section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NASA procedures of this subpart supplement the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (43 FR 55978) which establish uniform procedures for implementing those provisions of NEPA.

§ 1216.301 Applicability.

(a) This subpart is applicable to NASA Headquarters and field installations.

(b) The procedures established by this subpart apply to all NASA actions which may have an impact on the quality of the environment. These actions may fall within any of the three NASA budget categories: Research and Development (R&D), Construction of Facilities (CofF), and Research and Program Management (R&PM), or, if not involving budget authority or other Congressional approval, may be separate from the categories.

§ 1216.302 Definition of key terms.

The definitions contained within Part 1508, Terminology and Index, CEQ Regulations, 43 FR 55978, apply to Subpart 1216.3. Additional definitions, necessary for the purpose of this subpart, are as follows:

(a) Budget line items. The individual items in the annual NASA authorization legislation which are used here to classify the range of NASA actions. The three main budget line items are:

(1) Research and Development (R&D). Those activities directed towards attaining the objectives of a specific mission, project, or program. All NASA's aeronautics and space program elements are categorized within the R&D program categories. R&D funds are expended chiefly for contracted research and development and for research grants. Some R&D funds are also expended in support of inhouse research (e.g., equipment purchases and other research support, but not civil service salaries).

(2) Research and Program Management (R&PM). Those activities directed towards the general support of the NASA institution charged with the conduct of the aeronautics and space program. R&PM funds are expended for the NASA civil service work force

(both for performing in-house R&D and for planning, managing, and supporting contractor and grantee R&D), and for other general supporting functions.

(3) Construction of Facilities (C of F). Those activities directed towards construction of new facilities; repair, rehabilitation, and modification of existing facilities; acquisition of related facility equipment; design of facilities projects; and advance planning related to future facilities needs.

(b) Construction of facilities project. The consolidation of applicable specific individual types of facility work, including related collateral equipment, which is required to fully reflect all of the needs, generally relating to one facility, which have been or may be generated by the same set of events or circumstances which are required to be accomplished at one time in order to provide for the planned initial operational use of the facility or a discrete portion thereof. Facility projects are subject to the NASA decision processes of § 1216.304.

(c) Environmental analysis. The analysis of the environmental effects of proposed actions, including alternative proposals. The analyses are carried out from the very earliest of planning studies for the action in question, and are the materials from which the more formal environmental assessments, environmental impact statements, and public record of decisions are made.

(d) Institutional action. An action to establish, change, or terminate an aspect of the NASA institution, defined as the total NASA resource (plant, employees, skills).

(e) R&D project. A discrete research and development activity, with a scheduled beginning and ending, which normally involves one of the following primary purposes:

(1) The design, development, and demonstration of major advanced technology hardware items;

(2) The design, construction, and operation of a new launch vehicle (and associated ground support) during its research and development phase; and

(3) The construction and operation of one or more aeronautics or space vehicles (and necessary ground support)

in order to accomplish a scientific or technical objective. R&D projects are each subelements in the NASA R&D budget line item. R&D projects are subject to the decision processes of § 1216.304.

§ 1216.303 Responsibilities of NASA officials.

(a) The Associate Administrator for External Relations or designee, who is responsible for developing the procedures of this subpart and for ensuring that environmental factors are properly considered in all NASA planning and decisionmaking, shall:

(1) Monitor these processes to ensure that the agency procedures are achieving their purposes;

(2) Advise line management and inform NASA employees of technical and management requirements of environmental analysis, of appropriate expertise available in and out of NASA, and-with the assistance of the NASA General Counsel-of relevant legal developments; and

(3) Consolidate and transmit to the appropriate parties NASA comments on environmental impact statements and other environmental reports prepared by other agencies.

(b) Officials-in-Charge of Headquarters Offices (hereafter termed "Headquarters officials") are responsible for implementing the procedures established by these regulations for the consideration and documentation of the environmental aspects of the decision processes in their respective areas of responsibility.

(c) The Director, Office of Legislative Affairs, is responsible for ensuring that legislative environmental impact statements accompany NASA recommendations or reports on proposals for legislation submitted to Congress. The Associate Administrator for External Relations, the Comptroller, and General Counsel will provide guidance as required.

[44 FR 44485, July 30, 1979, as amended at 44 FR 49650, Aug. 24, 1979]

AGENCY PROCEDURES

§ 1216.304 Major decision points.

