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NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Procedures
Thursday, May 28, 1981
AGENCY: Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: This final order revises the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development
Corporation procedures for considering environmental impacts to conform with the
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the
procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, issued November
29, 1978.
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 28, 1981.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
M. Kirkey, Office of the Chief Engineer, Saint Lawrence Seaway Development
Corporation, P.O. Box 520, Massena, N.Y. 13662, (315) 764-3254.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
On November 29, 1978, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published
regulations on the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) (43 FR 55978). The CEQ regulations direct Federal Agencies to adopt
procedures to implement the regulations (40 CFR 1507.3). The Department of
Transportation (DOT) published DOT Order 5610.1C, October 1, 1979, (44 FR
56420), thereby providing implementing procedures for all elements within the
DOT. This order, designated as SLSDC 10-5610.1C, sets forth specific
responsibilities and instructions for Corporation implementation of the CEQ
regulations. These implementing procedures outline only these
Corporation-specific actions needed for compliance with the NEPA process and
must be read in conjunction with the CEQ regulations and DOT Order 5610.1C. This
order is an internal directive.
2. Response to Comment
The proposed Order and request for public comment was published on July 10,
1980. Comments were received from two federal agencies, one state agency, and
one private environmental organization.
3. Principal Comment
Paragraph 6.b., Categorical Exclusions
The provision for categorical exclusion of several routine items caused concern
in that the commenters felt that the excluded activities contained several items
which could constitute major federal actions resulting in significant impacts on
the environment.
As stated in the Corporation's proposed Order, under Supplemental Information,
1. Background, paragraph 2, the proposed Corporation's procedures must be read
in conjunction with the DOT Order 5610.1C and the CEQ Regulations (40 CFR
1500-1508). Both the DOT Order and the CEQ Regulations contain language
requiring that an environmental assessment or an EIS be prepared for any action
which would otherwise be classified as categorically excluded, but which is
likely to involve significant impacts on the environment, or substantial
controversy (40 CFR 1508.4) (DOT 5610.1C, 20.b. 2). However, to further
alleviate this concern, a statement has been added to Paragraph 6.b. (second
sentence), which allows the actions listed under "Categorical Exclusions" to be
performed as part of routine maintenance and construction, while insuring that
should these activities be undertaken as part of a major program, an
environmental assessment or EIS will be prepared. This added statement should
make it very clear that the items listed are not contemplated as part of the
Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway Navigation Season Extension Program. In addition
to the aforementioned clarifying statement, categorically excluded Items 9.
(Icebreaking) and 10. (Maintenance Dredging) have been further defined and
limited.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation commented that a section should be
included in the final regulations concerning compliance with Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act. It is felt that this is adequately covered
in the DOT Order 5610.1C.
In consideration of the foregoing, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development
Corporation Order 10-5610.1C "Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts"
is promulgated to read as appears below.
Issued in Washington, D.C., on April 13, 1981.
David W. Oberlin,
Administrator, Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.
Department of Transportation
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
Order--SLS 10-5610.1C
Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts
1. Purpose. DOT Order 5610.1C establishes procedures for consideration of
environmental impacts in decision making on proposed DOT actions. The Order
provides that information on environmental impacts of proposed actions will be
made available to public officials and citizens through environmental impact
statements, environmental assessments or findings of no significant impact.
These documents serve as the single vehicle for environmental findings and
coordination. These procedures provide guidance for implementation of DOT Order
5610.1C.
2. Cancellation. SLS 10-5610.1B, Procedures for Implementation of DOT
Order 5610.1B, issued March 31, 1975.
3. Background. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued
regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National
Environmental Policy Act on November 29, 1978 (43 FR 55978-56007). The CEQ
regulations apply uniformly and are binding on all Federal agencies and direct
agencies to adopt implementing procedures which relate the CEQ regulations to
the specific needs of each agency's programs and operating procedures.
DOT Order 5610.1C implements NEPA and the CEQ regulations within the Department
of Transportation and replaces Order DOT 5610.1B of 9-30-74. The Order provides
instructions for implementation of relevant environmental laws and executive
orders in addition to NEPA.
DOT Order 5610.1C provides that an operating administration may rely on the
Order as its implementing procedures, with issuance of supplementary guidance
applying the environmental process to the Administration's programs. Therefore,
this notice presents the final SLSDC Order SLS 10-5610.1C, "Procedures for
Considering Environmental Impacts", as guidelines for implementation of NEPA
procedures, under DOT Order 5610.1C, within the Corporation.
