debtor as refunds of Federal taxes paid by an amount equal to the amount of the debt and all accumulated interest and other charges;

(c) That the debtor has a right to present evidence that all or part of the debt is not past-due or legally enforceable; and

(d) A mailing address for forwarding any written correspondence and a contact name and phone number for any questions.

§ 1018.5 Review within the Department.

(a) Notification by debtor. A debtor who receives a Notice of Intent has the right to present evidence that all or part of the debt is not past-due or not legally enforceable. To exercise this right, the debtor must:

(1) Send a written request for a review of the evidence to the address provided in the notice.

(2) State in the request the amount disputed and the reasons why the debtor believes that the debt is not pastdue or is not legally enforceable.

(3) Include in the request any documents which the debtor wishes to be considered or state that additional information will be submitted within the remainder of the 60-day period.

(b) Submission of evidence. The debtor may submit evidence showing that all or part of the debt is not past-due or not legally enforceable along with the notification required by paragraph (a) of this section. Failure to submit the notification and evidence within 60 days will result in an automatic referral of the debt to the IRS without further action by DOE.

(c) Review of the evidence. DOE will consider all available evidence related to the debt. Within 30 days, if feasible, DOE will notify the debtor whether DOE has sustained, amended, or cancelled its determination that the debt is past-due and legally enforceable.

§ 1018.6 Departmental determination. (a) Following review of the evidence, DOE will issue written decision which will include the supporting rationale for the decision.

a

(b) If DOE either sustains or amends its determination, it shall notify the debtor of its intent to refer the debt to

tories or possessions. DOE actions having environmental effects outside the United States, its territories or possessions are subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12114, "Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions" (3 CFR, 1979 Comp., p. 356; 44 FR 1957, January 4, 1979), DOE guidelines implementing that Executive Order (46 FR 1007, January 5, 1981), and the Department of State's "Unified Procedures Applicable to Major Federal Actions Relating to Nuclear Activities Subject to Executive Order 12114” (44 FR 65560, November 13, 1979).

§ 1021.103 Adoption of CEQ NEPA regulations.

DOE adopts the regulations for implementing NEPA published by CEQ at 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508.

§ 1021.104 Definitions.

(a) The definitions set forth in 40 CFR part 1508 are referenced and used in this part.

(b) In addition to the terms defined in 40 CFR part 1508, the following definitions apply to this part:

Action means a project, program, plan, or policy, as discussed at 40 CFR 1508.18, that is subject to DOE's control and responsibility. Not included within this definition are purely ministerial actions with regard to which DOE has no discretion. For example, ministerial actions to implement congressionally mandated funding for actions not proposed by DOE and as to which DOE has no discretion (i.e., statutorily mandated, congressionally initiated

"passthroughs").

Advance NOI means a formal public notice of DOE's intent to prepare an EIS, which is published in advance of an NOI in order to facilitate public involvement in the NEPA process.

American Indian tribe means any Indian tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska native entity, which is recognized as eligible for the special programs or services provided by the United States because of their status as Indians.

Categorical exclusion means a category of actions, as defined at 40 CFR 1508.4 and listed in appendix A or B to

subpart D of this part, for which neither an EA nor an EIS is normally required.

CEQ means the Council on Environmental Quality as defined at 40 CFR 1508.6.

CEQ Regulations means the regulations issued by CEQ (40 CFR parts 15001508) to implement the procedural provisions of NEPA.

CERCLA-excluded petroleum and natural gas products means petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, that is not otherwise specifically listed or designated as a hazardous substance under section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. 9601.101(14)) and natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel or of pipeline quality (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas).

Contaminant means a substance identified within the definition of contaminant in section 101(33) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9601.101(33)).

Day means a calendar day.

DOE means the U.S. Department of Energy.

DOE proposal (or proposal) means a proposal, as discussed at 40 CFR 1508.23 (whether initiated by DOE, another Federal agency, or an applicant), for an action, if the proposal requires a DOE decision.

EA means an environmental assessment as defined at 40 CFR 1508.9.

