# Presentation: 866042

## Negotiating the NEPA Maze:  It Really Is Rocket Science

**Negotiating the ****NEPA Maze:  ****It Really **_**Is**_** Rocket ****Science**

- _[Start](slide2.xml)_

## Contents

- _[NEPA Process Overview:  Who, What, Where, When, and Why?](slide3.xml)_
- _[NEPA Documentation: An Interactive Look](slide14.xml)_
- _[Helpful Resources](slide50.xml)_

## NEPA Process Overview:

- Who, What, Where, When, and Why?

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## What is NEPA?

- National Environmental Policy Act 	(NEPA) is our basic national charter 	for protection of the environment
- Two basic objectives
- Provide full disclosure and consider consequences of proposed Federal actions
- Ensure that environmental information is available to Agency decision makers and the public before decisions are made

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## What Does NEPA Require?

- Federal Agencies must
- Consider environmental values in planning before action is taken
- Consider alternatives to proposed action
- Incorporate environmental considerations with technical and economic factors into decisions
- Make environmental information available to public
- Prepare thorough and clear statements to assess environmental impacts

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## Why Does NEPA Apply to Licensing Actions?

- Licensing launches, reentries, and 		launch and reentry sites is considered a 	Federal action and is therefore subject 	to the requirements of NEPA
- AST is responsible for analyzing 		environmental impacts associated 		with licensed launches
- AST’s responsibilities under NEPA 	are outlined in _[FAA Order 1050.1D](http://www.aee.faa.gov/e3/1050pt1d/)_

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## How Does NEPA Affect Licensing Process?

- Environmental determination, i.e., Finding of No 	Significant Impact (FONSI) or Record of 	Decision (ROD) must be made before license 	can be issued
- Changes to operations that impact the 	environment must be evaluated in separate 	documentation
- NEPA process can be used to document 	compliance with other statutory and 	international requirements
**No action can be taken (e.g., start ****	****construction) until ROD or FONSI is****	****issued**

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## Who Prepares NEPA Documentation?

- Federal agency undertaking program, 	project, plan, regulation, or licensing/ 	permitting activity is responsible
- Agencies may use contractors to 		prepare environmental documentation; 	however, document is submitted by the 	Agency to the Environmental 	Protection Agency (EPA)

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## What Types of NEPA Documentation Exist?

***Categorical Exclusion*** - action that 	normally does not, individually or 		cumulatively, have significant impact on 	quality of the human environment
***Environmental Assessment (EA)*** - 	analysis of proposed action and reasonable 	alternatives (including no action) that could 	result in preparation of Environmental 	Impact Statement (EIS) or FONSI
***FONSI*** - outcome of EA that documents 	no significant impact requiring the 	preparation of an EIS

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## What Types of NEPA Documentation Exist (continued)?

***EIS ***- detailed analysis of 	environmental consequences of 	proposed action and reasonable 	alternatives (including no action), 	cumulative impacts, and mitigation 	actions
***ROD*** - concise summary of EIS, 	alternative selected and reasons for 	selection

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## What are AST’s Responsibilities under NEPA?

- Assist license applicant in identifying 	potentially significant impacts
- Review environmental information 	submitted by applicant
- Prepare NEPA documentation, conduct 	scoping, coordination, and public review
- Respond to public comments received 	during the comment period
- Issue environmental determination

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## What Steps Should Applicant Take?

- Early in the process the applicant 	should
- Consult AST on level and scope of environmental documentation needed
- Conduct preliminary studies to determine impact of proposed action and identify reasonable alternatives
- Submit applications for all permits or approvals
- Notify AST of other Federal, Tribal, regional, state or local requirements that may apply
- Notify AST of private citizens and groups interested in proposed action
- _[Contact AST’s environmental specialists](mailto:Michon.Washington@faa.gov)_
- _[for guidance ](mailto:Michon.Washington@faa.gov)__	_

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## When Should NEPA be Initiated?