4. Definitions. a. The term "Assistant Secretary" means the Assistant
Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, Office of the Secretary, U.S.
Department of Transportation, and his authorized representatives.
b. The term "Corporation" means the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development
Corporation.
c. The term "Chief Engineer" means the Chief, Office of Engineering, Saint
Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and his authorized representatives.
d. The term "General Counsel" means the General Counsel, Saint Lawrence Seaway
Development Corporation.
e. The term "Office Heads" includes the Director, Office of Program Review;
Comptroller; General Counsel; Director, Office of Comprehensive Planning;
Director, Office of Systems & Economic Analysis; Chief Engineer; Director,
Office of Procurement & Supply; Director, Office of Administration; Chief,
Office of Marine Services; Chief, Office of Maintenance and Chief, Office of
Lock Operations, and their authorized representatives, Saint Lawrence Seaway
Development Corporation.
5. Scope. These guidelines provide instructions for implementation of
Section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190,
hereinafter "NEPA") and the Regulations for Implementing NEPA issued by the
Council on Environmental Quality, 11-29-79 (40 CFR 1500-1508); Sections 2(b) and
4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 (49 U.S.C. 1653,
hereinafter "the DOT Act"); Sections 309 and 176 of the Clean Air Act, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966 (Pub. L. 89-665, hereinafter "the Historic Preservation
Act"); Sections 303 and 307 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (Pub. L.
92-583); Section 2 of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (Pub. L. 85-624);
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1533); the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. 1314 et seq.); and
the various Executive Orders relating to environmental impacts.
6. Environmental Processing Choice. a. Environmental Impact Statements.
An EIS shall be prepared for any proposed major Federal action significantly
affecting the environment. (See also: CEQ 1508.27, paragraphs 7 and 10.) Listed
below are types of Corporation actions which normally require the preparation of
an EIS:
1. Legislation. A Legislative EIS will be prepared to accompany a bill or
legislative proposal to Congress, recommended by the Corporation, significantly
affecting the quality of the human environment.
2. Construction Projects (major) involving significant disturbances to earth,
air or water.
b. Categorical Exclusions. The following actions are not major Federal actions
with a significant impact on the environment, and do not require either an
environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. In case of
extraordinary circumstances whereby any of the following items, which are
normally excluded, may have a significant effect on the environment, or cause
substantial controversy, an environmental assessment or EIS will be prepared.
1. Administrative procurements (e.g. general supplies) and contracts for
personal services;
2. Personnel Actions (e.g. promotions, hirings);
3. Project amendments (e.g. increases in costs) which do not significantly alter
the environmental impact of the action;
4. Issuance of vessel passage permits as a matter of routine Seaway procedures;
5. Amendments to the Seaway Regulations;
6. Reconstruction, repair and maintenance of existing navigation aids and
construction of new fixed aids;
7. De-icing equipment and measures at the locks and lock approaches;
8. Modifications to the Saint Lawrence Seaway Tariff of Tolls;
9. Icebreaking: Icebreaking activity is limited to the intermediate pool and
approximately three miles above Eisenhower Lock (vicinity of Metropolitan
Petroleum Co.) and one-*28797 half mile below Snell Lock (training dike area.)
10. Maintenance dredging; In some areas, the river bottom has high spots caused
by silting in from the banks, anchor dragging and/or river current. In these
areas, Maintenance dredging is required to maintain our congressionally mandated
27 ft. waterway. No other dredging will be allowed under this category. Our
maintenance dredging is performed under specific permit conditions approved by
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Army,
Corps of Engineers.
11. Modifications to and maintenance of lock operating equipment, vessel traffic
control equipment, buildings, grounds, floating plant, and existing facilities;
12. Equipment purchases and operating expenses;
13. Grants of leases, licenses, permits or easements for use of
Corporation-owned property.
c. Environmental Assessment. An environmental assessment is a document concisely
describing the need for the proposal, the environmental impacts of a proposed
action, its alternatives and a list of agencies and persons consulted. If a
decision has not been made to prepare an EIS and a proposed action has not been
classified as a categorical exclusion, an environmental assessment shall be
prepared. The assessment will be the basis for the Corporation's determination
to prepare an EIS or to publish a finding of no significant impact (FONSI). (See
CEQ 1508.9)
d. Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). 1. If the environmental assessment
reveals that the proposed action will not have a significant impact on the
environment, a FONSI shall be prepared and attached to the environmental
assessment. The FONSI will not be coordinated outside the Corporation, except as
set forth in Paragraph (2) below. Notice of availability will be provided to the
public in accordance with CEQ 1506.6.