EIS means an environmental impact statement as defined at 40 CFR 1508.11, or, unless this part specifically provides otherwise, a Supplemental EIS.

EPA means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

FONSI means a Finding of No Significant Impact as defined at 40 CFR 1508.13.

Hazardous substance means a substance identified within the definition of hazardous substances in section 101(14) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9601.101(14)). Radionuclides are hazardous substances through their listing under section 112 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412) (40 CFR part 61, subpart H).

Host state means a state within whose boundaries DOE proposes an action at

an existing facility or construction or operation of a new facility.

Host tribe means an American Indian tribe within whose tribal lands DOE proposes an action at an existing facility or construction or operation of a new facility. For purposes of this definition, tribal lands means the area of "Indian country," as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151, that is under the tribe's jurisdiction. That section defines Indian country as:

(i) All land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and including rights-of-way running through the reservation;

(ii) All dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a state; and

(iii) All Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same.

Interim action means an action concerning a proposal that is the subject of an ongoing EIS and that DOE proposes to take before the ROD is issued, and that is permissible under 40 CFR 1506.1: Limitations on actions during the NEPA process.

Mitigation Action Plan means a document that describes the plan for implementing commitments made in a DOE EIS and its associated ROD, or, when appropriate, an EA or FONSI, to mitigate adverse environmental impacts associated with an action.

NEPA means the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

NEPA document means a DOE NOI, EIS, ROD, EA, FONSI, or any other document prepared pursuant to a requirement of NEPA or the CEQ Regulations.

NEPA review means the process used to comply with section 102(2) of NEPA. NOI means a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS as defined at 40 CFR 1508.22.

Notice of Availability means a formal notice, published in the FEDERAL REGISTER, that announces the issuance and public availability of a draft or final

EIS. The EPA Notice of Availability is the official public notification of an EIS; a DOE Notice of Availability is an optional notice used to provide information to the public.

Pollutant means a substance identified within the definition of pollutant in section 101(33) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9601.101(33)).

or

Program means a sequence of connected or related DOE actions projects as discussed at 40 CFR 1508.18(b)(3) and 1508.25(a).

Programmatic NEPA document means a broad-scope EIS or EA that identifies and assesses the environmental impacts of a DOE program; it may also refer to an associated NEPA document, such as an NOI, ROD, or FONSI.

Project means a specific DOE undertaking including actions approved by permit or other regulatory decision as well as Federal and federally assisted activities, which may include design, construction, and operation of an individual facility; research, development, demonstration, and testing for a process or product; funding for a facility, process, or product; or similar activities, as discussed at 40 CFR 1508.18(b)(4).

ROD means a Record of Decision as described at 40 CFR 1505.2.

Scoping means the process described at 40 CFR 1501.7; "public scoping process" refers to that portion of the scoping process where the public is invited to participate, as described at 40 CFR 1501.7 (a)(1) and (b)(4).

Site-wide NEPA document means a broad-scope EIS or EA that is programmatic in nature and identifies and assesses the individual and cumulative impacts of ongoing and reasonably foreseeable future actions at a DOE site; it may also refer to an associated NEPA document, such as an NOI, ROD, or FONSI.

Supplement Analysis means a DOE document used to determine whether a supplemental EIS should be prepared pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.9(c), or to support a decision to prepare a new EIS.

Supplemental EIS means an EIS prepared to supplement a prior EIS as provided at 40 CFR 1502.9(c).

The Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.

[57 FR 15144, Apr. 24, 1992, as amended at 61 FR 36239, July 9, 1996]

§ 1021.105 Oversight of Agency NEPA activities.

The Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health, or his/her designee, is responsible for overall review of DOE NEPA compliance. Further information on DOE's NEPA process and the status of individual NEPA reviews may be obtained upon request from the Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, U.S. Department of Energy. 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0119.

[61 FR 36239, July 9, 1996]

Subpart B-DOE Decisionmaking § 1021.200 DOE planning.

