§ 46.310 - Contents of an environmental assessment.

§ 46.310 Contents of an environmental assessment.

(a) At a minimum, an environmental assessment must include brief discussions of:

(1) The proposal;

(2) The need for the proposal;

(3) The environmental impacts of the proposed action;

(4) The environmental impacts of the alternatives considered; and

(5) A list of agencies and persons consulted.

(b) When the Responsible Official determines that there are no unresolved conflicts about the proposed action with respect to alternative uses of available resources, the environmental assessment need only consider the proposed action and does not need to consider additional alternatives, including the no action alternative. (See section 102(2)(E) of NEPA).

(c) In addition, an environmental assessment may describe a broader range of alternatives to facilitate planning and decision-making.

(d) A proposed action or alternative(s) may include adaptive management strategies allowing for adjustment of the action during implementation. If the adjustments to an action are clearly articulated and pre-specified in the description of the alternative and fully analyzed, then the action may be adjusted during implementation without the need for further analysis. Adaptive management includes a monitoring component, approved adaptive actions that may be taken, and environmental effects analysis for the adaptive actions approved.

(e) The level of detail and depth of impact analysis should normally be limited to the minimum needed to determine whether there would be significant environmental effects.

(f) Bureaus may choose to provide additional detail and depth of analysis as appropriate in those environmental assessments prepared under paragraph 46.300(b).

(g) An environmental assessment must contain objective analyses that support conclusions concerning environmental impacts.