§ 1501.9 - Public and governmental engagement.

§ 1501.9 ScopingPublic and governmental engagement.

(a) Generally. Agencies shall use an early and open process to determine the scope of issues for analysis in an environmental impact statement, including identifying the significant issues and eliminating from further study non-significant issues. Scoping may begin as soon as practicable after the proposal for action is sufficiently developed for agency consideration. Scoping may include appropriate pre-application procedures or work conducted prior to publication of the notice of intent.

(b) Invite cooperating and participating agencies. As part of the scoping process, the lead agency shall invite the participation of

Purpose and responsibility. The purpose of public engagement is to inform the public of an agency's proposed action, allow for meaningful engagement during the NEPA process, and ensure decision makers are informed by the views of the public. The purpose of governmental engagement is to identify the potentially affected Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments, invite them to serve as cooperating agencies, as appropriate, and ensure that participating agencies have opportunities to engage in the environmental review process, as appropriate. This section sets forth agencies' responsibilities and best practices to conduct public and governmental engagement. Agencies shall determine the appropriate methods of public and governmental engagement for their proposed actions.

(b) Determination of scope. Agencies shall use public and governmental engagement, as appropriate, to inform the level of review for and scope of analysis of a proposed action, consistent with § 1501.3 of this subchapter. For environmental impact statements, in addition to the requirements of this section, agencies also shall comply with the requirements for scoping set forth in § 1502.4 of this subchapter. For environmental assessments, in addition to the requirements of this section, agencies should consider applying the requirements for scoping set forth in § 1502.4 of this subchapter, as appropriate.

(c) Outreach and notification. Agencies shall:

(1) Invite the participation of any likely affected Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies and governments,

the proponent of the action, and other

as early as practicable, including, as appropriate, as cooperating agencies under § 1501.8 of this subchapter;

(2) Conduct, as appropriate, early engagement with likely affected or interested

persons

members of the public (including those who might not be in accord with the action), unless there is a limited exception under § 1507.3(

f

d)(

1

3) of this

chapter.

(c) Scoping outreach. As part of the scoping process the lead agency may hold a scoping meeting or meetings, publish scoping information, or use other means to communicate with those persons or agencies who may be interested or affected, which the agency may integrate with any other early planning meeting. Such a scoping meeting will often be appropriate when the impacts of a particular action are confined to specific sites.

(d) Notice of intent. As soon as practicable after determining that a proposal is sufficiently developed to allow for meaningful public comment and requires an environmental impact statement, the lead agency shall publish a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement in the Federal Register , except as provided in § 1507.3(f)(3) of this chapter. An agency also may publish notice in accordance with § 1506.6 of this chapter. The notice shall include, as appropriate:

(1) The purpose and need for the proposed action;

(2) A preliminary description of the proposed action and alternatives the environmental impact statement will consider;

(3) A brief summary of expected impacts;

(4) Anticipated permits and other authorizations;

(5) A schedule for the decision-making process;

(6) A description of the public scoping process, including any scoping meeting(s);

(7) A request for identification of potential alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the proposed action (see § 1502.17 of this chapter); and

(8) Contact information for a person within the agency who can answer questions about the proposed action and the environmental impact statement.

(e) Determination of scope. As part of the scoping process, the lead agency shall determine the scope and the significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the environmental impact statement. To determine the scope of environmental impact statements, agencies shall consider:

(1) Actions (other than unconnected single actions) that may be connected actions, which means that they are closely related and therefore should be discussed in the same impact statement. Actions are connected if they:

(i) Automatically trigger other actions that may require environmental impact statements;

(ii) Cannot or will not proceed unless other actions are taken previously or simultaneously; or

(iii) Are interdependent parts of a larger action and depend on the larger action for their justification.

(2) Alternatives, which include the no action alternative; other reasonable courses of action; and mitigation measures (not in the proposed action).

(3) Impacts.

(f) Additional scoping responsibilities. As part of the scoping process, the lead agency shall:

(1) Identify and eliminate from detailed study the issues that are not significant or have been covered by prior environmental review(s) (§ 1506.3 of this chapter), narrowing the discussion of these issues in the statement to a brief presentation of why they will not have a significant effect on the human environment or providing a reference to their coverage elsewhere.

(2) Allocate assignments for preparation of the environmental impact statement among the lead and cooperating agencies, with the lead agency retaining responsibility for the statement.

(3) Indicate any public environmental assessments and other environmental impact statements that are being or will be prepared and are related to but are not part of the scope of the impact statement under consideration.

(4) Identify other environmental review, authorization, and consultation requirements so the lead and cooperating agencies may prepare other required analyses and studies concurrently and integrated with the environmental impact statement, as provided in § 1502.24 of this chapter.

(5) Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation of environmental analyses and the agencies' tentative planning and decision-making schedule.

(g) Revisions. An agency shall revise the determinations made under paragraphs (b), (c), (e), and (f) of this section if substantial changes are made later in the proposed action, or if significant new circumstances or information arise which bear on the proposal or its impacts

subchapter; and

(3) Consider what methods of outreach and notification are necessary and appropriate based on the likely affected entities and persons; the scope, scale, and complexity of the proposed action and alternatives; the degree of public interest; and other relevant factors. When selecting appropriate methods for providing public notification, agencies shall consider the ability of affected persons and agencies to access electronic media and the primary languages of affected persons.

(4) Publish notification of proposed actions they are analyzing through an environmental impact statement, including through a notice of intent consistent with § 1502.4 of this subchapter.

(5) Provide public notification of NEPA-related hearings, public meetings, and other opportunities for public engagement, and the availability of environmental documents to inform those persons and agencies who may be interested or affected by their proposed actions.

(i) The agency shall notify those entities and persons who have requested notification on a particular action and those who have requested regular notification from the agency on its actions.

(ii) In the case of an action with effects of national concern, notification shall also include publication of a notice in the Federal Register.

(iii) In the case of an action with effects primarily of local concern, the notification may include distribution to or through:

(A) State, Tribal, and local governments and agencies that may be interested or affected by the proposed action.

(B) Following the affected State or Tribe's public notification procedures for comparable actions.

(C) Publication in local newspapers having general circulation.

(D) Other local media.

(E) Potentially interested community organizations, including small business associations.

(F) Publication in newsletters that may be expected to reach potentially interested persons.

(G) Direct mailing to owners and occupants of nearby or affected property.

(H) Posting of notification on- and off-site in the area where the action is to be located.

(I) Electronic media (e.g., a project or agency website, dashboard, email list, or social media). Agencies should establish email notification lists or similar methods for the public to easily request electronic notifications for a proposed action.

(6) Make environmental impact statements, the comments received, and any underlying documents available to the public pursuant to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552), and without charge to the extent practicable.

(d) Public meetings and hearings. Agencies shall hold or sponsor public hearings, public meetings, or other opportunities for public engagement whenever appropriate or in accordance with statutory or regulatory requirements or applicable agency NEPA procedures. Agencies may conduct public hearings and public meetings by means of electronic communication except where another format is required by law. When determining the format for a public hearing or public meeting, such as whether an in-person or virtual meeting, or formal hearing or listening session is most appropriate, agencies shall consider the needs of affected communities. When accepting comments for electronic or virtual public hearings or meetings, agencies shall allow the public to submit comments electronically, by regular mail, or by other appropriate methods. Agencies should make a draft environmental document available to the public at least 15 days in advance when it is the subject of a public hearing or meeting unless the purpose of such hearing or meeting is to provide information for the development of the document.

(e) Agency procedures. Agencies shall make diligent efforts to engage the public in preparing and implementing their NEPA procedures (§ 1507.3 of this subchapter).