were

(a) Actions covered. These guidelines apply to new grants for wastewater treatment works, to grants for wastewater treatment works that awarded prior to the promulgation of these guidelines and meet the conditions specified in paragraph (c) of this section, and areawide and water quality management plans.

(b) Actions excluded. These guidelines do not apply to:

(1) Program grant awards to State and interstate agencies.

(2) Training grants and contracts.

(c) Retroactive application. (1) This subpart shall be applied to ongoing wastewater treatment works for which grant awards were made prior to the promulgation of these guidelines when substantial funds have not been released and modifications or alternatives to the project are still available. The Regional Administrator shall ensure that an environmental impact statement shall be

prepared for each such works found to have a significant impact in accordance with § 6.54 of this subpart. The grantee must be promptly notified in writing of the decision to prepare an impact statement.

(2) On such works, either all or a portion of the project work may be stopped by the Regional Administrator pending completion of the statement, if he determines that a work stoppage is warranted, to reduce the risk of incurring substantial additional costs for work which the impact statement may indicate will have to be abandoned or substantially changed. The Regional Administrator may request a written statement from the grantee to assist him in making this decision. The statement should include: A list of what work should and should not continue; a discussion of potential changes the impact statement might recommend in the work discussed in the above list; and the reasons why the work in question should or should not continue. Upon a determination of partial or complete work stoppage by the Regional Administrator, the appropriate grant action would be the issuance of a stop-work order to suspend work or a bilateral agreement to suspend project work, effected through a grant amendment, or in some cases, the issuance of a termination notice.

(a) Responsible official. The "responsible official" for Agency actions covered by this subpart is the Regional Administrator. The responsibilities of the Regional Administrator in addition to those in § 6.14(a) of Subpart A of this part are to:

(1) Assist the Office of Federal Activities in coordinating the training of personnel involved in the review and preparation of impact statements and other EIS-associated documents.

(2) Require of grant applicants and those who have submitted plans for approval, the information the regional office requires to comply with these guidelines.

(3) Consult with the Office of Federal Activities concerning works or plans which significantly affect more than one regional office, are highly controversial, are of national significance or "pioneer" Agency policy when these works have had or should have had an environmental impact statement prepared on them.

(b) Assistant Administrator. The responsibilities of the Office of the Assistant Administrator, as described in § 6.14 (f) of Subpart A of this part, shall be assumed by the Assistant Administrator for Air and Water Programs for Agency actions covered by this subpart.

(c) Water Quality and Non-Point Source Control Division, Office of Water Programs Operations. Coordinates all activities and responsibilities of the Office of Water Programs Operations concerned with preparation and review of environmental impact statements. This includes providing technical assistance to the Regional Administrators on impact statements and assisting the Office of Federal Activities in coordinating the training of personnel involved in the review and preparation of impact statements.

(d) Public Affairs Division, Regional Offices. The responsibilities of the regions' Public Affairs Division in addition to those in § 6.14(d) of Subpart A of this part are to:

(1) Assist the Regional Administrator in the preparation and dissemination of negative declarations, notices of intent, press releases, and other public notices.

(2) Collaborate with the Headquarters Office of Public Affairs to analyze procedures in the regions for public participation and to develop and recommend to the Office of Federal Activities a program to improve those procedures.

§ 6.54 Criteria for preparation of environmental impact statements.

The Regional Administrator will assure that an impact statement will be prepared for treatment works and plans (See additional conditions for plans in § 6.55 (d)) when:

(a) The treatment works will induce or encourage significant changes in industrial, commercial, or residential concentrations or distributions, the effects of which are not adequately reflected in an impact statement on the water quality management or areawide plans encompassing the works. Factors that must be considered in determining if induced changes are significant include but are not limited to: the land area subject to increased development as a result of the treatment works; the relative increase in population which may be induced; the potential for overloading sewage facilities; the extent to which landowners may benefit from the areas subject to increased development; and the nature

of land use regulations in the affected area and their potential effects on the development.

(b) The works or plan will result in a significant displacement of population. (c) The works or plan will have significant adverse imparts on public parks or other areas of recognized scenic or recreational value.

(d) The works or plan will have significant adverse impacts on areas of recognized archeological value or properties listed in or being considered for nomination to the National Register of Historical Places.

(e) The works or plan will significantly deface an existing residential area.

(f) The works or plan will include or induce development which will have a significant adverse effect upon local ambient air quality, local ambient noise levels, surface or groundwater quality, fish, wildlife, their natural habitats, or other natural elements.

(g) The works or plan involves a significant diversion of effluent from one basin to another (or to the ocean) and the diversion will adversely affect the quality or quantity of the water in a basin.

(h) The treated effluent is being discharged into a body of water where the present classification is being challenged as too low to protect present uses, and the effluent will not be of sufficient quality to meet the requirements of such uses.

(i) The environmental impact of the works or plan is highly controversial based on environmental issues raised by a party or parties with recognized legal standing as defined in Sierra Club v. Morton, 92 S.Ct. 1361 (Apr. 19, 1972), which can be found in 3 Environment Reporter Cases (ERC) 2039.

