[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: 40CFR1501.7]

[Page 470-471]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
               CHAPTER V--COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
 
PART 1501--NEPA AND AGENCY PLANNING--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1501.7  Scoping.

    There shall be an early and open process for determining the scope 
of issues to be addressed and for identifying the significant issues 
related to a proposed action. This process shall be termed scoping. As 
soon as practicable after its decision to prepare an environmental 
impact statement and before the scoping process the lead agency shall 
publish a notice of intent (Sec. 1508.22) in the Federal Register except 
as provided in Sec. 1507.3(e).
    (a) As part of the scoping process the lead agency shall:
    (1) Invite the participation of affected Federal, State, and local 
agencies, any affected Indian tribe, the proponent of the action, and 
other interested persons (including those who might not be in accord 
with the action on environmental grounds), unless there is a limited 
exception under Sec. 1507.3(c). An agency may give notice in accordance 
with Sec. 1506.6.
    (2) Determine the scope (Sec. 1508.25) and the significant issues to 
be analyzed in depth in the environmental impact statement.
    (3) Identify and eliminate from detailed study the issues which are 
not significant or which have been covered by prior environmental review 
(Sec. 1506.3), narrowing the discussion of these issues in the statement 
to a brief presentation of why they will not have a significant effect 
on the human environment or providing a reference to their coverage 
elsewhere.
    (4) Allocate assignments for preparation of the environmental impact 
statement among the lead and cooperating agencies, with the lead agency 
retaining responsibility for the statement.
    (5) Indicate any public environmental assessments and other 
environmental impact statements which are being or will be prepared that 
are related to but are not part of the scope of the impact statement 
under consideration.
    (6) Identify other environmental review and consultation 
requirements so the lead and cooperating agencies may prepare other 
required analyses and studies concurrently with, and integrated with, 
the environmental impact statement as provided in Sec. 1502.25.
    (7) Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation 
of environmental analyses and the agency's tentative planning and 
decisionmaking schedule.
    (b) As part of the scoping process the lead agency may:
    (1) Set page limits on environmental documents (Sec. 1502.7).
    (2) Set time limits (Sec. 1501.8).
    (3) Adopt procedures under Sec. 1507.3 to combine its environmental 
assessment process with its scoping process.
    (4) Hold an early scoping meeting or meetings which may be 
integrated with any other early planning meeting the agency has. Such a 
scoping meeting will often be appropriate when the impacts of a 
particular action are confined to specific sites.
    (c) An agency shall revise the determinations made under paragraphs 
(a) and (b) of this section if substantial changes are made later in the 
proposed

[[Page 471]]

action, or if significant new circumstances or information arise which 
bear on the proposal or its impacts.