StatA

§ 1502.2

40 CFR Ch. V (7–1–12 Edition)

wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with CFR

Act are infused into the ongoing programs and actions of the Federal Government. It shall provide full and fair
discussion of significant environmental
impacts and shall inform decisionmakers and the public of the reasonable alternatives which would avoid or
minimize adverse impacts or enhance
the quality of the human environment.
Agencies shall focus on significant environmental issues and alternatives
and shall reduce paperwork and the accumulation of extraneous background
data. Statements shall be concise,
clear, and to the point, and shall be
supported by evidence that the agency
has made the necessary environmental
analyses. An environmental impact
statement is more than a disclosure
document. It shall be used by Federal
officials in conjunction with other relevant material to plan actions and
make decisions.
§ 1502.2 Implementation.
To achieve the purposes set forth in
§ 1502.1 agencies shall prepare environmental impact statements in the following manner:
(a) Environmental impact statements
shall be analytic rather than encyclopedic.
(b) Impacts shall be discussed in proportion to their significance. There
shall be only brief discussion of other
than significant issues. As in a finding
of no significant impact, there should
be only enough discussion to show why
more study is not warranted.
(c) Environmental impact statements
shall be kept concise and shall be no
longer than absolutely necessary to
comply with NEPA and with these regulations. Length should vary first with
potential environmental problems and
then with project size.
(d) Environmental impact statements
shall state how alternatives considered
in it and decisions based on it will or
will not achieve the requirements of
sections 101 and 102(1) of the Act and
other environmental laws and policies.
(e) The range of alternatives discussed in environmental impact statements shall encompass those to be considered by the ultimate agency decisionmaker.
(f) Agencies shall not commit resources prejudicing selection of alter-

natives before making a final decision
(§ 1506.1).
(g) Environmental impact statements
shall serve as the means of assessing
the environmental impact of proposed
agency actions, rather than justifying
decisions already made.
§ 1502.3 Statutory
statements.

requirements

As required by sec. 102(2)(C) of NEPA
environmental
impact
statements
(§ 1508.11) are to be included in every
recommendation or report.
On proposals (§ 1508.23).
For legislation and (§ 1508.17).
Other
major
Federal
actions
(§ 1508.18).
Significantly (§ 1508.27).
Affecting (§§ 1508.3, 1508.8).
The quality of the human environment (§ 1508.14).
§ 1502.4 Major Federal actions requiring the preparation of environmental impact statements.
(a) Agencies shall make sure the proposal which is the subject of an environmental impact statement is properly defined. Agencies shall use the criteria for scope (§ 1508.25) to determine
which proposal(s) shall be the subject
of a particular statement. Proposals or
parts of proposals which are related to
each other closely enough to be, in effect, a single course of action shall be
evaluated in a single impact statement.
(b) Environmental impact statements
may be prepared, and are sometimes
required, for broad Federal actions
such as the adoption of new agency
programs or regulations (§ 1508.18).
Agencies shall prepare statements on
broad actions so that they are relevant
to policy and are timed to coincide
with meaningful points in agency planning and decisionmaking.
(c) When preparing statements on
broad actions (including proposals by
more than one agency), agencies may
find it useful to evaluate the proposal(s) in one of the following ways:
(1) Geographically, including actions
occurring in the same general location,
such as body of water, region, or metropolitan area.
(2) Generically, including actions
which have relevant similarities, such

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