§ 6.55

Procedures for preparation of impact statements for plans.

(a) General. (1) Areawide waste treatment management plans set forth in Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 will be required pursuant to 40 CFR Part 35. Areawide plans must be certified by the Governor or his designee and approved by the Administrator. Once a plan is approved, the Administrator shall not make any grant for construction of a publicly owned treatment works except for a works in conformity with this plan.

(2) Until area wide plans are developed, other plans will be required pursuant to Part 35 of this chapter.

(b) Environmental assessment and public hearing. (1) General. An environmental assessment must be included as an integral part of any plans submitted for approval pursuant to Part 35 of this chapter. In addition, a record of a public hearing must be submitted with such plans. The Regional Administrator may also require a grant applicant to submit an assessment and record of public hearing for any water quality management planning that he considers relevant to a proposed wastewater treatment works. Failure to satisfy any of these requirements will justify a refusal by the Regional Administrator to approve plans and specifications for treatment works.

(2) The environmental assessment must be included as an integral part of the plan whether or not Federal technical or financial assistance was utilized in the development of the plan. The assessment of alternatives must include as a minimum those items listed in paragraph (b) (4) of this section. A separate summary of the assessment incorporated in the plan may be requested by regional personnel.

(3) Responsibility for the environmental assessment. The planning agency responsible for developing the required plans shall include as part of the plan an environmental assessment of all feasible alternative water quality management strategies. Prior to acceptance of the plan, regional personnel shall review the plan and record of public hearing to assure that environmental matters have been properly considered. If any of the data or analyses in the plan are used by the regional personnel in developing an impact statement, the Regional Administrator must assume responsibility for the reliability and comprehensiveness of the data or analyses used.

(4) Content of assessment incorporated in the plan. In assessing the environmental impacts of alternative water quality management strategies, the State or local agency responsible for developing the plan shall as a minimum address in writing the questions outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act. The questions are amplified in § 6.32 of Subpart C of this part, paragraphs (a) through (g). The questions in § 6.32 (a), (b), (c), (e), and (f) must be answered for each alternative strategy and those in § 6.32 (d) and (g) must be answered considering all the alternatives.

97-025-73-6

(5) Adequacy of assessment. If the environmental assessment incorporated in the plan is judged inadequate, further consideration of the request for approval of the plan must be deferred until the deficiencies are remedied in writing.

(6) Public hearing. A record of a public hearing on the plan must be submitted with any plan required pursuant to paragraph (b) (1) of this section. Hearing requirements are set forth in § 6.58 of this subpart. The hearing should be held before the plan is finalized so that the public can assist the planning agency in identifying valid environmental issues while the plan is being formulated.

(c) Environmental review. The Agency will review, in accordance with § 6.20 of Subpart B and § 6.54 of this subpart, all plans submitted for approval or plans on which assessments were requested, to determine if they will have any significant impacts on the environment. If the Regional Administrator determines that there may be such impacts, the applicant may be requested to submit additional environmental data or analyses. The applicant will be given written notice of what additional material he must submit under these circumstances.

(d) Notice of intent and impact statement. If the environmental review indicates a significant impact on the environment and if either of the following conditions is met, the Regional Administrator shall issue a notice of intent and prepare an impact statement on the plan in accordance with the procedures in Subpart B of this part:

(1) If the impacts are such that they cannot be adequately treated on a smaller scale than that of the plan, e.g., diversion of water from one river basin to another, or gradual depletion of the groundwater aquifer over a large area because of discharge of the effluent through ocean outfalls rather than using it to recharge the aquifer;

(2) If the plan is sufficiently detailed to permit at least partial environmental analysis of most of the treatment works encompassed by it, thus minimizing either the number of impact statements that may have to be written on individual works in the planning area at a later date or reducing the amount of effort that would have to be expended in preparing such statements at a later date.

Notices of intent and impact statements shall be prepared and distributed in accordance with the procedures in Subpart B of this part.

prior to taking action (see Exhibit 4). An environmental impact appraisal supporting the negative declaration shall be prepared for those cases specified in the subparts following Subpart D of this part, as determined by the "responsible official." The appraisal (see Exhibit 5) describes the proposed activity and its effects, and documents the reasons for concluding that there will be no significant impact. This appraisal shall remain with internal records for the activity or action, and shall be available for public inspection.

(b) Specific actions. The following specific actions should be taken on those projects on which both a negative declaration and appraisal were prepared. Circulation of a negative declaration on a project for which no appraisal is required is unnecessary.

(1) Negative declaration. (1) When the review process indicates that there will not be a significant impact, prepare a negative declaration practicable.

as soon as

(ii) The negative declaration shall be distributed in the same fashion as the notice of intent, except that copies shall be sent only when practicable to interested persons.

(iii) Where practicable, submit to the local newspapers and other appropriate media a brief news release (see Exhibit 3) informing the public that an impact statement will not be prepared on a particular project.

(2) Environmental impact appraisal. (1) Have the appraisal available when the negative declaration is distributed.

(ii) Forward a copy to the Headquarters impact statement coordinator for the program office originating the statement. (Not applicable to regional offices.)

