[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 30]
[Revised as of July 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR1508.28]

[Page 773]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
               CHAPTER V--COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
 
PART 1508_TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1508.28  Tiering.

    Tiering refers to the coverage of general matters in broader 
environmental impact statements (such as national program or policy 
statements) with subsequent narrower statements or environmental 
analyses (such as regional or basinwide program statements or ultimately 
site-specific statements) incorporating by reference the general 
discussions and concentrating solely on the issues specific to the 
statement subsequently prepared. Tiering is appropriate when the 
sequence of statements or analyses is:
    (a) From a program, plan, or policy environmental impact statement 
to a program, plan, or policy statement or analysis of lesser scope or 
to a site-specific statement or analysis.
    (b) From an environmental impact statement on a specific action at 
an early stage (such as need and site selection) to a supplement (which 
is preferred) or a subsequent statement or analysis at a later stage 
(such as environmental mitigation). Tiering in such cases is appropriate 
when it helps the lead agency to focus on the issues which are ripe for 
decision and exclude from consideration issues already decided or not 
yet ripe.

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