- Early in planning process - before 	decisions are made and actions are 	taken
- Prevents prematurely limiting 	choice of reasonable 	alternatives
- Early application of NEPA 	may prevent subsequent 	schedule slips
**Applicant should **_[contact AST ](mailto:michon.washington@faa.gov)__	__early in process to initiate __	__NEPA review_

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## NEPA Documentation

- An Interactive Look

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## NEPA Process

- _[Proposed Action](slide17.xml)_

- _[Categorical Exclusion](slide20.xml)__[1](slide20.xml)_

- _[Environmental Assessment](slide21.xml)_

- _[Notice of Intent](slide25.xml)_

- _[Scoping Process](slide28.xml)_

- _[Draft Environmental Impact Statement](slide29.xml)_

- _[EPA’s Notice of Availability](slide40.xml)__[ ](slide40.xml)_

**Public Review (45 days minimum)**

**Final Environmental Impact Statement**

- _[EPA’s Notice of Availability](slide40.xml)__[4](slide40.xml)_

- _[Record of Decision](slide44.xml)_

- _[Public Hearing](slide42.xml)_

**No Further Documentation****2**

- _[Finding of No Significant Impact](slide24.xml)_

**Proceed with Project**

**Known Significant Impact**

**Yes**

**No Significant Impact****3**

**Yes**

**1 – If no extraordinary     ****	****circumstances**
**2 – FAA may document ****	****categorical exclusions**
**3 – Or mitigated below level of ****	****significance**
**4 – Publication of FEIS in ****	****Federal Register for ****	****minimum 30 day public review**

**Minimum 30 day waiting period**

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## Other NEPA Topics of Interest

- _[Tiering](slide47.xml)_

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## Proposed Action and Alternatives

**Proposed Action and ****Alternatives**

- Describes range of alternatives including 	proposed action and no action
- Reasonable alternatives may include but 	are not limited to
- Launch facility locations,
- Configuration of the launch facility,
- Extent of launch facility operations,
- Types of launch vehicles, and
- Range of launch trajectories

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## Developing Proposed Action and Alternatives

**Developing Proposed ****Action and Alternatives**

- To assist applicants in identifying 	proposed action and alternatives, 	consider the following questions
- Where is your preferred site?
- Have you identified alternative sites?
- What is your proposed launch manifest?
- Have you considered using a different number of flights?
- Have you identified a preferred configuration for the site?
- Have you considered any alternative site configurations?

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## Developing Proposed Action and Alternatives (continued)

**Developing Proposed Action ****and Alternatives (continued)**

- Have you identified a preferred family or class of vehicle(s)?
- Have you identified an alternative family or class of vehicle(s)?
- Have you identified a preferred trajectory for launch(es)?
- Have you identified an alternative trajectory for launch(es)?
**Answering these questions helps ****	****define the proposed action **

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## Written for actions which in the  	agency’s experience do not individually 	or cumulatively have a significant 	impact on the environment and do not 	require preparation of an EA or EIS
Actions that are routine
Normally excluded actions may require 	more extensive review if potential 	exists for public controversy
AST’s categorical exclusions are 	listed in FAA Order 1050.1D

- Written for actions which in the  	agency’s experience do not individually 	or cumulatively have a significant 	impact on the environment and do not 	require preparation of an EA or EIS
- Actions that are routine
- Normally excluded actions may require 	more extensive review if potential 	exists for public controversy
- AST’s categorical exclusions are 	listed in _[FAA](http://www.aee.faa.gov/e3/1050pt1d/)__ __[Order 1050.1D](http://www.aee.faa.gov/e3/1050pt1d/)_

**Categorical Exclusion**

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## Environmental Assessment (EA)

**Environmental ****Assessment (EA)**

- Defined as concise document that
- Provides analysis to determine if EIS is necessary
- Serves as the Agency’s compliance with NEPA when EIS is not necessary
- Facilitates preparation of EIS when necessary
- Addresses environmental effects that are 	not anticipated to cause significant 	impacts when no categorical exclusion exists
- Evaluates actions that have potential 	effects that can be mitigated to less than 	significant levels

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## EA Continued

**EA Continued**

- Less detailed than an EIS but must 	address similar elements including
- Description of proposed action
- Purpose and need for action
- Alternatives including no action
- Description of affected environment
- Consequences of proposed action and alternatives
- Cumulative and long-term environmental effects
- Degree of controversy
- Mitigation measures (if appropriate)

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## EA Continued

**EA Continued**

- Determines whether there will be 	significant impacts from the proposed 	action
- EA process ends in Finding of No 	Significant Impact (action may 	proceed) or preparation of EIS
- EA process generally takes 6-12 	months, but depending on complexity 	can take much longer

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## Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

**Finding of No ****Significant Impact (FONSI)**

- Decision document which follows 		completion of an EA and states 	Agency’s determination of no  	significant impact
- Subject to 30-day review and 	comment by public if proposed action 	is
- An issue of national concern
- Similar to actions which require an EIS
- An unprecedented action

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## Notice of Intent (NOI)