(iii) Have copies on file in the originating office for public inspection upon request.

Subpart C-Content of Environmental Impact Statements

the April 23, 1971, Council on Environmental Quality's Guidelines. The format is shown in Exhibit 7.

§ 6.32 Body of statement.

The body of the impact statement shall contain seven sections. Each shall identify, develop, and analyze the pertinent issues. Impact statements shall not be justification documents for proposed Agency funding or actions. Rather, they shall be objective evaluations of actions and their alternatives in light of all environmental considerations. Environmental impact statements shall be prepared using a systematic, interdisciplinary approach. Statements shall incorporate all relevant analytical disciplines and shall provide meaningful and factual data, information, and analyses. The presentation should be simple and concise, yet include all facts necessary to permit independent evaluation and appraisal of the beneficial and adverse environmental effects of alternative actions. To the extent possible, statements shall not be drafted in a style which requires extensive scientific or technical expertise to comprehend and evaluate the environmental impact of an Agency action.

(a) Description of the proposed action. Describe the recommended or proposed action, its purpose, where it is located, its time setting, and its interrelationship with other projects or proposals. To prevent piecemeal decisionmaking, the project shall be described in as broad a context as possible. The relationship to other projects and proposals shall be discussed, including not only other Agency activities, but also those of other Governmental and private organizations. Development and population trends in the project area shall also be included. Maps, photos, and artist sketches should be incorporated where they help depict the environmental setting. If not enclosed, supporting references and documents should be identified. The statement should also indicate how such documents may be obtained.

(b) Environmental impact of the proposed action. (1) Describe the primary and secondary environmental impacts, both beneficial and adverse, anticipated from the action. The scope of the description shall include both short- and longterm impacts. It shall include specifics on the area, the resources involved, physical changes, alterations to ecological systems, and changes induced by the proposed action in population distribution, popula

tion concentration, the human use of land (including commercial and residential development), and other aspects of the resource base such as water and public services. The time frames in which these impacts are anticipated should be included as well.

(2) Remedial, protective, and mitigative measures which will be taken as part of the proposed action shall be identified. These measures to prevent, eliminate, reduce, or compensate for any environmentally detrimental aspect of the proposed action shall include those of the Agency and others, e.g., its contractors and grantees. Adverse impacts which cannot be substantially avoided will be considered in greater detail in the next section.

(c) Adverse impacts which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented. Describe the kinds and magnitudes of adverse impacts which cannot be reduced in severity or which can be reduced to an acceptable level but not eliminated. For those which cannot be reduced, their implications and the reasons why the action is being proposed, notwithstanding their effect, shall be described in detail. Where abatement measures can reduce adverse impacts to acceptable levels, the basis for considering these levels adequate and the effectiveness and costs of the abatement measures shall be specified. In particular, this analysis shall detail the aesthetically or culturally valuable surroundings, human health, standards of living, or environmental goals set forth in section 101(b) of the National Environmental Policy Act which would be sacrificed. Also, it shall describe the parties affected (including any minority communities) and any objections raised by them.

(d) Alternatives to the proposed action. Develop, describe, and objectively weigh alternatives to any proposed action which Involves significant tradeoffs among the uses of available environmental resources. The analysis shall be structured in a manner which allows comparisons of: (1) Environmental and financial cost differences among equally effective alternatives, or (2) differences in effectiveness among equally costly alternatives. Where practicable, benefits and costs should be quantified or described qualitatively in a way which will aid in a more objective judgment of their value. Where such an analysis is prepared, it shall be appended to the statement. The analysis

of different courses of action shall include alternatives capable of substantially reducing or eliminating any adverse impacts, even at the expense of reduced project objectives. The specific alternative of taking no action must always be evaluated. This analysis shall evaluate alternatives in such a manner that reviewers independently can judge their relative desirability. In addition, the reasons why the proposed action is believed by the Agency to be the best course of action shall be explained. On projects that will involve construction, alternative sites must be considered.

(e) Relationship between local shortterm uses of man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of longterm productivity. Describe the cumulative and long-term effects of the proposed action which either significantly reduce or enhance the state of the environment for future generations. In particular, the desirability of Agency actions shall be weighed to guard against shortsighted foreclosure of future options or needs. Special attention shall be given to effects which narrow the range of beneficial uses of the environment or pose long-term risks to health or safety. Those who may financially profit or suffer losses from uses of natural resources that may result from the proposed project (especially land) shall be identified. In addition, the reasons the proposed action is believed by the Agency to be justified now, rather than reserving a long-term option for other alternatives, including no use, shall be explained.

(f) Irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented. Describe the extent to which the proposed action curtails the diversity and range of beneficial uses of the environment. Uses of renewable and nonrenewable resources during the initial and continued phases of the action shall be specified. In this regard, construction and facility uses are basically irreversible since a large commitment of resources makes removal or nonuse thereafter unlikely. Such primary impacts and, particularly, secondary impacts (e.g., opening areas to further development) generally commit future generations to similar uses. Also, irreversible damage can result from environmental accidents associated with the action. Any irretrievable and significant commitments of resources shall be evaluated to assure that such current consumption is justified.