report to (Name and Address of Federal Agency) as soon as possible after September 30, but NOT LATER THAN NOVEMBER 15 of the year in which the report is due.

4. How to report relocation payments. The full amount of a relocation payment shall be reported as if disbursed in the year during which the payment was approved, regardless of whether the payment is to be paid in installments.

5. How to report dollar amounts. Round off all money entries in Parts B and C to the nearest dollar.

6. Statutory references. The references in parentheses in Part B indicate the section of the Uniform Act that authorizes the cost.

Part A. Persons Displaced

Report in Part A the number of persons (“households,” “businesses, including nonprofit organizations," and "farms") who were permanently displaced during the report year by project or program activities and moved to their replacement dwelling or location. This includes businesses, nonprofit organizations and farms which, upon displacement, discontinued operations. The category "households" includes all families and individuals. A family shall be reported as "one" household, not by the number of people in the family unit. Persons shall be reported according to their status as "owners" or "tenants” of the property from which displaced.

Part B. Relocation Payments and Expenses

Columns (a) or (b). Report in Column (a) the number of claims approved during the report year. Report in Column (b) the total amount represented by the claims reported in Column (a).

Line 10b, Column (b). Report in Column (b) the amount of increased mortgage interest costs that was included in the total amount approved for Replacement Housing Payments for Homeowners on Line 10a, Column (b). Leave Line 10b, Column (a) blank.

Line 13. Report in Column (a) the number of households displaced by project or program activities which were provided assistance in accordance with section 206(a) of

the Uniform Act. Report in Column (b) the total financial assistance under section 206(a) allocable to the households reported in Column (a). (If a household received financial assistance under section 203 or section 204 as well as under section 206(a) of the Uniform Act, report the household as a claim in Column (a), but in Column (b) report only the amount of financial assistance allocable to section 206(a). For example, if a tenant-household receives a payment of $5,000 to rent a replacement dwelling, the sum of $4,000 shall be included on Line 11, Column (b), and $1,000 shall be included on Line 13, Column (b).)

Line 14. Report on Line 14 all administrative costs incurred during the report year in connection with providing relocation advisory assistance and services under section 205 of the Uniform Act.

Part C. Real Property Acquisition Subject to Uniform Act

Line 16, Columns (a) and (b). Report in Column (a) all parcels acquired during the report year where title or possession was vested in the acquiring agency during the reporting period. (Include parcels acquired without Federal financial assistance, if there was or will be Federal financial assistance in other phases of the project or program.) Report in Column (b) the total of the amounts paid, deposited in court, or otherwise made available to a property owner pursuant to applicable law in order to vest title or possession in the acquiring agency.

Line 17. Report on Line 17 the number of parcels reported on Line 16 that were acquired by condemnation where price disagreement was involved. Leave Line 17, Column b), blank.

Part D. Relocation Appeals Filed During Report Year

Line 18. Report on Line 18 the total number of relocation appeals filed during the report year by a person alleging the Agency failed to properly determine the person's eligibility for, or the amount of, a relocation payment required under these regulations.

§ 26.1 Reissuance and purpose.

The purpose of these rules is to implement the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations (National Environmental Policy Act Regulations, 40 CFR Parts 1500 through 1508) and to provide policy and procedures for Veterans Administration (VA) officials to be informed of, and to take into account, environmental considerations when authorizing or approving VA actions that effect the environment in the United States. The Council on Environmental Quality Regulations implement the procedural provisions, section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (Pub. L. 91-190, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and Executive Order 11514, as amended (35 FR 4247 [1970]), amended by Executive Order 11991, (42 FR 26967 [1977]).

Department of Memorial Affairs, and Department of Veterans Benefits.

(c) Other terms used in this part are defined in Part 1508 of the CEQ Regulations.

§ 26.4 Policy.

(a) The Veterans Administration must act with care in carrying out its mission of providing services for veterans to assure that it does so by complying with national environmental policies. Care must be taken to assure that all practical means and measures are used to protect, to restore, and to enhance the quality of the environment; to avoid or to minimize adverse environmental consequences, consistent with other consideration of national policy; and to attain the following objectives:

(1) Achieving the fullest possible use of the environment without degradation, or undesirable and unintended consequences.

(2) Preserving important historical, cultural, and natural aspects of our national heritage, and maintaining, where possible, an environment that supports diversity and variety of individual choice.

(3) Achieving a balance between resource use and development within the sustained carrying capacity of the ecological system involved.

(4) Enhancing the quality of renewable resources and working toward the maximum attainable recycling of depletable resources.

(b) The Veterans Administration and VA Components shall:

(1) Assess environmental consequences of VA actions that affect the environment in accordance with CEQ Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act.

(2) Use a systematic, interdisciplinary approach to assure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences, and environmental considerations, in making plans and decisions with a potential for environmental impact.

(3) Assure that presently unmeasured environmental amenities are considered during the decision-making process.

(4) Consider reasonable alternatives for a course of action in any proposal that involves conflicts concerning alternative uses of resources.

(5) Make available to states, counties, municipalities, institutions, and individuals any advice and information useful in restoring, maintaining, and enhancing the quality of the environment.

§ 26.5 Responsibilities.

(a) The Assistant Deputy Administrator (Director, Office of Environmental Affairs) shall:

(1) Function as the responsible official for all VA environmental matters. (2) Modify or supplement the enclosures of this part, as required.

(3) Provide assistance in the preparation of environmental assessments and statements and assign lead Component responsibility in preparing environmental documentation, when more than one VA Component is involved.

(4) Direct the preparation of environmental documents.

(5) Provide appropriate, consolidated VA comments requested by other Federal agencies on draft and final environmental impact statements.