(a) DOE shall provide for adequate and timely NEPA review of DOE proposals, including those for programs, policies, projects, regulations, orders, or legislation, in accordance with 40 CFR 1501.2 and this section. In its planning for each proposal, DOE shall include adequate time and funding for proper NEPA review and for preparation of anticipated NEPA documents.

(b) DOE shall begin its NEPA review as soon as possible after the time that DOE proposes an action or is presented with a proposal.

(c) DOE shall determine the level of NEPA review required for a proposal in accordance with §1021.300 and subpart D of this part.

(d) During the development and consideration of a DOE proposal, DOE shall review any relevant planning and decisionmaking documents, whether prepared by DOE or another agency, to determine if the proposal or any of its alternatives are considered in a prior NEPA document. If so, DOE shall consider adopting the existing document, or any pertinent part thereof, in accordance with 40 CFR 1506.3.

§ 1021.210 DOE decisionmaking.

(a) For each DOE proposal, DOE shall coordinate its NEPA review with its decisionmaking. Sections 1021.211 through 1021.214 of this part specify

how DOE will coordinate its NEPA review with decision points for certain types of proposals (40 CFR 1505.1(b)).

(b) DOE shall complete its NEPA review for each DOE proposal before making a decision on the proposal (e.g., normally in advance of, and for use in reaching, a decision to proceed with detailed design), except as provided in 40 CFR 1506.1 and §§ 1021.211 and 1021.216 of this part.

(c) During the decisionmaking process for each DOE proposal, DOE shall consider the relevant NEPA documents, public and agency comments (if any) on those documents, and DOE responses to those comments, as part of its consideration of the proposal (40 CFR 1505.1(d)) and shall include such documents, comments, and responses as part of the administrative record (40 CFR 1505.1(c)).

(d) If an EIS or EA is prepared for a DOE proposal, DOE shall consider the alternatives analyzed in that EIS or EA before rendering a decision on that proposal; the decision on the proposal shall be within the range of alternatives analyzed in the EA or EIS (40 CFR 1505.1(e)).

(e) When DOE uses a broad decision (such as one on a policy or program) as a basis for a subsequent narrower decision (such as one on a project or other site-specific proposal), DOE may use tiering (40 CFR 1502.20) and incorporation of material by reference (40 CFR 1502.21) in the NEPA review for the subsequent narrower proposal.

§ 1021.211 Interim actions: Limitations on actions during the NEPA proc

ess.

While DOE is preparing an EIS that is required under §1021.300(a) of this part, DOE shall take no action concerning the proposal that is the subject of the EIS before issuing an ROD, except as provided at 40 CFR 1506.1. Actions that are covered by, or are a part of, a DOE proposal for which an EIS is being prepared shall not be categorically excluded under subpart D of these regulations unless they qualify as interim actions under 40 CFR 1506.1.

(b) For any proposed program described in paragraph (a) of this section, DOE shall begin its NEPA review (if otherwise required by this part) as soon as environmental effects can be meaningfully evaluated, and before DOE has reached the level of investment or commitment likely to determine subsequent development or restrict later alternatives, as discussed at 40 CFR 1502.4(c)(3).

(c) For subsequent phases of development and application, DOE shall prepare one or more additional NEPA documents (if otherwise required by this part).

§ 1021.213 Rulemaking.

(a) This section applies to regulations promulgated by DOE.

(b) DOE shall begin its NEPA review of a proposed rule (if otherwise required by this part) while drafting the proposed regulation, and as soon as environmental effects can be meaningfully evaluated.

(c) DOE shall include any relevant NEPA documents, public and agency comments (if any) on those documents, and DOE responses to those comments, as part of the administrative record (40 CFR 1505.1(c)).

(d) If an EIS is required, DOE will normally publish the draft EIS at the time it publishes the proposed rule (40 CFR 1502.5(d)). DOE will normally combine any public hearings required for a proposed rule with the public hearings required on the draft EIS under § 1021.313 of this part. The draft EIS need not accompany notices of inquiry or advance notices of proposed rulemaking that DOE may use to gather information during early stages of regulation development. When engaged in