NEPA Documents and Terminology

1. NEPA Documents and Terminology

2. Section objectives:At the end of this section, you should: • Understand the difference between the various NEPA documents, • Know the functions of each particular document, • Know what should be contained in various documents, and; • Understand various NEPA terms.

3. References – OSM Reg 1 Handbook on Procedures for Implementing NEPA. • CEQ Regs for Implementing NEPA • DOI Manual 516 DM 1-7 • CEQ 40 Questions • CEQ Scoping Guidance • CEQ NEPA Regs Guidance • Environmental Statement Memorandum • Environmental Compliance Memorandum • Environmental Review Memorandum

4. ReferencesNEPA Procedures Course Handouts • NEPA Memorandum • Agenda • Chapter 5-11 of the Office of Surface Mining - Federal Assistance Manual (FAM) • NEPA Terminology • Topical Index • OSM Reg 31

5. ReferencesNEPA Procedures Course Handouts • Forty Questions • Federal Register Notice NEPA Implementing Procedures • OSM 181 – CED • Selected Laws and executive Orders • Farmland Protection Policy Act • Notice of Availability example • FONSI example • OSM EIS’s • Appendix

6. Some NEPA related web sites Homepage for House Resources Committee NEPA Task Force http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/nepataskforce.htm NEPA: What Needs Fixing, What Doesn’t, and How Would You Fix It? http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/nepataskforce/press/eliforum_nepa2005.pdf Final Report Task Force on Improving NEPA http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/nepataskforce/report/nepareport_finaldraft.pdf Pombo ESA Implementation Report http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/issues/more/esa/implementationreport.htm

7. Some more web sites: Modernizing NEPA Implementation, September 2003 http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/ntf/report/finalreport.pdf Departmental Manuals http://elips.doi.gov/app home/index.cfm?fuseaction=home NEPAnet CEQ Task Force http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/nepanet.htm EPA – Envirofacts Data Warehouse http://www.epa.gov/enviro/

8. Environmental Assessment Environmental Impact Statement Scoping – internal and public Impacts Direct impacts Indirect impacts Cumulative Impacts Impact Analysis Jurisdictional Wetland Significance Mitigation Intensity Context Duration Some NEPA terms we will discuss

9. Some NEPA acronyms • BO Biologic Opinion • BEBA Biological Evaluation/Biological Assessment • CE, CX or CATEX Categorical exclusion • CEQ Council on Environmental Quality • DM Decision Memo • DNA Determination of NEPA Adequacy • EA Environmental Assessment • EIS Environmental Impact Statement

10. EJ Environmental Justice Ex Order 12898 ENBB Environmental Notification Bulletin Board (BLM) EPA Environmental Protection Agency FONSI Finding of No Significant Impact NOI Notice of Intent RMP Resource Management Plan MSO Mexican Spotted Owl ROD Record of Decision SHPO State Historic Preservation Office USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service More acronyms

11. Legal acronyms • ESA • Endangered Species Act of 1973 • NHPA • National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 • FLPMA • Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 • NFMA • National Forest Management Act of 1976

12. More laws • ARPA • Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 • NAGPRA • Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 • SIPs • State Implementation Programs (Clean Water Act)

13. Categorical Exclusions • "Categorical Exclusion" refers to routine actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment, and that have no such effect in procedures adopted by a Federal agency.

14. Because it can save you time and effort… • The first step in the NEPA process should be: • to determine if you are covered by a Categorical Exclusion (also called a CE, CX or Cat Ex).

15. Two major points about categorical exclusions: 1. CE’s are granted for actions that are routine and DO NOT have a significant effect on the human environment...NOT because it would make an action, even an essential action, more expedient.

16. 2. The action must fit the formal Categorical Exclusion definition criteria declared by the agency. The list of allowable CE’s for OSM (and recipients of their grants) is found in Appendix 8 of the DOI's Manual on NEPA Compliance.

17. When have you used a categorical exclusion? • Refer to 516 DM 6, Appendix 8, Section 8.4 (Categorical Exclusions) • Think about some of the routine activities you do, and whether you think an environmental analysis would be a useful exercise.

18. Categorical Exclusion Determination • If the proposed action is meets the criteria for a categorical exclusion, a categorical exclusion determination (CED) is prepared, and included in the administrative record of the originating office. • Authority for approving a CED rests with the Field Office Director for field office actions.

19. If the proposed action does not fit the definition for a CE, an EA must be prepared. • Exception: If the proposed action normally requires an EIS. • Actions that normally require an EIS are in Appendix 8, Section 8.3.

20. Environmental Assessment A concise public document that a Federal agency prepares under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to provide sufficient evidence and analysis to determine whether a proposed agency action would require preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) or a finding of no significant impact (FONSI).

21. Environmental Assessment EA’s must provide enough information so the decisionmaker can determine whether to issue a: • 1. NOI – Notice of Intent to Write an Environmental Impact Statement, or a • 2. FONSI – a Finding of No Significant Impact.

22. An EA must analyze all realistic alternatives under consideration. • Do not dream up alternatives to “fatten up” the document. • 90% percent of the EA’s OSM typically reviews only have the “no action” and the “preferred alternative.”