(6) Review actions of the VA that have environmental implications.

(7) Maintain liaison with the Council on Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Management and Budget, other Federal agencies, and State and local groups, concerning environmental analyses for VA actions affecting the environment.

(b) The General Counsel, VA, shall provide advice and assistance in meeting the requirements of this part.

(c) The heads of the VA Components shall:

(1) Assess environmental consequences of proposed and continuing programs and actions within their respective VA Component.

(2) Prepare and process environmental documents as required by this part. (3) Integrate environmental considerations into their decisionmaking process.

(4) Assure that regulations and other major policy statements are re

viewed for consistency with the requirements of this part.

(5) Provide comments on environmental impact statements for actions within their area of knowledge or concern.

(6) Designate a single point of contact for environmental issues.

ENCLOSURE 1-VA IMPLEMENTING PROCEDURES

A. General.

1. Part 1507.3 of the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (National Environmental Policy Act Regulations, 40 CFR Parts 1500 through 1508) directs all Federal agencies to adopt procedures to implement the CEQ Regulations. This enclosure provides detailed VA implementing procedures to supplement the CEQ Regulations.

2. Provisions of this part must be read together with those of the CEQ Regulations and the Act as a whole when applying the NEPA process.

3. This enclosure is organized sequentially from early planning to the final implementation of a VA action. Section references throughout this enclosure refer to appropriate sections in the CEQ Regulations. B. Planning Consideration.

1. Early Planning. VA Components shall integrate the NEPA process with other planning activities at the earliest possible time to assure that planning and decisions reflect environmental values, to avoid delays later in the process, and to avoid potential conflicts.

2. Lead Agency. To determine the lead VA Component or other lead Federal or State agency for actions when more than one VA Component or another Federal agency is involved, VA Components shall apply the criteria defined in §§ 1501.5 and 1501.6 and forward a request for lead agency determination to the Assistant Deputy Administrator (Office of Environmental Affairs).

a. The Assistant Deputy Administrator (Office of Environmental Affairs) will determine lead agency responsibility among VA Components.

b. In environmental issues involving a VA Component and another Federal agency, the Assistant Deputy Administrator (Office of Environmental Affairs) will seek to resolve the differences. If this is not possible, the Assistant Deputy Administrator (Office of Environmental Affairs) will file a request for determination with the Council on Environmental Quality.

reasonably foreseeable actions involve applications to a VA Component by private persons or State and local agencies and pertain primarily to permits, leases, and requests for financial assistance and grants, and related actions involving the use of VA land and property.

a. The following actions are initiated by private persons, State or local agencies, and other non-VA groups for which VA involvement may be reasonably foreseeable:

(1) Easements and right-of-ways on VA land.

(2) Petroleum, grazing and timber leases. (3) Permits, licenses, use agreements or other grants of real property for use by nonVA groups.

(4) Application for subdivision approval from Home Loan Guaranty Program.

(5) Application for grants-in-aid for acquisition, construction, expansion or improvement of State veterans' health care facilities and cemeteries.

b. Public notices or other means used to inform or solicit applicants for permits, leases, or related actions will describe the studies or information foreseeably required for later action by VA Components, and will advise of the assistance available to applicants by the VA Component.

c. When VA owned land is leased or otherwise provided to non-VA groups, the VA Component will initiate the NEPA process as early as possible and assure that appropriate consideration is given to environmental conservation factors such as waste disposal, necessary mitigation and long term restoration measures.

d. When VA grant funds are requested by a State agency, the VA Component will, in cooperation with the State, A-95 Clearinghouse, initiate the NEPA process as early as possible, to assure full compliance with environmental and other State and local regulations, before the proposed action is approved.

4. Determination of Requirement for EIS. Determining whether to prepare an environmental impact statement is the first step in applying the NEPA process. Early VA determination will assure that necessary environmental documentation is prepared and integrated within the decision-making process. In deciding whether to prepare an environmental impact statement, a VA Component will determine whether the proposal is one that:

a. Normally requires an environmental impact statement.

b. Normally does not require either an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment (categorical exclusion).

c. Normally requires an environmental assessment, but not necessarily an environmental impact statement.

5. Actions That Normally Require an EIS. VA Components shall perform an environmental assessment to determine if a proposal requires an environmental impact statement. However, it may be readily apparent that a proposed action will have a significant impact on the environment; in such cases, an environmental assessment is not required and the VA Component will immediately begin to prepare the environmental impact statement. To assist in determining if an action normally requires the preparation of an environmental impact statement, the following criteria and categories of action are provided:

a. Criteria. Criteria used to determine categories of action that normally require an environmental impact statement are described in § 1508.27 and include:

(1) Potential for significant degradation of environmental quality, including historic or cultural resources, park lands, prime farmlands, wetlands, or ecologically critical

areas.

(2) Significant alteration of VA owned or leased real estate except properties acquired under the home loan guaranty program (Chapter 37, Title 38 U.S.C.).

(3) Potential for threat or hazard to the public, or involving highly uncertain risks to the human environment.

(4) Potential for loss or destruction of significant scientific, cultural or historic resources.

(5) Potential for conflict with Federal, state or local environmental protection laws or requirements.

(6) Similarity to previous actions that required an environmental impact statement. b. Categories of Action. The following categories of action normally require an environmental impact statement:

(1) Construction of major VA facilities.

(2) Major land acquisition, disposal, development of a VA facility or other action that significantly changes land use patterns.

(3) Subdivision approval in connection with the Home Loan Guaranty Program with a flexible threshold determination, as set forth below in TABLE 1, for over 500 housing units within a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA), as a SMSA is defined by the Bureau of the Census.