[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 28]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR1500.4]

[Page 466]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
               CHAPTER V--COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
 
PART 1500--PURPOSE, POLICY, AND MANDATE--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1500.4  Reducing paperwork.

    Agencies shall reduce excessive paperwork by:
    (a) Reducing the length of environmental impact statements 
(Sec. 1502.2(c)), by means such as setting appropriate page limits 
(Secs. 1501.7(b)(1) and 1502.7).
    (b) Preparing analytic rather than encyclopedic environmental impact 
statements (Sec. 1502.2(a)).
    (c) Discussing only briefly issues other than significant ones 
(Sec. 1502.2(b)).
    (d) Writing environmental impact statements in plain language 
(Sec. 1502.8).
    (e) Following a clear format for environmental impact statements 
(Sec. 1502.10).
    (f) Emphasizing the portions of the environmental impact statement 
that are useful to decisionmakers and the public (Secs. 1502.14 and 
1502.15) and reducing emphasis on background material (Sec. 1502.16).
    (g) Using the scoping process, not only to identify significant 
environmental issues deserving of study, but also to deemphasize 
insignificant issues, narrowing the scope of the environmental impact 
statement process accordingly (Sec. 1501.7).
    (h) Summarizing the environmental impact statement (Sec. 1502.12) 
and circulating the summary instead of the entire environmental impact 
statement if the latter is unusually long (Sec. 1502.19).
    (i) Using program, policy, or plan environmental impact statements 
and tiering from statements of broad scope to those of narrower scope, 
to eliminate repetitive discussions of the same issues (Secs. 1502.4 and 
1502.20).
    (j) Incorporating by reference (Sec. 1502.21).
    (k) Integrating NEPA requirements with other environmental review 
and consultation requirements (Sec. 1502.25).
    (l) Requiring comments to be as specific as possible (Sec. 1503.3).
    (m) Attaching and circulating only changes to the draft 
environmental impact statement, rather than rewriting and circulating 
the entire statement when changes are minor (Sec. 1503.4(c)).
    (n) Eliminating duplication with State and local procedures, by 
providing for joint preparation (Sec. 1506.2), and with other Federal 
procedures, by providing that an agency may adopt appropriate 
environmental documents prepared by another agency (Sec. 1506.3).
    (o) Combining environmental documents with other documents 
(Sec. 1506.4).
    (p) Using categorical exclusions to define categories of actions 
which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on 
the human environment and which are therefore exempt from requirements 
to prepare an environmental impact statement (Sec. 1508.4).
    (q) Using a finding of no significant impact when an action not 
otherwise excluded will not have a significant effect on the human 
environment and is therefore exempt from requirements to prepare an 
environmental impact statement (Sec. 1508.13).

[43 FR 55990, Nov. 29, 1978; 44 FR 873, Jan. 3, 1979]