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Regulations and Assessments

USDA - APHIS - Regulations and Assessments

Environmental Compliance
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Public Involvement in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Process

An agency must invite public involvement in all of its regulatory and program proposals to which NEPA applies, including preparation and implementation of an agency's NEPA procedures. The "public" consists of affected Federal, State, and local agencies, any affected Indian tribe, the proponent of an action, and other interested persons (40 CFR • 1503.1). Public involvement is facilitated through the notice of NEPA-related public hearings, meetings, and environmental documents, and through the review of and response to an agency's NEPA environmental documents (40 CFR• 1506.6). An agency's repeated failure to reach the interested or affected public would be interpreted as a violation of the NEPA regulations (Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ's) 40 Questions).

(1) Environmental Assessments and Related Documents

Environmental Assessments

Public involvement in the development of an environmental assessment (EA) is not required. However, the public must be informed of a completed EA. The extent of the public notice depends on the scope of the EA.

Notice of Availability

A Notice of Availability (NOA) for an EA of national importance must be published in the Federal Register, and all reasonable efforts must be made to reach the interested or affected public The NOA for an EA of national concern should also be mailed to national organizations reasonably expected to be interested in the matter. The NOA for an EA of local concern must be published in local newspapers or other local media. Other methods for notifying the public are recommended in CEQ's NEPA implementing regulations (40 CFR• 1506.6).

Finding of No Significant Impact

A "finding of no significant impact" (FONSI) is an environmental document in which an Agency briefly explains that an action will not have a significant effect on the human environment and, therefore, why an EIS will not be prepared. A FONSI must include the reasons for deciding that the action will not have significant environmental effects, and, if relevant, the factors weighted most heavily in the determination. The FONSI must also include, summarize, or attach and incorporate by reference the EA (40 CFR • 1508.13). A FONSI must be publicized in one of the manners stated in 40 CFR • 1506.6.

(2) Environmental Impact Statements and Related Documents

Environmental Impact Statements

Public involvement is required during the development of an EIS, from the scoping process to the completion of the draft. In addition, the public may comment on final EIS's, including the filing of an appeal for agencies whose NEPA implementing procedures provide for this process (this does not apply to APHIS).

Scoping and Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS

Through publication of a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register and the news media, an agency informs the public and relevant government agencies of its decision to prepare an EIS and invites their participation in the EIS's scoping process. The NOI must be advertised at least 15 days before the planned date of the hearing or meeting.

The purpose of scoping responses and comments is to allow the public to provide sufficient information for the agency to rigorously explore and objectively evaluate any reasonable alternatives that were not considered initially.

The NOI invites the public's participation, describes the proposed action and possible alternatives, describes the agency's proposed scoping process, including if, when, and where any scoping meeting will be held; and gives the name and address of a contact person in the agency who can answer questions about the proposed action and EIS (40 CFR • 1508.22). The length of the public scoping period is stated in the NOI and begins on the date the NOI is published in the Federal Register. The agency reviews and considers the public comments in the development of the EIS, and must address the public's concerns in the EIS (40 CFR • 1503.4).

Draft EIS

After preparing a draft EIS and before preparing a final EIS, an agency must inform the public of the draft's availability and request comments on it (40 CFR  1503.1). The agency ensures that the draft EIS is mailed to the public (those on the distribution list of the EIS) and files the draft EIS (five copies) with the EPA, certifying that the draft EIS has been mailed to the public. The EPA publishes an NOA in the Federal Register requesting public review and comment. APHIS publishes a separate NOA in the Federal Register which provides more details.

APHIS files its NOA with the Office of the Federal Register to coincide with the publication date of EPA's NOA. The comment period, which is stated within the NOA, must allow a minimum of 45 days for public comment; the comment period begins on the date that EPA's notice of the draft EIS is published in the Federal Register.

Final EIS

When a final EIS is printed and mailed to the public, the Agency files five copies with EPA and certifies to EPA that the final EIS has been mailed to the public. APHIS ensures concurrent publishing of its detailed NOA in the Federal Register with EPA's NOA.

Record of Decision

An EIS is supposed to provide information to the decisionmaker before a decision, known as the Record of Decision (ROD), is made on the agency's proposal. An agency must wait at least 30 days from the date the NOA is published on the final EIS to make a decision, unless the agency provides an internal formal appeal process. Public notification of the ROD is required (40 CFR • 1506.6); however, there is no requirement to publish the ROD in the Federal Register, although this can be done and is recommended in controversial matters.

Table 1. Publication Requirements.


Type of Environmental Document


Federal Register , Other, Public Notice* , Public Involvement

Required EA, FONSI, NOI (for EIS), Draft EIS, Final EIS, ROD 40 CFR • 1506.6(b)(3)


**EA's of a national concern must be published in the Federal Register (40 CFR • 1506.6(b)(2).

(3) Additional Agency Responsibilities

Clearance of Public Notices and Press Releases

Public notice can be achieved through the Federal Register, the media, and in a multitude of other methods as indicated in 40 CFR• 1506.6. In APHIS, the Regulatory Analysis and Development Staff (RADS), Policy and Program Development (PPD) coordinates the preparation and clearance of Federal Register notices. EAD or the program office handling completion of the environmental document is responsible for notifying RADS of the need for publication in the Federal Register. A Regulatory Work Plan for initiating public notices can be obtained from RADS. RADS oversees clearance of a notice through the program and project staffs, Office of the General Counsel, Office of the Administrator, and the Assistant Secretary's office to the Office of the Federal Register.

Media Services, Legislative and Public Affairs handles preparation and clearance of press releases when there is a need for publishing notices through local or national media.

Agency Mailing Lists

RADS handles APHIS' data base mail lists that are used for mailing notices to involved organizations and interested persons. The data base provides a basis for starting and customizing subject-related mail lists through RADS. The mailing list is included in an EIS because it is part of the recommended format for an EIS (40 CFR• 1502.10).

EIS and Administrative Records

During the preparation of an EIS, relevant information must be maintained as the EIS record because of the potential for a lawsuit under the Administrative Procedure Act (as to an agency's adherance to procedural requirements and reasonable decisionmaking based on the detailed information obtained using the procedures). Information that should be held includes supportive environmental documents (such as risk assessments, biological assessments, and monitoring plans) and public comments received (from scoping through the final EIS) on an environmental document. The documents that are maintained as the "administrative record" constitute the official records of the EIS project and are subject to disclosure proceedings in the event of a lawsuit. The following information should be maintained in the administrative record for an EIS:

  • Internal and External Correspondence
  • Public Involvement (scoping and draft EIS comments; Federal Register notices of intent and availability)
  • Supporting Environmental Documents
  • Resource References and Reports
  • Maps and Other Visuals
  • Data and Inventories
  • NEPA Documents
  • Decision Documents
Last Modified: February 1, 2007