§ 1216.303 - NEPA process in NASA planning and decision making.

§ 1216.303 NEPA process in NASA planning and decision making.

(a) NEPA requires the systematic examination of the environmental consequences of implementing a proposed Agency actionis a procedural statute intended to ensure Federal agencies consider the environmental impacts of their proposed actions in the decision-making process. Full integration of the NEPA process with NASA project and program planning improves Agency decisions and ensures that:

(1) Planning and decision making support NASA's strategic plan commitment to sustainability and Consideration of sustainability, environmental stewardship, and comply compliance with applicable environmental statutes, regulations, and policies.

(2) The public is appropriately engaged in the decision-making process NASA's analyses and documentation are prepared using a process that is transparent to the public, including opportunities for receipt and consideration of public comment, when appropriate.

(3) Procedural Potential program and project risks and delays are minimized.

(b) Determining the In considering whether the effects of a proposed action are significant and determining the appropriate level of NEPA review and documentation for a proposed NASA action will depend upon the scope of the action and the context and intensity of the reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts.

(c) The

(i.e., EIS, environmental assessments (EA), categorical exclusions (CatEx)), NASA shall consider and analyze the potentially affected environment (i.e., affected area [national, regional, or local] and resources located therein) and the degree of the effects of the proposed action (e.g., short- and long-term effects, effects both beneficial and adverse, effects on public health and safety, effects that would violate Federal, state, Tribal, or local law protecting the environment).

(c) NASA shall consider the reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts of a proposed Agency action must be considered, along with technical, economic, public health and safety, security, and other factors that are reasonably foreseeable, beginning in the early planning stage of a proposed action. NASA will not take no any action which that would have an adverse environmental impact or limit the choice of reasonable alternatives prior to completion of its completing NEPA review except as provided in 40 CFR 1506.1.

(d) Records of Environmental Consideration (RECs) will be used to document:

(1) Application of specific categorical exclusions to proposed actions;

(2) Adoption of Federal draft or final NEPA documents;

(3) Reevaluation of an existing NEPA document; and

(4) Determination of whether an action fits within an existing NEPA document, including a programmatic NEPA document.

[89 FR 25500, Apr. 11, 2024]