2. If the proposed action is similar to one which normally requires and EIS, the
nature of the action is one without precedent, or the action is likely to have
more than minimal impact on properties protected by Section 4 (f) and Section
106 of the Historic Preservation Act or is inconsistent with any Federal, State
or local law or administrative determination relating to the environment, a copy
of the environmental assessment shall be provided to the Assistant Secretary for
Policy and International Affairs (Assistant Secretary), and the documents made
available to the public (including state and areawide clearing houses) for a
period of 30 days before the FONSI is made and the action is implemented.
Consultation with other Federal agencies as suggested in DOT 5610.1C shall be
accomplished during the 30-day period.
7. Corporation Decision Making Procedures. a. All Office Heads shall
forward a description of proposed major programs or actions to the Chief
Engineer for review at the time of initial technical studies.
b. All such proposed programs received by the Chief Engineer will be reviewed
and a determination made, under these procedures, as to whether the program is
one which (1) normally requires an EIS or (2) normally does not require an EIS
or an environmental assessment (categorical exclusion). If the action is not
covered by either of the foregoing, the Chief Engineer shall prepare an
environmental assessment within 30 days of receipt of the document.
8. Preparation and Processing of Draft Environmental Statements. a.
Responsibility. The Chief Engineer is responsible for the preparation and
processing of Draft Environmental Impact Statements. Professional services for
this preparation may be obtained from other Federal, State, or local agencies,
universities, or consulting firms; however, the Chief Engineer must review and
evaluate the documents. The Corporation's General Counsel shall review all
Corporation environmental statements for legal sufficiency.
b. Timing. The Chief Engineer shall commence preparation of the draft EIS at the
earliest practical time after receipt of notification of the proposed action and
determination that the action will significantly affect the quality of the human
environment. As soon as a decision to prepare a draft EIS has been made, the
Chief Engineer shall undertake the scoping process identified in CEQ 1501.7. For
construction projects directly undertaken by the Corporation, the EIS shall be
prepared at the feasibility stage, and supplemented at a later date, if
necessary.
c. Preparation of Draft. The Corporation will follow the Format and Content
shown as Attachment 2 to DOT Order 5610.1C. See also CEQ Part 1502.
d. Inviting Comments on the Draft EIS. The Chief Engineer shall circulate the
draft EIS for comment to (1) all Federal agencies which have jurisdiction by law
or special expertise with respect to the environmental impact involved; (2)
interested parties; (3) EPA Office of Federal Activities, and (4) the Assistant
Secretary.
9. Ensuring Environmental Documents are Actually Considered in Agency
Decision Making. Section 1505.1 of the NEPA regulations contains
requirements to ensure adequate consideration of environmental documents in
agency decision making. To implement these requirements, Corporation officials
shall:
1. Consider all relevant environmental documents in evaluating proposals for
agency action;
2. Make all relevant environmental documents, comments and responses part of the
record in formal rule making or adjudicatory proceedings;
3. Ensure that all relevant environmental documents, comments and responses
accompany the proposal through existing agency review processes;
4. Consider only those alternatives encompassed by the range of alternatives
discussed in the relevant environmental documents when evaluating proposals for
agency action;
5. Where an EIS has been prepared, consider the specific alternatives analyzed
in the EIS when evaluating the proposal which is the subject of the EIS.
For each of the Corporation's principal programs, the following chart identifies
the point at which the NEPA process begins, the point at which it ends, and the
key agency officials or offices required to consider environmental documents in
their decision making.
Principal Program | Start of NEPA process | Completion of NEPA process | Key officials or offices required to consider environmental documents |
Construction Projects (major, involving
sig. disturbances to earth, air or |
When description of proposed project is received. | At the time the Project is approved or denied. |
Chief Engineer, General Counsel. |
Mitigation measures identified in the EIS will be included in
the construction contract with requirement for compliance by the Contractor.
This requirement shall be monitored and enforced by the Project Officer for the
project.
