§ 17.714 - Environmental review requirements.

(a) General. Project selection is subject to completion of an environmental review of the proposed site, and the project may be modified or the site rejected as a result of that review. The environmental effects must be assessed in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.) as implemented pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's applicable regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and VA's applicable implementing regulations (38 CFR part 26).

(b) Responsibility for review. (1) VA will perform the environmental review, in accordance with part 26 of this title, for conditionally selected applications received directly from private nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with special or limited purpose powers. VA is not permitted to approve such applications prior to its completion of this review. Because of time constraints, any applications subject to environmental review by VA that requires an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (generally, an application that VA determines would result in a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment in accordance with the environmental assessment procedures at 38 CFR part 26) will not be eligible for assistance under this part.

(2) Applicants that are States, metropolitan cities, urban counties, Indian tribes, or other governmental entities with general purpose powers shall include environmental documentation for the project submitting information establishing a Categorical Exclusion (CE), a proposed Environmental Assessment (EA), or a proposed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The environmental documentation will require approval by VA before final award of a construction or acquisition grant under this part. (See 38 CFR 26.6 for compliance requirements.) If the proposed actions involving construction or acquisition do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment, the applicant shall submit a letter noting a CE. If construction outside the walls of an existing structure will involve more than 75,000 gross square feet (GSF), the application shall include an EA to determine if an EIS is necessary for compliance with section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act 1969. When the application submission requires an EA, the State shall briefly describe the possible beneficial and/or harmful effect which the project may have on the following impact categories:

(i) Transportation;

(ii) Air quality;

(iii) Noise;

(iv) Solid waste;

(v) Utilities;

(vi) Geology (soils/hydrology/flood plains);

(vii) Water quality;

(viii) Land use;

(ix) Vegetation, wildlife, aquatic, and ecology/wetlands;

(x) Economic activities;

(xi) Cultural resources;

(xii) Aesthetics;

(xiii) Residential population;

(xiv) Community services and facilities;

(xv) Community plans and projects; and

(xvi) Other.

(3) If an adverse environmental impact is anticipated, the action to be taken to minimize the impact should be explained in the EA. An entity covered by this section that believes that it does not have the legal capacity to carry out the responsibilities required by 38 CFR part 26 should contact the VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program, Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service (111C), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420, for further instructions. Determinations of legal capacity will be made on a case-by-case basis.

(Paperwork requirements were approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2900-0554.)