[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 40, Volume 31]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 40CFR1501.7]



[Page 872-873]

 

                   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 873]]



action, or if significant new circumstances or information arise which 

bear on the proposal or its impacts.