Department of the Interior
Departmental Manual
Effective Date: 5/27/04
Series: Environmental Quality Programs
Part 516: National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
Chapter 3: Environmental Assessments
Originating Office: Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance
516 DM 3
3.1 Purpose. This Chapter provides supplementary instructions for implementing those portions of the CEQ Regulations pertaining to Environmental Assessment (EA).
3.2 When to Prepare (40 CFR 1501.3).
A. An EA will be prepared for all actions, except those covered by a categorical exclusion, those covered sufficiently by an earlier environmental document, or those actions for which a decision has already been made to prepare an EIS. The purpose of an EA is to allow the responsible official to determine whether to prepare an EIS or a FONSI.
B. In addition, an EA may be prepared on any action at any time in order to assist in planning and decision making, to aid an agency’s compliance with NEPA when no EIS is necessary, or to facilitate EIS preparation.
3.3 Public Involvement.
A. The public must be provided notice of the availability of EAs (40 CFR 1506.6).
B. Where appropriate, bureaus and offices, when conducting the EA process, shall provide the opportunity for public participation and shall consider the public comments on the pending plan or program.
C. The scoping process may be applied to an EA (40 CFR 1501.7).
3.4 Content.
A. At a minimum, an EA will include brief discussions of the proposal, the need for the proposal, alternatives [as required by Section 102(2)(E) of NEPA], the environmental impacts of the proposed action and such alternatives, and a listing of agencies and persons consulted [1508.9(b)].
B. In addition, an EA may describe a broader range of alternatives and proposed mitigation measures to facilitate planning and decision making.
C. The level of detail and depth of impact analysis should normally be limited to the minimum needed to determine whether there would be significant environmental effects.
D. An EA will contain objective analyses that support its environmental impact conclusions. It will not conclude whether an EIS will be prepared. This conclusion will be made upon review of the EA by the responsible bureau official and documented in either a NOI or a FONSI.
E. Previous NEPA analyses should be used in a tiered analysis or transferred and used in a subsequent analysis to enhance the content of an EA whenever possible.
3.5 Format.
A. An EA may be prepared in any format useful to facilitate planning, decision making, and appropriate public participation.
B. An EA may be combined with any other planning or decision making document; however, that portion which analyzes the environmental impacts of the proposal and alternatives will be clearly and separately identified and not spread throughout or interwoven into other sections of the document.
3.6 Adoption.
A. An EA prepared for a proposal before the Department by another agency, entity, or person, including an applicant, may be adopted if, upon independent evaluation by the responsible official, it is found to comply with this Chapter and relevant provisions of the CEQ Regulations.
B. When appropriate and efficient, a responsible official may augment such an EA when it is essentially, but not entirely, in compliance, in order to make it so.
C. If such an EA is adopted or augmented, responsible officials must prepare their own NOI or FONSI that acknowledges the origin of the EA and takes full responsibility for its scope and content.
D. Adoption or augmentation of an EA shall receive the same public participation that the EA would have received if it had originated with the adopting or augmenting bureau or office.