U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

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Fact Sheet 

Fact Sheet on Environmental Assessment for the 
Methamphetamine Initiative 

Clandestine drug laboratories are used in 
the illicit production of illegal drugs, 
most often methamphetamine. The 
Methamphetamine Initiative of the 
Department of Justice Office of Community 
Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) 
provides federal grant funding to state, local, 
and tribal law enforcement agencies to assist 
in the eradication of clandestine laboratories, 
including the seizure of such laboratories and 
the removal, storage, and disposal of 
hazardous chemical materials, equipment, and 
other waste products retrieved from laboratory 
sites. 

Such federally-funded activities may, under 
some circumstances, fall under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq. NEPA establishes a national goal 
of protecting the environment and applies 
certain requirements to federal assistance that 
may have a significant impact on the quality 
of the human environment. It is the policy of 
the COPS Office to minimize environmental 
harm that may occur due to federally-funded 
activities. 

As a result, the COPS Office, in accordance 
with NEPA, completed its most recent 
Environmental Assessment in 2003 for the 
Methamphetamine Initiative. The 2003 
Environmental Assessment covers the use of 
federal funds for the following grant-funded 
activities: training of law enforcement officers 
in methamphetamine-related issues; salaries 
and benefits of law enforcement personnel; 
purchase of approved equipment and supplies; 
interdiction of and removal of laboratories, 
finished products, precursor chemicals, and 
hazardous materials resulting from the 
production of methamphetamine; proper 
transportation, storage, and disposal of 
finished products, precursor chemicals, and 
hazardous materials retrieved from the 
laboratories; and/or preventive efforts to 
reduce the spread of the production and use of 
methamphetamine. 

The Environmental Assessment evaluated the 
environmental impacts related to activities 
funded under the Methamphetamine Initiative 
and identified a variety of possible risks to the 
human environment as a result of the illicit 
production of methamphetamine. The 
Environmental Assessment determined that 
any potential risks to the human environment 
that may result from activities funded under 
the Methamphetamine Initiative were 
mitigated by the risks associated with the 
illicit production of methamphetamine and the 
producers' improper storage and disposal of 
associated hazardous chemicals that would 
result in the absence of this initiative. This 
mitigation is based upon grant recipients 
certifying, as a condition of the grant, that 
they will adhere to all applicable federal, 
state, and local health and safety laws and 
regulations that apply to the seizure and 
closure of clandestine laboratories. Such 
federal laws and regulations include, but are 
not limited to: the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency's (EPA) Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); the 
EPA's Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA); the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration's (OSHA) 
Occupational Safety and Health Act; and U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT) 
regulations governing the labeling and 
transportation of hazardous chemical 
materials and waste, 49 C.F.R. Part 100 et 
seq. and Parts 350-399. Based upon grant 
recipients' adherence to the grant condition, 
the COPS Office determined that the 
Methamphetamine Initiative would not 
constitute a major federal action significantly 
affecting the human environment and issued a 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for 
this grant program. 


The 2003 Environmental Assessment is 
current and accurate because the underlying 
science on which it was based has not 
changed. Therefore, the COPS Office 
adopted the 2003 Environmental Assessment 
and FONSI for the 2004 Methamphetamine 
Initiative. The COPS Office concludes that 
the 2004 Methamphetamine Initiative will not 
constitute a major federal action significantly 
affecting the environment. 

Accordingly, all recipients of federal funding 
for methamphetamine-related activities must 
abide by the 2003 Environmental Assessment 
and certify that they have received and 
reviewed a copy of the Environmental 
Assessment. To obtain a copy of the 
certifying requirement and the Environmental 
Assessment, visit COPS Online at 
www.cops.usdoj.gov. 

Created July 12, 2004 
e07042409