:.ents should enot=:\.yul" 1'0 make
<br />t11eir com men ts as :::pecific. ~~Ibstanti\:e.
<br />and fartnal riS I>osslble without. undue
<br />. attention to matters of form in the im-
<br />pact. stat.ement, AlIhoug~1 the comments
<br />need. not conform to any panicu!:1r for-
<br />mat, it would as!:ist agencies reviewing
<br />comments if thc commenls were orga-
<br />ni7.ed in a manner consistent with the
<br />st.ructure of the draft st.atement, Empha-
<br />sis SllOUld be placed on the assessment ot
<br />the environrncn\'a\ \mpact::. of the pro-
<br />posed action, ,md the accept..'lbihty of
<br />these impacts nn tile quality of the envi.
<br />romnent, }:articularly :1S conl.rast~d with
<br />the impacts of rr'~50nable Rltel'native~ to
<br />the act.ion, Comm(ntin~ entit1cs mi"'l}'
<br />recommend modifications to the pro-
<br />posed Rction andior new nlternatives
<br />that will enhance environmental quality
<br />and n'o'oid or minimize ndverse en....iron-
<br />menta.l impacts.
<br />(2) Commenting agenCies should indi-
<br />cate whether any of their projects not
<br />identified in tile draft statement are
<br />sufficiently advanced in planning and re-
<br />lated en vironmc:n t:llly to the proposed
<br />action so that a discu,<;~ion of the environ-
<br />menwl interrela.tionships .should bE: in-
<br />cluded in the final statement {see
<br />~ 1500,8(a.) (1)). The Coullcil is available
<br />to aS5ist agencies in making _ such
<br />determinations.
<br />(3) Agencies and members of the pub-
<br />lic should indicate in their comments the
<br />nature of Ml.Y mOnitoring of the enyiron-
<br />mental eITects of the proposed project
<br />that. appears particularly appropriate.
<br />Such monitoring may be ne::essarv dur-
<br />ing the construction. startup, or opem,.
<br />t'ion phases of the project, Agencies with
<br />special expertise with respect to the en-
<br />nronmental impacts involved are en-
<br />couraged to assist the sponsoring agency
<br />in the establI!':hment and operation of
<br />appropIiate environmental monitorin[:".
<br />(f) AgenCies seeking comment shall
<br />establish time limits of not less than
<br />forty-five (45) days for reply, after which
<br />it may be presumed, unless the n~ency or
<br />party consulted requests a specified ex-
<br />tension of t.ime, that the agency or party
<br />consulted has no comment to make.
<br />Agencies seeking comment should en-
<br />
<br />20555
<br />
<br />.\'01' to comply wit.h reQuests for exten.
<br />_ ns of ti~llC of liP to fift.een (15) da:ys.
<br />In dcierminin(~ an ap]Jl'opriat.e period for
<br />COlllll1C:lll, a;;cncles ~hollh.l. con:o;i{lel' the
<br />m<lgnitude rll~d complexity of the state-
<br />ment alHl the extent of citizen interest
<br />in the proposed action.
<br />
<br />~ ]500.10 Pn'IMr;llioll :llltl t:irf.'lIl:llion
<br />of filial clI,.irulIllll"1l1il1 S'''I('III('III~.
<br />
<br />(a) Agencies should make evel"}' ef-
<br />Cort to dtscover and discuss all major
<br />points of view on the en\'lronmental ef-
<br />fed.s of the proposed action aI~d Its alter-
<br />nat.ives in the umft. statement itself.
<br />:i-Iowever, where opposing }:'l"ofessional
<br />vie';r..'s and responsible opinion ha\'e been
<br />overlooked ill the draft statement and
<br />are brought to the- agency's attention
<br />through the commenting process, the
<br />agency should review the environmental
<br />effects of the a{'Uon in light of U10se
<br />\'iews and should make a meaningful ref-
<br />CI'elIce in tllC final statement to tile exist-
<br />ence of any responSible opposmg view
<br />not. Ildequately discu!::::ed in t.he draft
<br />st3.tcr:lcnt., indicating the agcl~cy'S re-
<br />~ponse to the issues raised. All substan-
<br />ti....C c0IlU11ents reCeIVf'{{ on t.he drait (or
<br />sumnlar;es t.hereof where re~ponse has
<br />been excepticnally voluminous) should
<br />be at.t~ched to the final statement,
<br />whether or not each such comment is
<br />tt10ught !.o mCI'it indi\'idual discussion by
<br />the agency in the text. of the statement.
<br />,bl Copies of final statRlllcnts, \':ith
<br />commcnts attached, shr.ll be sent to all
<br />Federal. State, and local agencies and
<br />pl'i\'at.e organizations that made substan-
<br />tiyc comments on the dl'alt st3tement
<br />and tQ individuals who requested a. copy
<br />of t.he final statement, as well HS any
<br />r.pplicant whose project is the subject of
<br />tile s.ta.t.cment,. Copies of final st-Rt.ements
<br />shall in all cases be sent t,Q the ElI...irO:1-
<br />mental Protection Agency to aswit it in
<br />carrying out. it..s responsibilities unde1'
<br />section 309 of the Cle::m Air Act. Where
<br />the number of comments on a cll'?ft
<br />statenle~lt is such that distribution of the
<br />fmi\l statement to all commenting enti-
<br />ties appears imprar.licable, the agency
<br />.shall consult with the Councll concern-
<br />ing alternative arrangements for distri-
<br />bution of the statement.
<br />
<br />~ ]500.11 Tr..n~millill of slalt>mcllt! 10
<br />.he CoundJ; minimum p('rjorl~ for
<br />rc\-'icw; reqllest!! by lilt., Council.
<br />
<br />(a) As soori as they have been pre-
<br />pared, ten (10) copies of draft envjron.
<br />mental statements, five (5) copies of all
<br />comments made thereon (to be for-
<br />warded to the Council by the entity mak~
<br />Jng comment at the time comment is for-
<br />warded to the responsible agency), and
<br />ten (10) copies of the final text, of en....i-
<br />ronmental statements (together with the
<br />substance of all comments received by the
<br />responsible agency from Federal. state,
<br />and local ngeneies and from private or-
<br />ganizations and ilidi\'iduals) ~hall be
<br />supplied to the COWl~il. This ~'i1l serve
<br />to meet the statutory requirement to
<br />make ep..'.'ironment.."l.l statements n.vail-
<br />able to the President. At the same t;me
<br />that copies of draft and final st:l.ten~ents
<br />are sent to the Council, copies should
<br />also be sent to releva.nt conuuenting en-
<br />
<br />FEDERAL REGISTER, VOL. 38, NO. 147-WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1913
<br />
<br />0537
<br />
|