[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 6]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR650.13]

[Page 444-445]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
   CHAPTER VI--NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                               AGRICULTURE
 
PART 650--COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA--Table of Contents
 
            Subpart A--Procedures for NRCS-Assisted Programs
 
Sec. 650.13  Review and comment.

    In addition to the requirements of 40 CFR 1503, 1506.10 and 1506.11, 
NRCS will take the following steps in distributing EIS's for review and 
comment:
    (a) Draft EIS's. Five copies of the draft EIS are to be filed by the 
RFO with the Office of Environmental Review, A-104, Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, D.C. At the same time, the RFO is 
to send copies of the draft EIS to the following:
    (1) Other Federal agencies. The regional office of EPA and other 
agencies that have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect 
to any environmental effect, other Federal agencies (including 
appropriate field and regional offices), and affected Indian tribes.
    (2) State and local agencies. OMB Circular No. A-95 (Revised), 
through its system of State and areawide clearinghouses, provides a 
means for obtaining the views of State and local environmental agencies 
that can assist in the preparation and review of EIS's
    (3) Organizations, groups, and individuals. A copy of the draft EIS 
is to be sent to the appropriate official of each organization or group 
and each individual of the interested public (Sec. 650.9(d)(3)(i)) and 
to others as requested. A charge may be made for multiple copy requests.
    (b) Time period for comment. The time period for review ends 45 days 
after the date EPA publishes the notice of public availability of the 
draft in the Federal Register. A 15-day-extension of time for review and 
comment is to be considered by the RFO when such requests are submitted 
in writing. If neither comments nor a request for an extension is 
received at the end of the 45-day period, it is to be presumed that the 
agency or party from whom comments were requested has no comments to 
make.
    (c) News releases. In addition to the notice of availability 
published in the Federal Register by EPA, the RFO is to announce the 
availability of the draft EIS in one or more newspapers serving the 
area.
    (d) Revising a draft EIS. If significant changes in the proposed 
action are made as a result of comments on the draft EIS, a revised 
draft EIS may be necessary. The revised draft EIS is to be recirculated 
for comment in the same manner as a draft EIS.
    (e) Final EIS's. After the review period for the draft EIS, the RFO 
is to prepare a final EIS, making adjustments where necessary by taking 
into consideration and responding to significant comments and opposing 
viewpoints received on the draft EIS. The following steps are to be 
taken in filing and distributing the final EIS:

[[Page 445]]

    (1) Letters of comment are to be appended to the final EIS. If 
numerous repetitive responses are received, summaries of the repetitive 
comments and a list of the groups or individuals who commented may be 
appended in lieu of the actual letter.
    (2) The RFO is to send five copies of the final EIS to EPA's Office 
of Environmental Review, and a copy of the final EIS to each State and 
Federal agency, organization, group, and individual who commented on the 
draft EIS. Single copy requests for copies of the final EIS will be 
provided without charge. A charge may be made for multiple copy 
requests.
    (3) During the 30-day administrative action period noted in 
Sec. 650.12(c), NRCS will make its final EIS available to the public (40 
CFR 1506.10).
    (f) Supplements to EIS's. (1) If NRCS determines that it is 
necessary to clarify or amplify a point of concern raised after the 
final EIS is filed, appropriate clarification or amplification is to be 
sent to EPA with information copies furnished to those who received 
copies of the final EIS. The waiting periods do not apply.
    (2) If the RFO determines that the final EIS or supplement to the 
original EIS previously filed becomes inadequate because of a major 
change in the plan for the proposed action that significantly affects 
the quality of the human environment, a new EIS is to be prepared, 
filed, and distributed as described in this section.