Enclosure 1 - Requirements for Environmental Considerations - Global Commons

A. General. This enclosure implements the requirements of Executive Order 12114 with respect to major Department of Defense actions that do significant harm to the environment of the global commons. The focus is not the place of the action, but the location of the environment with respect to which there is significant harm. The actions prescribed by this enclosure are the exclusive and complete requirement for taking account of environmental considerations with respect to Department of Defense activities that affect the global commons.

B. Actions included. The requirements of this enclosure apply only to major Federal actions that do significant harm to the environment of the global commons.

C. Environmental Document Requirements—1. General. When an action is determined to be a major Federal action that significantly harms the environment of the global commons, an environmental impact statement, as described below, will be prepared to enable the responsible decision-making official to be informed of pertinent environmental considerations. The statement may be a specific statement for the particular action, a generic statement covering the entire class of similar actions, or a program statement.

2. Limitations on Actions. Until the requirements of this enclosure have been met with respect to actions involving the global commons, no action concerning the proposal may be taken that does significant harm to the environment or limits the choice of reasonable alternatives.

3. Emergencies. Where emergency circumstances make it necessary to take an action that does significant harm to the environment without meeting the requirements of this enclosure, the DoD component concerned shall consult with the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics). This includes actions that must be taken to promote the national defense or security and that cannot be delayed, and actions necessary for the protection of life or property.

4. Combining Documents. Environmental documents may be combined with other agency documents to reduce duplication. If an environmental impact statement for a particular action already exists, regardless of what Federal agency prepared it, no new statement is required by this part.

5. Collective Statements. Consideration should be given to the use of generic and program statements. Generic statements may include actions with relevant similarities such as common timing, environmental effects, alternatives, methods of implementation, or subject matter.

6. Tiering. Consideration should be given to tiering of environmental impact statements to eliminate repetitive discussions of the same issue and to focus the issues. Tiering refers to the coverage of general matters in broader environmental impact statements, with succeeding narrower statements or environmental analyses that incorporate by reference the general discussion and concentrate only on the issues specific to the statement subsequently prepared.

7. Lead Agency. When one or more other Federal agencies are involved with the Department of Defense in an action or program, a lead agency may be designated to supervise the preparation of the environmental impact statement. In appropriate cases, more than one agency may act as joint lead agencies. The following factors should be considered in making the lead agency designation:

a. The magnitude of agency involvement;

b. Which agency or agencies have project approval and disapproval authority;

c. The expert capabilities concerning the environmental effects of the action;

d. The duration of agency involvement; and

e. The sequence of agency involvement.

8. Categorical Exclusions. The Department of Defense may provide categorical exclusions for actions that normally do not, individually or cumulatively, do significant harm to the environment. If an action is covered by a categorical exclusion no environmental assessment or environmental impact statement is required. Categorical exclusions will be established by the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics) and will be identified in Attachment 1 to this enclosure, to be entitled, “Categorical Exclusions—Global commons. “DoD components identifying recurring actions that have been determined, after analysis, not to do significant harm to the environment should submit recommendations for cateorical exclusions and accompanying justification to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics).

9. Environmental Assessments. The purpose of an environmental assessment is to assist DoD components in determining whether an environmental impact statement is required for a particular action. The assessment should be brief and concise but should include sufficient information on which a determination can be made whether the proposed action is major and Federal, and whether it significantly harms the environment of the global commons. As a minimum, the assessment should include consideration of the need for the proposed action and the environmental effect of the proposed action. The environmental assessment will be made available to the public in the United States upon request, but there is no requirement that it be distributed for public comment.

D. Environmental Impact Statements. 1. General. Environmental impact statements will be concise and no longer than necessary to permit an informed consideration of the environmental effects of the proposed action on the global commons and the reasonable alternatives. If an action requiring an environmental impact statement also has effects on the environment of a foreign nation or on a resource designated as one of global importance, the statement need not consider or be prepared with respect to these effects. The procedures for considering these effects are set out in Enclosure 2, of this part.

2. Draft Statement. Environmental impact statements will be prepared in two stages and may be supplemented. The first, or draft statement, should be sufficiently complete to permit meaningful analysis and comment. The draft statement will be made available to the public, in the United States, for comment. The Department of State, the council on environmental Quality, and other interested Federal agencies will be informed of the availability of the draft statement and will be afforded an opportunity to comment. Contacts with foreign governments are discussed in §187.4(d) and subsection D.11. of this enclosure.

3. Final statement. Final statements will consider, either individually or collectively, substantive comments received on the draft statement. The final statement will be made available to the public in the United States.

4. Supplemental statement. Supplements to the draft or final statement should be used when substantial changes to the proposed action are made relative to the environment of the global commons or when significant new information or circumstances, relevant to environmental concerns, bears on the proposed action or its environmental effects on the global commons. Supplemental statements will be circulated for comment as in subsection 2. of this enclosure unless alternative procedures are approved by the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics).

5. Statement content. The statement will include: A section on consideration of the purpose of and need for the proposed action; a section on the environmental consequences of the proposed action and reasonable alternatives; a section that provides a succinct description of the environment of the global commons affected by the proposed action and reasonable alternatives; and a section that analyzes, in comparative form, the environmental effects on the global commons of the proposed action and reasonable alternatives.

6. Incomplete Information. The statement should indicate when relevant information is missing due to unavailability or scientific uncertainty.

7. Hearings. Public hearings are not required. consideration should be given in appropriate cases to holding or sponsoring public hearings. Factors in this consideration include: Foreign relations sensitivities; whether the hearings would be an infringement or create the appearance of infringement on the sovereign responsibilities of another government; requirements of domestic and foreign governmental confidentiality; requirements of national security; whether meaningful information could be obtained through hearings; time considerations; and requirements for commercial confidentiality. There is no requirement that all factors listed in this section be considered when one or more factors indicate that public hearings would not produce a substantial net benefit to those responsible for authorizing or approving the proposed action.

8. Decision. Relevant environmental documents developed in accordance with this enclosure will accompany the proposal for action through the review process to enable officials responsible for authorizing or approving the proposed action to be informed and to take account of environmental considerations. One means of making an appropriate record with respect to this requirement is for the decision-maker to sign and date a copy of the environmental impact statement indicating that it has been considered in the decision-making process. Other means of making an appropriate record are also acceptable.

9. Timing. No decision on the proposed action may be made until the later of 90 days after the draft statement has been made available and notice thereof published in the Federal Register, or 30 days after the final statement has been made available and notice thereof published in the Federal Register. The 90-day period and the 30-day period may run concurrently. Not less than 45 days may be allowed for public comment. The Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics) may, upon a showing of probable important adverse effect on national security or foreign policy, reduce the 30-day, 45-day, and 90-day periods.

10. Classified Information. Environmental assessments and impact statements that address classified proposals will be safeguarded and classified information will be restricted from public dissemination in accordance with Department of Defense procedures (32 CFR part 159) established for such information under Executive Order 12065. The requirements of that Executive Order take precedence over any requirement of disclosure in this part. Only unclassified portions of environmental documents may be disseminated to the public.

11. Foreign Governments. Consideration will be given to whether any foreign government should be informed of the availability of environmental documents. Communications with foreign governments concerning environmental agreements and other formal arrangements with foreign governments concerning environmental matters under this part will be coordinated with the Department of State. Informal, working-level communications and arrangements are not included in this coordination requirement. Coordination with the Department of State will be through the Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs).

[44 FR 21786, Apr. 14, 1979. Redesignated and amended at 56 FR 64481, Dec. 10, 1991]