[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 5]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR520.23]

[Page 72-73]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                            OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 520--PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS--Table of Contents
 
                          Subpart B--Procedures
 
Sec. 520.23  Preparation of draft environmental impact statements.

    (a) Planning stage. (1) When a DEIS is to be prepared, the 
responsible official shall promptly initiate its preparation and develop 
a schedule in consultation with the Associate Administrator for Planning 
and Evaluation, to assure completion prior to the first significant 
point of decision in the program or project development process.
    (2) The environmental impacts of proposed activities should be 
initially assessed concurrently with the initial technical and economic 
studies.
    (3) Section 102(2)(A) of NEPA requires each Federal agency to 
utilize a ``systematic, interdisciplinary approach'' to plans and 
programs affecting the environment. To assure that all environmental 
impacts are identified and assessed, all relevant disciplines should be 
represented. If the necessary

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disciplines are not represented on the staff of the applicant or NHTSA, 
it is appropriate to use professional services available in other 
Federal, State or local agencies, universities, or consulting firms. The 
use of the interdisciplinary approach should not be limited to the 
environmental statement. This approach should also be used in the early 
planning stages to help assure a systematic evaluation of reasonable 
alternative courses of action and their potential social, economic, and 
environmental consequences.
    (b) Form and content requirements. Attachment 1 of this order 
prescribes the form and content requirements to be followed for each 
draft and final environmental impact statement. The DEIS must fulfill 
and satisfy, to the fullest extent possible at the time it is prepared, 
the requirements established for final statements.
    (c) Lead agency. CEQ guidelines provide that when more than one 
Federal agency (1) directly sponsors an action, or is directly involved 
in an action through funding, licenses, or permits, or (2) is involved 
in a group of actions directly related to each other because of their 
functional interdependence and geographical proximity, consideration 
should be given to preparing one statement for all the Federal actions 
involved. Agencies in such cases should consider the designation of a 
single ``lead agency'' to assume supervisory responsibility for 
preparation of a joint statement. Where a lead agency prepares the 
statement, the other agencies involved should provide assistance with 
respect to their areas of jurisdiction and expertise. The statement 
should contain an evaluation of the full range of Federal actions 
involved, should reflect the views of all participating agencies, and 
should be prepared before major or irreversible actions have been taken 
by any of the participating agencies. Some relevant factors in 
determining an appropriate lead agency are: The time sequence in which 
the agencies become involved, the magnitude of their respective 
involvement, and their relative expertise with respect to the project's 
environmental effects. Questions concerning ``lead agency'' decisions 
should be raised with CEQ through TES. For projects serving and 
primarily involving land owned by or under the jurisdiction of another 
Federal agency, that agency may be the appropriate lead agency.
    (d) Applicants. Where the agency requests an applicant for financial 
assistance or other agency approval to submit an environmental 
assessment, the responsible official will (1) assist the applicant by 
outlining the information required, and (2) in all cases make his own 
evaluation of the environmental issues involved and take responsibility 
for the scope and content of draft and final environmental statements.