**Notice of Intent (NOI)**

- FAA publishes NOI after making 	decision to prepare EIS
- Initiates public scoping and EIS 		process
- Invites comments on scope of EIS
- Includes date, time, and location 	of any planned public scoping 		meetings
- Identifies _[lead agency](slide26.xml)__ and any __	__[cooperating agencies](slide27.xml)_

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## Lead Agency Responsibility

- Responsible for facts, opinions, and 	judgments upon which final 	environmental determination is based
- Performs independent review of 		information provided by applicant
- Approves contractor for EIS process 	and develops third party contracting 	mechanism see 40 CFR § 1506.5(c) 	and FAA Order 1050.1D paragraph 52

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## Cooperating Agency Responsibility

- Participate in the NEPA process at 	the request of the lead agency
- Participate in the scoping process
- Assume responsibility for preparing 	portions of NEPA analysis at the 	lead agency’s request
- Provide staff and funding to 	participate in the NEPA process

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## Scoping Process

**Scoping Process**

- If an EIS is required, scoping is 		conducted to
- Solicit public opinion and opinions of other agencies
- Determine potentially significant impacts to be analyzed in detail
- Identify and eliminate from study non-significant issues
- Allocate assignments for preparing EIS among participating agencies
- Identify environmental review and consultation requirements
- Develop a schedule for preparing EIS

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## Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)      

**Environmental Impact ****Statement (EIS)****      **

- Prepared when a proposed action may 	result in significant impacts
- Should be analytical and concise 	with a level of analysis commensurate 	with the potential 	for impact
- EIS process generally takes 12-18 	months but can take much longer if 	controversial issues or complex 	analysis are involved

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## EIS Continued

**EIS Continued**

- An EIS should contain
- _[Cover sheet ](slide31.xml)_
- _[Summary](slide31.xml)_
- _[Table of contents ](slide31.xml)_
- _[Purpose of and need for action ](slide32.xml)_
- _[Alternatives including proposed action ](slide33.xml)_
- _[Affected environment](slide34.xml)_
- _[Environmental consequences](slide35.xml)_
- _[List of](slide37.xml)__[ preparers](slide37.xml)_
- _[List of agencies, organizations, and persons to whom copies of document are sent](slide37.xml)_ (Distribution List)
- _[Index](slide38.xml)_
- _[Appendices](slide38.xml)_

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## Cover Sheet, Summary, Table of Contents

**Cover Sheet, ****Summary, Table of Contents**

***Cover sheet*** – summarizes proposed 	action, agency point of contact, 	abstract, and date by which comments 	must be received
***Summary*** – summarizes EIS analysis 	stressing conclusions and areas of 	controversy
***Table of contents*** – lists sections of 	document, figures, and tables

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## Purpose of and Need for Action

**Purpose of and ****Need for Action**

- Outlines the purpose and need which 	FAA is addressing by proposing 		alternatives and proposed action
- Defines parameters for a reasonable 	range of alternatives
- Forms framework for remainder of 	document including evaluation of 		alternatives

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## Alternatives Including Proposed Action

**Alternatives Including ****Proposed Action**

- Describes range of alternatives 	including proposed action and no 	action
- This section should
- Define the issues
- Inform the public
- Provide basis for choice among options,
- Explore and evaluate alternatives
- Discuss reasons why some alternatives were eliminated from further study

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## Affected Environment

**Affected Environment**

- Baseline description of proposed site 	and alternative sites
- Considers issues including
- Air quality			- Water quality
- Land use			- Noise
- Biological resources	- Geology/soils
- Cultural resources		- Health/safety
- Socioeconomic issues	- Airspace
- Environmental justice

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## Environmental Consequences

**Environmental ****Consequences**

- Analyzes impacts resulting from 		development and operation of launch 	site and launch activities
- Addresses resources and issues 		discussed in the affected 	environment 	section
- Evaluates direct and indirect, 		cumulative, and beneficial impacts
- _[Mitigation measures](slide36.xml)__ must also be __	__considered_

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## Mitigation Measures

- Means by which adverse project 	impacts can be diminished or 	eliminated
- Steps in mitigation planning
- Identify impacts and determine which can be eliminated or reduced
- Select mitigation measures based on consultation with agencies and affected parties
- Implement mitigation measures
- Monitor and report on effectiveness of measures

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## List of Preparers and Distribution List

**List of Preparers and ****Distribution List**

***List of Preparers*** – list of names 	and qualifications of persons who 	were primarily responsible for 	preparing the EIS
***Distribution List*** – list of persons 	or agencies to whom copies of the 	document were provided

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## Index and Appendices

**Index and Appendices**

***Index*** – Should have a level of detail 	sufficient to focus on topics of 	interest
***Appendix*** – items may include
- Material prepared in connection with EIS
- Material to substantiate analysis in EIS
- Analysis relevant to facilitate decision making

