[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 15]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR3407.3]

[Page 387-388]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
  CHAPTER XXXIV--COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION 
                   SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 3407_IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT--Table 
of Contents
 
Sec. 3407.3  Policy.

    (a) It is CSREES policy to comply with the provisions of NEPA and 
related laws and policies and with the implementing regulations cited in 
Sec. 3407.1(b) of this part.
    (b) Environmental documents should be concise, written in plain 
language, and address the issues pertinent to the decision being made.
    (c) Environmental documents may be substituted for or combined with 
other reports which serve to facilitate decisionmaking (40 CFR 1506.4).
    (d) CSREES personnel will cooperate with other Federal and State 
agencies or units thereof, as well as with grantees, contractors, and 
other cooperating individuals or entities undertaking activities funded 
or recommended for funding by CSREES to assure that NEPA considerations 
are addressed early in the planning process to avoid delays and 
conflicts (40 CFR 1501.2).
    (e) CSREES reserves the right to require project participants 
outside of CSREES to furnish environmental data or documentation to 
assist CSREES in carrying out its responsibilities under NEPA. When an 
applicant, grantee, or other cooperating individual or organization is 
required to submit environmental data to CSREES, including preparation 
of an environmental assessment (EA), or when a contractor hired by a 
grantee or other cooperating party prepares environmental data or 
documentation, CSREES shall provide advance instructions to the 
applicant, grantee, or other cooperator relating to the preparation and 
submission of the required information. All information supplied by 
external project participants shall be subject to verification by CSREES 
(40 CFR 1506.5).
    (f) When possible, costs of analyses and development of required 
environmental documents shall be planned for during the budgetary 
process relating to the plan or program. Where the nature of particular 
program agreements (e.g., grants, cooperative agreements, formula 
projects) are determined by CSREES to require environmental 
documentation, the cost of preparing such documentation and of 
reasonable mitigation efforts shall be considered allowable costs and 
may be charged to the project as a portion of the Federal or the non-
Federal share of project costs. However, CSREES funds above those 
authorized for the program award will not be made available to 
recipients to cover such costs.
    (g) Final environmental documents, decision notices, and records of 
decision shall be available to the public for review. There shall be an 
early and open process for determining the scope of issues to be 
addressed during environmental analysis (40 CFR 1501.7).
    (h) The concept of tiering to eliminate repetitive discussions 
applicable to EISs (40 CFR part 1502) is applicable to EAs also.
    (i) CSREES officials may adopt an existing Federal EA or EIS when a 
proposed action is substantially the same as the action for which an 
existing EA or EIS was prepared (40 CFR 1506.3), provided that the EA or 
EIS or portion thereof meets the standards for an adequate EA or EIS 
under these regulations.
    (j) Existing environmental documents may be incorporated by 
reference to reduce the bulk of an EA or EIS (40 CFR 1502.21).
    (k) After prior consultation with the Council on Environmental 
Quality, CSREES personnel may, in emergency

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situations, implement alternative arrangements for compliance with these 
procedures in accordance with 40 CFR 1506.11.