Environmental Compliance |
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Integrating National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Compliance Strategies
with Other Strategies
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations require Federal agencies to "Integrate the requirements of NEPA with other planning and environmental review procedures required by law or by agency practice so that all such procedures run concurrently rather than consecutively" (40 CFR• 1500.2), and reduce excessive paperwork by "Integrating NEPA requirements with other environmental review and consultation requirements" (40 CFR • 1500.4(k)) and by "Combining environmental documents with other documents" (40 CFR• 1500.4(o)). CEQ's procedural requirements (including those for integration of compliance strategies) are binding on Federal agencies, "except in cases where compliance would be inconsistent with other statutory requirements" (40 CFR• 1500.3).
To the fullest extent possible, agencies should prepare EIS's concurrently with and integrated with environmental impact analyses, surveys, and studies required by the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.), the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and other environmental review laws and executive orders (40 CFR •1502.25). "Any environmental document in compliance with NEPA may be combined with any other agency document to reduce duplication and paperwork." (40 CFR • 1506.4).
The CEQ also requires agencies to cooperate with State and local agencies, thereby eliminating duplication, through: (1) joint planning processes, (2) joint environmental research and studies, (3) joint public hearings (except where otherwise provided by statute, and (4) joint environmental assessments (EA's) and environmental impact statements (EIS's) (40 CFR • 1506.2). EIS's are required to discuss inconsistencies of proposed actions with any approved State or local plans and laws (whether or not federally sanctioned).
Even separate Federal NEPA compliance strategies may be integrated through " adoption" of documents, another procedure advocated by CEQ (40 CFR • 1506.3). Agencies may adopt either draft EIS's or final EIS's or portions thereof, provided they meet appropriate CEQ standards. If the agency can conclude that the proposed actions are substantially the same and (for cooperating agencies) conclude after an independent review that comments and suggestions have been satisfied, it may adopt the statement as a final statement without recirculating it for comment as a draft.
There can be a multitude of considerations for agencies regarding integration of NEPA compliance strategies with other strategies (Federal and non-Federal). For example, these considerations may be political (coping with conflicting regulations and requirements), economic (keeping costs down and documents concise), or ideological (reconciling different perceptions relative to environmental risk). APHIS' pest and disease control programs have potential to affect endangered and threatened species, and the integration of NEPA and ESA compliance strategies is challenging for the Agency. Refer to the section of this manual titled "Endangered Species Act Compliance--Special Considerations" for greater detail on this process.