§  1.1314   Environmental impact statements (EISs).

   (a) Draft Environmental Impact Statements (DEISs) (§  1.1315) and Final
   Environmental Impact Statements (FEISs) (referred to collectively as
   EISs) (§  1.1317) shall be prepared by the Bureau responsible for
   processing the proposal when the Commission's or the Bureau's analysis
   of the EA (§  1.1308) indicates that the proposal will have a
   significant effect upon the environment and the matter has not been
   resolved by an amendment.

   (b) As soon as practically feasible, the Bureau will publish in the
   Federal Register a Notice of Intent to prepare EISs. The Notice shall
   briefly identify the proposal, concisely describe the environmental
   issues and concerns presented by the subject application, and generally
   invite participation from affected or involved agencies, authorities
   and other interested persons.

   (c) The EISs shall not address non-environmental considerations. To
   safeguard against repetitive and unnecessarily lengthy documents, the
   Statements, where feasible, shall incorporate by reference material set
   forth in previous documents, with only a brief summary of its content.
   In preparing the EISs, the Bureau will identify and address the
   significant environmental issues and eliminate the insignificant issues
   from analysis.

   (d) To assist in the preparation of the EISs, the Bureau may request
   further information from the applicant, interested persons and agencies
   and authorities, which have jurisdiction by law or which have relevant
   expertise. The Bureau may direct that technical studies be made by the
   applicant and that the applicant obtain expert opinion concerning the
   potential environmental problems and costs associated with the proposed
   action, as well as comparative analyses of alternatives. The Bureau may
   also consult experts in an effort to identify measures that could be
   taken to minimize the adverse effects and alternatives to the proposed
   facilities that are not, or are less, objectionable. The Bureau may
   also direct that objections be raised with appropriate local, state or
   Federal land use agencies or authorities (if their views have not been
   previously sought).

   (e) The Bureau responsible for processing the particular application
   and, thus, preparing the EISs shall draft supplements to Statements
   where significant new circumstances occur or information arises
   relevant to environmental concerns and bearing upon the application.

   (f) The Application, the EA, the DEIS, and the FEIS and all related
   documents, including the comments filed by the public and any agency,
   shall be part of the administrative record and will be routinely
   available for public inspection.

   (g) If EISs are to be prepared, the applicant must provide the
   community with notice of the availability of environmental documents
   and the scheduling of any Commission hearings in that action.

   (h) The timing of agency action with respect to applications subject to
   EISs is set forth in 40 CFR 1506.10. No decision shall be made until
   ninety (90) days after the Notice of Availability of the Draft
   Environmental Impact Statement is published in the Federal Register,
   and thirty (30) days after the Notice of Availability of the Final
   Environmental Impact Statement is published in the Federal Register,
   which time period may run concurrently, See 40 CFR 1506.10(c); see also
   § §  1.1315(b) and 1.1317(b).

   (i) Guidance concerning preparation of the Draft and Final
   Environmental Statements is set out in 40 CFR part 1502.

   [ 51 FR 15000 , Apr. 22, 1986, as amended at  53 FR 28394 , July 28, 1988]

   return arrow Back to Top