23. Environmental assessments must include at the minimum the "no action" alternative and the preferred alternative.

24. States and Tribes should include discussions of all other potentially viable alternatives. • For States/Tribes conducting water supply system construction or replacement - “at source” abatement should be one alternative.

25. When preparing an EA you must: • Define the proposed action and the alternatives. • Assemble relevant information, baseline data and existing reports and studies. • Describe the current environment. • Evaluate the potential impacts. • Determine cumulative impacts. • Document that clearances have been received.

26. Sections of an EA or EIS Section A or Chapter 1 - Introduction Section B or Chapter 2 - Proposed Action and Alternatives Section C or Chapter 3 - Affected Environment Section D or Chapter 4 - Environmental Consequences Section E or Chapter 5 - Consultation and Coordination Section E or Chapter 6 - List of Preparers Section F or Chapter 7 - References

27. “Clearances” Two are ALWAYS required: 1. SHPO letter NHPA Section 106 compliance 2. USFWS letter Section 7, informal or formal

28. Its your responsibility to produce a “good” environmental document. As the EA preparer, YOU must independently review the appropriateness, and validity of any information you include in the EA.

29. The decision maker (OSM) uses the EA to determine whether to issue a: • FONSI Finding of No Significant Impact, or • NOI – Notification of Intent to write an Environmental Impact Statement.

30. A FONSI is the expected result for all normal AML situations.

31. FONSI • A FONSI can only be prepared by a federal agency. It briefly presents the reasons why an action, not otherwise excluded, would not have a significant impact on the human environment. • A FONSI format is provided in OSM NEPA Handbook, Attachment 2.4, and in the Federal Assistance Manual, Chapter 5-11.

32. FONSI’s include: • The environmental assessment, or a summary of it. • A listing of other environmental documents related to it. • The reasons the conclusions of non-significance were reached. • Who prepared and approved the document.

33. The OSM Field Office Director normally approves all FONSI's for that field office’s actions.

34. Who normally signs the FONSI for your office?

35. Notice of Intent • A Notice of Intent (NOI) means an environmental impact statement will be prepared and considered. NOI’s include the following information: • A description of the proposed action and possible alternatives. • A description of the agency's scoping process including the time and location of any scoping meeting. • The name and address of a person within the agency who can answer questions about the proposed action and the environmental impact statement.

36. NOI • Notice of Intent to write an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

37. NOI’s can only be approved by the OSM Assistant Director for Field Operations. • NOI’s are prepared in Washington DC with backup information submitted by the field offices. • In some instances Field Offices may prepare the document, but signature authority remains in Washington.

38. Environmental Impact Statement An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is a detailed written statement required by Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act.

39. Environmental Impact Statement • NEPA requires that EIS’s include: • The environmental impact of the proposed action. • Any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented. • Alternatives to the proposed action. • The relationship between local short-term uses of man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long term productivity. • Any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented.

40. Normally an EIS should consider at least 3 alternatives: • Three types of actions • Three types of alternatives • Three types of impacts.

41. Only OSM can prepare or act as a cooperating agency on an environmental impact statement. • Only the Director of OSM can sign and approve an EIS. • Why do you think this approval authority rests with the OSM director? • Take large amount of time. • Take even larger amounts of money (budget).

42. Federal to federal action States and Tribes can be delegated the authority to act on OSM’s behalf in a cooperative interagency effort, but OSM remains the responsible party.

43. Programatic EIS’s are general documents that discuss impacts agency-wide or at the national level. • 1500.4 Reducing Paperwork • Advises federal agencies to reduce paperwork by: “Using program, policy, or plan environmental impact statements and tiering from statements of broad scope to those of narrower scope to eliminate repetitive discussions of the same issues.”

44. Programmatic EIS • A broad environmental impact statement prepared for a program or policy statement that assesses actions included within the entire program or policy (such as a site specific action) the subsequent statement or environmental assessment need only summarize the issues discussed in the broader statement, and incorporate discussions from the broader statement by reference and shall concentrate on the issues specific to the subsequent action.

45. OSM Programmatic EIS’s • OSM-2 • First AML EIS. • Dealt primarily with the allocation of grant funds. • OSM-11 • Second AML EIS. • Dealt with the environmental consequences of specific project types nationally and regionally.

46. Tiering • Incorporates information in existing EIS’s or EA’s by reference. • Tiering goes from the general to the specific. • The EA or EIS must be site specific – you must provide sufficient discussion to relate the more general document to your specific project or site.

47. NEPA terms • Your FTE can’t find the RFP or the NEPA DNA for the BLM or the FONSI for the USFS, and the USACE requires an EIS. • A brief explanation of these terms when dealing with the public (or other professionals) will greatly enhance your ability to communicate.

48. Cumulative Impact • The impact on the environment which results from the incremental impact of the action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what agency (Federal or non-Federal) or person undertakes such other actions. • Cumulative impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time.

49. Why is the Cumulative Impact Analysis so important? • A large percentage of successful challenges to EA’s and EIS’s are based on inadequate cumulative impact analysis.

50. The cumulative impact analysis should consider if the proposed action is: • Time crowded - the events would be scheduled so close in time that the system can't recover; • Space crowded - the events would overlap in space or location or are so close that their impacts cannot not dissipate; or • Multiplicative or synergistic - several different proposed events together become more problematic than they would be if occurring separately.