[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 40, Volume 1] [Revised as of July 1, 2004] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 40CFR6.510] [Page 108-109] TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY PART 6_PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE COUNCIL ON Subpart E_Environmental Review Procedures for Wastewater Treatment Construction Grants Program Sec. 6.510 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) preparation. (a) Steps in preparing EISs. In addition to the requirements specified in subparts A, B, C, and D of this part, the responsible official will conduct the following activities: (1) Notice of intent. If a determination is made that an EIS will be required, the responsible official shall prepare and distribute a notice of intent as required in Sec. 6.105(e) of this part. (2) Scoping. As soon as possible, after the publication of the notice of intent, the responsible official will convene a meeting of affected Federal, State and local agencies, or affected Indian tribes, the grantee and other interested parties to determine the scope of the EIS. A notice of this scoping meeting must be made in accordance with Sec. 6.400(a) and 40 CFR 1506.6(b). As part of the scoping meeting EPA, in cooperation with any delegated State, will as a minimum: [[Page 109]] (i) Determine the significance of issues for and the scope of those significant issues to be analyzed in depth, in the EIS; (ii) Identify the preliminary range of alternatives to be considered; (iii) Identify potential cooperating agencies and determine the information or analyses that may be needed from cooperating agencies or other parties; (iv) Discuss the method for EIS preparation and the public participation strategy; (v) Identify consultation requirements of other environmental laws, in accordance with subpart C; and (vi) Determine the relationship between the EIS and the completion of the facilities plan and any necessary coordination arrangements between the preparers of both documents. (3) Identifying and evaluating alternatives. Immediately following the scoping process, the responsible official shall commence the identification and evaluation of all potentially viable alternatives to adequately address the range of issues identified in the scoping process. Additional issues may be addressed, or others eliminated, during this process and the reasons documented as part of the EIS. (b) Methods for preparing EISs. After EPA determines the need for an EIS, it shall select one of the following methods for its preparation: (1) Directly by EPA's own staff; (2) By EPA contracting directly with a qualified consulting firm; (3) By utilizing a third party method, whereby the responsible official enters into ``third party agreements'' for the applicant to engage and pay for the services of a third party contractor to prepare the EIS. Such agreement shall not be initiated unless both the applicant and the responsible official agree to its creation. A third party agreement will be established prior to the applicant's EID and eliminate the need for that document. In proceeding under the third party agreement, the responsible official shall carry out the following practices: (i) In consultation with the applicant, choose the third party contractor and manage that contract; (ii) Select the consultant based on ability and an absence of conflict of interest. Third party contractors will be required to execute a disclosure statement prepared by the responsible official signifying they have no financial or other conflicting interest in the outcome of the project; and (iii) Specify the information to be developed and supervise the gathering, analysis and presentation of the information. The responsible official shall have sole authority for approval and modification of the statements, analyses, and conclusions included in the third party EIS; or (4) By utilizing a joint EPA/State process on projects within States which have requirements and procedures comparable to NEPA, whereby the EPA and the State agree to prepare a single EIS document to fulfill both Federal and State requirements. Both EPA and the State shall sign a Memorandum of Agreement which includes the responsibilities and procedures to be used by both parties for the preparation of the EIS as provided for in 40 CFR 1506.2(c).