Exhibit F to Subpart G of Part 1940 - Implementation Procedures for the Coastal Barrier Resources Act

1. The Act applies to barrier islands that Congress has designated for inclusion in the Coastal Barrier Resources System. Since coastal barriers are only found in East and Gulf Coast States, no other State Offices fall under the requirements of the Act and, therefore, need be concerned with these implementation procedures.

2. On coastal barriers that are included in the system, the Act prohibits any new expenditures or new financial assistance by the Federal Government. There are some limited exceptions that are contained in Section 6 of the Act and listed in exhibit L of this subpart. Consequently, all of the following actions must be reviewed by the environmental reviewer to determine if they would be located within the System: any application for financial assistance, any proposed direct expenditure of FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 funds for construction or maintenance purposes, any request for subdivision approval, and any proposed disposal of real property that includes any form of financial assistance or subsidy to the purchaser. The boundaries of the system can be determined by reviewing a series of maps passed with the legislation and distributed by the Department of the Interior. Each State Director is responsible for ensuring that those field offices having components of the system within their jurisdictions are aware of the system's boundaries therein.

3. Exhibit L lists the six categories of exceptions, that is, those actions that may be taken within the system. No exception may be implemented, however, without first consulting with the Secretary of the Interior. It should also be noted that the sixth category is more limited than the first five. Besides meeting the consultation requirement for this sixth category, the sponsoring Agency must also determine whether the proposed exception is consistent with the purposes of the Act.

4. For those actions that are reviewed and determined not to be within the System, the environmental reviewer must document this result by checking the appropriate compliance blocks on either Form FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 1940-22, “Environmental Checklist for Categorical Exclusions,” or Form FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 1940-21, “Environmental Assessment for Class I actions,” or by so stating this result in the environmental assessment for Class II Actions (exhibit H), depending upon whichever format is applicable to the action under review.

5. For those actions that would be located within the system, one of the following two steps must be taken:

a. If the environmental reviewer concludes that the action does not meet the criteria for an exception, as listed in exhibit L, the reviewer shall so inform the approving official and a final determination made in the manner indicated in §1940.316 of this subpart. If this determination is consistent with the environmental reviewer's conclusion, the action must be denied by the approving official and the affected applicant or party informed of the reason for denial. If it is determined that the action may qualify for an exception, the steps identified in Item b immediately below must be implemented prior to a decision on this question.

b. If the environmental reviewer concludes that the proposed action may meet the exception criteria, the approving official must be so informed. Whenever the approving official agrees or makes a similar determination as a result of the review conducted in Item a immediately above, consultation shall be initiated with the Secretary of the Interior by either the State Director or the Administrator for a National Office activity. FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 shall request the Secretary's views as to whether the exception criteria are met and shall provide the Secretary with the following information:

(1) A detailed description of the action and its location;

(2) A description of the affected environment within the System and the impacts of the proposed action;

(3) The applicable exception criteria and FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354's reasons for believing they apply to this action; and

(4) If a Section 6(a)(6) exception is claimed, FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354's reasons for believing the action to be consistent with the purposes of the Act.

Should the Secretary concur in the exception criteria being met, that portion of the environmental assessment relating to compliance with the Act shall be completed and the corresponding documentation attached. Should the Secretary not concur, a final decision on the approval or denial of the action must be made by the Administrator.