10. Citizen Involvement. As soon as the Chief Engineer decides that an
Environmental Statement is to be prepared, the Chief Engineer shall solicit
citizen comments by any or all of the following means: conducting hearings,
making personal contact with interested parties, issuing press releases, placing
notices in newspapers, and publishing a notice of intent in the Federal
Register. The Chief Engineer shall develop lists of interested parties at the
national, state and local levels. Citizen involvement and environmental issues
raised in the public commenting process will be documented in the environmental
statement. The Chief Engineer shall determine whether a public hearing is
required and shall consider the following factors in making this determination:
the magnitude of the costs, environmental impact, degree of interest evidenced
by the public, the complexity of the issue and the extent to which public
involvement has been achieved through other means. If a public hearing is to be
held, the Office of the Chief Engineer shall make the draft EIS or environmental
assessment available to the public at least 30 days prior to the hearing.
Interested persons may obtain information on Corporation environmental
procedures and on the status of EISs issued by the Corporation from the Office
of the Chief Engineer, Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, P.O. Box
520, Massena, New York 13662, telephone 315-764-3254.
11. Final Environmental Impact Statement. a. Preparation. The draft
statement shall be revised as appropriate, reflecting comments received, issues
raised, preferred alternatives, and measures to mitigate adverse impacts. The
final statement shall reflect consultation and efforts made to resolve issues
raised, including an explanation of why any remaining issues have not been
resolved.
b. Legal Review. All Corporation final environmental statements shall be
reviewed for legal sufficiency by the Corporation's General Counsel or his
designee. The legal review should be completed within 30 days after receipt of
the statement. When the review is complete, the General Counsel will return the
statement to the Office of the Chief Engineer for final processing, as outlined
in paragraph d. below.
c. Internal Processing. Final environmental impact statements may be approved by
the Administrator or a designee originating the action, but only after
concurrence of the Assistant Secretary. The Assistant Secretary after review of
a draft EIS for a proposed action may decide that the final EIS may be processed
without prior concurrence. (See DOT 5610.1C, para. 11. d. (6)). Concurrence of
both the Assistant Secretary and the DOT General Counsel is required for actions
which involve a 4(f) determination.
d. Final Processing. Two copies of final environmental statements, together with
all comments received on the draft from responsible Federal, State and local
agencies and private organizations shall be submitted to the Assistant
Secretary, by the Chief Engineer, for concurrence. The final statement may be
deemed to be concurred in by the Assistant Secretary unless, within two weeks
after its receipt, the Assistant Secretary notifies the Chief Engineer to the
contrary or requests an extension of the review period or unless it is a
statement including a section 4(f) determination. Final statements for actions
with section 4(f) involvement may be deemed concurred in by the Assistant
Secretary and the DOT General Counsel after 30 days, unless the Assistant
Secretary notifies the Chief Engineer to the contrary or requests an extension
of the review period.
e. Availability pending approval. Proposed final statements, with a notation
that the statement is not approved and filed, should be made available to the
public and Federal, State or local agencies prior to final approval and filing
with EPA.
f. Availability of Statements to EPA and the Public. After approval, copies of
final statements shall be transmitted to EPA and commenting agencies and made
available to the public as described in DOT 5610.1C, h. and CEQ 1506.9.
g. Record of Decision. The Office of the Chief Engineer shall prepare a draft
record of decision which shall accompany the proposed final EIS through the
approval process (See DOT 5610.1C, paragraph 11.i, and CEQ 1502.2.)
12. Proposals for Legislation. An EIS shall be prepared for any
Corporation originated legislative proposal or when the Corporation develops the
Departmental position on the report on proposed legislation for which DOT is
primarily responsible. (See DOT 5610.1C, paragraph 15).
13. Timing of Corporation Actions. No decision shall be made on a
proposed action sooner than the later of the following dates:
a. Thirty (30) days after a final EIS covering the action has been submitted to
EPA, as measured from the date the EPA publishes a notice of the final EIS's
availability in the Federal Register; or
b. Ninety (90) days after a draft EIS has been made available to the public, as
measured from the date the EPA publishes a notice of the draft EIS's
availability in the Federal Register.
When Corporation officials believe it is necessary to shorten the prescribed
time periods for EIS processing, consultation with EPA through the Assistant
Secretary is required.
Where emergency circumstances make it necessary to take on action with
significant environmental impacts without observing the provisions of this
Order, DOT 5610.1C and the CEQ requlations, the Chief Engineer shall consult
with CEQ through the Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 81-15893 Filed 5-27-81; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-61-M
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