The possible environmental effects of a proposed action must be consid

ered, along with technical, economic, and other factors, in the earliest planning. At that stage, the responsible Headquarters official shall begin the necessary steps to comply with all the requirements of section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Major NASA activities, particularly R&D and facility projects, generally have four distinct phases: The conceptual study phase; the detailed planning/definition phase; the development/construction phase; and the operation phase. (Other NASA activities have fewer, less well-defined phases, but can still be characterized by phases representing general or feasibility study, detailed planning or definition, and implementation.) Environmental documentation shall be linked to major decision points as follows:

(a) Completion of an environmental assessment and the determination as to whether an environmental impact statement is required must be made prior to the decision to proceed from the conceptual study phase to the detailed planning/definition phase of the proposed action. For example, this determination must be concurrent

with:

(1) Proposal of an R&D project for detailed planning and project definition;

(2) Proposal of a major Construction of for Facilities project detailed planning and project definition;

an

(3) Proposal of institutional action (other than a facility project) for detailed planning and definition; and

(4) Proposal of a plan to define changes in an approved project.

(b) The final environmental impact statement (EIS) should be completed and circulated prior to the decision to proceed from the detailed planning/ definition phase to the development/ construction (or implementation) phase of the proposed action. For example, the EIS should be completed by, and incorporated with:

(1) Proposal of an R&D project for development/construction;

(2) Proposal of a major Construction of Facilities project for development/ construction;

(3) Proposal to undertake a significant institutional action (other than a facility project); and

(4) Proposal to implement a program change.

§ 1216.305 Criteria for actions requiring environmental assessments.

(a) Whether a proposed NASA action within the meaning of the CEQ Regulations (43 FR 55978) requires the preparation of an environmental assessment, an environmental impact statement, both, or neither, will depend upon the scope of the action and the context and intensity of any environmental effects expected to result. A NASA action shall require the preparation of an environmental assessment (§§ 1501.3 and 1508.9 of the CEQ Regulations) provided the action is not one normally requiring an environmental impact statement (paragraph (c)) or it is not categorically excluded from the requirement for an environmental assessment and an environmental impact statement (paragraph (d)).

(b) Specific NASA actions normally requiring an environmental assessment are:

(1) Specific spacecraft development and flight projects in space science.

(2) Specific spacecraft development and flight projects in space and terrestrial applications.

(3) Specific experimental projects in aeronautics and space technology and energy technology applications.

(4) Development and operation of new space transportation systems and advanced development of new space transportation and spacecraft systems. (5) Reimbursable launches of nonNASA spacecraft or payloads.

(6) Major Construction of Facilities projects.

(7) Actions to alter ongoing operations at a NASA installation which could lead, either directly or indirectly, to natural or physical environmental effects.

(c) NASA actions expected to have a significant effect upon the quality of the human environment shall require an environmental impact statement. For these actions an environmental assessment is not required. Criteria to be used in determining significance are

given in § 1508.27 of the CEQ Regulations (43 FR 55978). Specific NASA actions requiring environmental impact statements, all in the R&D budget category, are as follows:

(1) Development and operation of new launch vehicles.

(2) Development and operation of space vehicles likely to release substantial amounts of foreign materials into the earth's atmosphere, or into space.

(3) Development and operation of nuclear systems, including reactors and thermal devices used for propulsion and/or power generation. Excluded are devices with millicurie quantities or less of radioactive materials used as instrument detectors and small radioisotope heaters used for local thermal control, provided they are properly contained and shielded.

(d) NASA actions categorically excluded from the requirements to prepare either an environmental assessment or an EIS (§ 1508.4 of the CEQ Regulations) fit the following criteria: They are each sub-elements of an approved broadbased level-of-effort NASA science and technology program (basic research, applied research, development of technology, ongoing mission operations), facility program, or institutional program; and they are each managed relatively independently of other related sub-elements by means of separate task orders, Research and Technology Operating Plans, etc. Specific NASA actions fitting these criteria and thus categorically excluded from the requirements for environmental assessments and environmental impact statements are:

(1) R&D activities in space science (e.g., Physics and Astronomy Research and Analysis, Planetary Exploration Mission Operations and Data Analysis) other than specific spacecraft development and flight projects.

(2) R&D activities in space and terrestrial applications (e.g., Resource Observations Applied Research and Data Analysis, Technology Utilization) other than specific spacecraft development and flight projects.

(3) R&D activities in aeronautics and space technology and energy technology applications (e.g., Research and Technology Base, Systems Technology

Programs) other than experimental projects.

(4) R&D activities in space transportation systems engineering and scientific and technical support operations, routine transportation operations, and advanced studies.

(5) R&D activities in space tracking and data systems.

(6) Facility planning and design (funding).

(7) Minor construction of new facilities including rehabilitation, modification, and repair.

(8) Continuing operations of a NASA installation at a level of effort, or altered operations, provided the alterations induce only social and/or economic effects but no natural or physical environmental effects.

(e) Even though an action may be categorically excluded from the need for a formal environmental assessment or environmental impact statement, it is not excluded from the requirement for an environmental analysis conducted during the earliest planning phases. If that analysis shows that the action deviates from the criteria for exclusion and it is concluded that there may be significant environmental effects, an environmental assessment must be carried out. Based upon that assessment, a determination must then be made whether or not to prepare an environmental impact statement.