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## Draft EIS

**Draft EIS**

- Circulate Draft EIS and provide 	copies to cooperating agencies and 	Federal, state, or local agencies 	authorized to enforce environmental 	standards
- Request comments from agencies
- Address, consider, and include or 		summarize comments in the Final 	EIS

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## Notice of Availability (NOA)

**Notice of Availability (NOA)**

- Draft and Final EISs must be filed 	with EPA’s Office of Federal 	Activities
- EPA files NOAs in Federal Register 	weekly
- EPA’s filing starts public review period 	for Draft EIS and waiting period for 	Final EIS
- No decision can be made until 90 days 	after publication of NOA for Draft EIS 	or until 30 days after publication of 	NOA for Final EIS

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## Public Review

**Public Review**

- Comments are solicited from
- Federal agencies with jurisdiction
- Appropriate state and local agencies
- Potentially affected Indian tribes
- Any agency that requested copies of document
- Applicant
- Public
- Interested public organizations

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## Public Hearing Procedures

**Public Hearing Procedures**

- AST sponsors public meetings or 	hearings when appropriate or required 	by statute
- Criteria for meetings include
- Substantial environmental controversy over proposed action or interest in holding meeting
- Request for hearing by another agency with jurisdiction over action
- Hearing held no earlier 	than 15 days after draft is released

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## Final EIS

**Final EIS**

- Must consider comments both 	individually and cumulatively
- Responses to comments raised 	during public review must be 	included in the Final EIS
- Comments may be received on 	the Final EIS

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## Record of Decision (ROD)

**Record of Decision (ROD)**

- Public record of a decision 		indicating final approval of a 		proposed action
- Identifies all alternatives 	considered by Agency
- States whether means to 	minimize environmental 	harm were adopted

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## What Happens Next?

- Following release of ROD, 30-day 	waiting/cooling off period starts 	before action can proceed
- Agency open to possible legal 	action
- Applicants for AST license must 	still meet other requirements to 	obtain license

## Supplemental NEPA Documentation

**Supplemental NEPA Documentation**

- Prepare supplements to draft or 	final EISs if substantive changes 	are made to the proposed action
- Prepare, approve, circulate, and 	file in the same manner as draft 	or final EISs but scoping is not 	required

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## Tiering

**Tiering**

- Agencies are encouraged to tier 	to eliminate repetitive discussions 	of issues
- After Programmatic or other 		broad EIS has been prepared 		subsequent EA or EIS only 	needs 	to summarize issues previously 	discussed

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## Written Reevaluation

**Written ****Reevaluation**

- AST exercises judgment to determine 	when this is appropriate
- May be appropriate when
- Proposed action conforms to plans or projects for which prior EISs or FONSIs have been filed
- Data and analyses in previous EISs or FONSIs are substantially valid
- All conditions and requirements of prior approval have been or will be met in the current action

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## Environmental Monitoring

**Environmental ****Monitoring**

- FAA may require environmental 	monitoring as part of the license
- Monitoring may include pre- and 	post-launch observation for 	species of concern, surface 	water sampling, vegetation 	surveys, and other actions as 	appropriate

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## Helpful Resources

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## Guidelines Document

- Aids applicants in understanding 	FAA’s policies and procedures
- Guidelines are intended to be 	used in conjunction with _[FAA](http://www.aee.faa.gov/e3/1050pt1d/)_ 	_[Order 1050.1D](http://www.aee.faa.gov/e3/1050pt1d/)_, NEPA, and other 	environmental laws

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## Programmatic EIS 

- Programmatic EIS for Licensing	Launches
- Addresses environmental impacts of 	licensing launches and two alternatives
- Three categories of impacts 	considered
- Atmospheric
- Noise
- Other environmental effects
- Considers possible mitigation measures

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## Other Environmental Regulations

- Many environmental regulations and 		executive orders may apply to actions
- E.O. 12114 - Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions
- Endangered Species Act
- Federal Coastal Zone Management Act
- Marine Mammal Protection Act
- Clean Air Act
- E.O. 11990 - Protection of Wetlands
- National Historic Preservation Act
- For a more extensive list refer to 	Appendix E of the Guidelines Document

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## AST Staff

- For more information or to discuss a 	particular proposed project please 	contact
- Michon Washington (202) 267-9305Michon.Washington@FAA.gov
- Doug Graham(202) 267-8568Doug.Graham@FAA.gov
- Visit AST’s Website: http://ast.faa.gov