(§§ 1501.3 and 1508.9 of the CEQ Regulations) and, on the basis of that assessment, determine if an EIS is required.

(b) If the determination is that no environmental impact statement is required, the Headquarters official shall, in coordination with the Associate Administrator for External Relations, prepare a "Finding of No Significant Impact." (See § 1508.13 of the CEQ Regulations.) The “Finding of No Significant Impact" shall be made available to the affected public through

direct distribution and publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER.

(c) If the determination is that an environmental impact statement is required, the Headquarters official shall proceed with the "notice of intent to prepare an EIS" (see § 1508.22 of the CEQ Regulations). The Headquarters official shall transmit this notice to the Associate Administrator for External Relations for review and subsequent publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER (see § 1507.3(e) of the CEQ Regulations). The Headquarters official shall then apply procedures set forth in § 1216.307 to determine the scope of the EIS and proceed to prepare and release the environmental statement in accordance with the CEQ Regulations and the procedures of this Subpart.

(d) Environmental assessments may be prepared for any actions, even those which meet the criteria for environmental impact statements (§ 1216.305(c)) or for categorical exclusion (§ 1216.305(d)), if the responsible Headquarters official believes that the action may be an exception or that an assessment will assist in planning or decisionmaking.

§ 1216.307 Scoping.

The responsible Headquarters official shall conduct an early and open process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed in environmental impact statements and for identifying the significant issues related to a proposed action. The elements of the scoping process are defined in § 1501.7 of the CEQ Regulations and the process must include considerations of the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts discussed in § 1508.25 of the CEQ Regulations. The range of environmental categories to be considered in the scoping process shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) Air quality; (b) Water quality;

(c) Waste generation, treatment, transportation disposal and storage; (d) Noise, sonic boom, and vibration; (e) Toxic substances;

(f) Biotic resources;

(g) Radioactive materials and nonionizing radiation;

(h) Endangered species;

(i) Historical, archeological, and recreational factors;

(j) Wetlands and floodplains; and

(k) Economic, population and employment factors, provided they are interrelated with natural or physical environmental factors.

§ 1216.308 Preparation of draft statements.

(a) The responsible Headquarters official shall prepare the draft environmental impact statement in the manner provided in Part 1502 of the CEQ Regulations and shall submit the draft statement and any attachments to the Associate Administrator for External Relations for NASA review prior to any formal review outside NASA. This submission shall be accompanied by a list of Federal, state, and local officials (Part 1503 of the CEQ Regulations) and a list of other interested parties (§ 1506.6 of the CEQ Regulations) from whom comments should be requested.

(b) After the NASA review is completed, the Associate Administrator for External Relations shall submit the approved draft statement to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Environmental Review, and shall seek the views of appropriate agencies and individuals in accordance with Part 1503 and § 1506.6 of the CEQ Regulations.

(c) Comments received shall be provided to the originating official for consideration in preparing the final statement. To the extent possible, requirements for review and consultation with other agencies on environmental matters established by statutes other than NEPA, such as the review and consultation requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, should be met prior to or through this review process

(§ 1216.320).

[44 FR 44485, July 30, 1979, as amended at 44 FR 49650, Aug. 24, 1979]

§ 1216.309 Public involvement.

(a) Interested persons can get information on NASA environmental impact statements and other aspects of NASA's NEPA process by contacting the Director, Management Sup

port Office (Code LB), NASA, Washington, DC 20546, 202-755-8383. Pertinent information regarding any aspect of the NEPA process may also be mailed to the above address.

(b) Responsible Headquarters officials and NASA Field Installation Directors shall identify those persons, community organizations, and environmental interest groups who may be interested or affected by the proposed NASA action and who should be involved in the NEPA process. They shall submit a list of such persons and organizations to the Associate Administrator for External Relations at the same time they submit:

(3) A recommendation for public hearings,

(4) A preliminary draft EIS, (5) A preliminary final EIS, (6) Other preliminary environmental documents (§ 1216.321(d)).

(c) The Associate Administrator for External Relations may modify such lists referred to in paragraph (b) as appropriate to ensure that NASA shall comply, to the fullest extent practicable, with § 1506.6 of the CEQ Regulations and § 2-4(d) of Executive Order 12114.

(d) The decision whether to hold public hearings shall be made by the Associate Administrator for External Relations in consultation with the General Counsel.

§ 1216.310 Preparation of final statements.

(a) After conclusion of the review process with other Federal, state, and local agencies and the public, the responsible Headquarters official shall consider all suggestions, revise the statement as appropriate, and forward the proposed final statement to the Associate Administrator for External Relations. The Associate Administrator for External Relations shall submit the approved final statement to the EPA Office of Environmental Review, to all parties who commented, and to other interested parties in accordance with CEQ Regulations.