Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2011 / Notices 2681 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[ER–FRL–8994–7] 

Amended Environmental Impact 

Statement Filing System Guidance for 

Implementing 40 CFR 1506.9 and 

1506.10 of the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s Regulations 

Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

1. Introduction 

On October 7, 1977, the Council of 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

signed a Memorandum of Agreement 

(MOA) that allocated the 

responsibilities of the two agencies for 

assuring the government-wide 

implementation of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA). Specifically, the MOA 

transferred to EPA the administrative 

aspects of the environmental impact 

statement (ElS) filing process. Within 

EPA, the Office of Federal Activities has 

been designated the official recipient in 

EPA of all EISs. These responsibilities 

have been codified in CEQ’s NEPA 

Implementing Regulations (40 CFR Parts 

1500–1508), and are totally separate 

from the substantive EPA reviews 

performed pursuant to both NEPA and 

Section 309 of the Clean Air Act. 

Under 40 CFR 1506.9, EPA can issue 

guidelines to implement its EIS filing 

responsibilities. The purpose of the EPA 

Filing System Guidelines is to provide 

guidance to Federal agencies on filing 

EISs, including draft, final, and 

supplemental EISs. Information is 

provided on: (1) Where to file EISs; (2) 

the number of copies required; (3) the 

steps to follow when a Federal agency 

is adopting an EIS, or when an EIS is 

withdrawn, delayed or reopened; (4) 

public review periods; (5) issuance of 

notices of availability in the Federal 

Register; and (6) retention of filed EISs. 

EPA’s current EIS filing guidelines were 

published in the Federal Register on 

March 7, 1989. 

The guidelines published today 

update the previous guidelines, modify 

the number and format of the EISs to be 

filed, and provide specific guidelines for 

EIS filing during Continuity of 

Operations Plan (COOP) events. 

Additionally, we are soliciting input 

from federal agencies, other 

stakeholders, and the public on a series 

of questions that will be used to make 

further modifications to the EIS filing 

process in the future. 

2. Purpose 

Pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.9 and 

1506.10, EPA is responsible for 

administering the EIS filing process, and 

can issue guidelines to implement those 

responsibilities. The process of EIS 

filing includes the following: (1) 

Receiving and recording of the EISs, so 

that information in them can be 

incorporated into EPA’s computerized 

data base; (2) establishing the beginning 

and ending dates for comment and 

review periods for draft and final EISs, 

respectively; (3) publishing these dates 

in a weekly Notice of Availability 

(NOA) in the Federal Register; (4) 

retaining the EISs in a central 

repository; and (5) determining whether 

time periods can be lengthened or 

shortened for ‘‘compelling reasons of 

national policy.’’ 

Under 40 CFR 1506.9, lead agencies 

are responsible for distributing EISs, 

and for providing additional copies of 

already distributed EISs, to the 

interested public for review. However, 

EPA will assist the public and other 

Federal agencies by providing agency 

contacts on, and information about, 

EISs. 

3. Filing Draft, Final, and Supplemental 

EISs 

Federal agencies are required to 

prepare EISs in accordance with 40 CFR 

part 1502, and to file the EISs with EPA 

as specified in 40 CFR 1506.9. Federal 

agencies file an EIS by providing EPA 

with four copies of the complete EIS, 

including appendices. At least one copy 

of the entire EIS must be a paper copy; 

the remaining three (3) copies can be on 

appropriate electronic storage devices— 

e.g., compact discs (CDs), USB flash 

drives, or memory cards. Please note 

that if a Federal agency prepares an 

abbreviated Final EIS (as described in 

40 CFR 1503.4(c)), it should include 

copies of the Draft EIS when filing the 

Final EIS. 

To file an EIS by using the U.S. Postal 

Service (including USPS Express Mail), 

please use the following address: 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

Office of Federal Activities, EIS Filing 

Section, Mail Code 2252A, Ariel Rios 

Building (South Oval Lobby), 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20460. 

To file an EIS in person or by 

commercial express service (including 

Federal Express or UPS), please use the 

following address: 

(If the documents are to be handdelivered, you will need to ask the 

security guards to phone our office at 

(202) 564–5400, so you can be escorted 

to the EIS Filing Section.) 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

Office of Federal Activities, EIS Filing 

Section, Ariel Rios Building (South 

Oval Lobby), Room 7220, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20004. 

Telephone inquiries can also be made 

to: (202) 564–1399 or (202) 564–7146. 

EPA encourages Federal agencies to 

make their EISs available on the 

internet. Those that do should send EPA 

a copy of the Web address (i.e., URL) for 

the document. The appropriate 

information should be e-mailed to: EIS– 

Filing@epa.gov concurrent with filing 

the EIS as required above. 

The EISs must be filed no earlier than 

they are transmitted to commenting 

agencies and made available to the 

public (40 CFR 1506.9). This will assure 

that the EIS is received by all interested 

parties by the time EPA’s NOA appears 

in the Federal Register, and, therefore, 

allows for the full minimum comment 

and review periods. 

If EPA receives a request to file an EIS 

and transmittal of that EIS is not 

complete, it will not publish a NOA in 

the Federal Register until assurances 

have been given that the transmittal 

process is complete. Similarly, if EPA 

discovers that a filed EIS has not been 

transmitted, EPA will issue a notice 

with the weekly Notices of Availability 

retracting the EIS from public review of 

the EIS until the transmittal process is 

completed. Once the agency has 

fulfilled the requirements of 40 CFR 

1506.9, and has completed the 

transmittal process, EPA will reestablish 

the filing date and the minimum time 

period, and will publish this 

information in the next NOA. 

Requirements for circulation of EISs 

appear in 40 CFR 1502.19. Please note 

that the four EISs submitted to the 

Office of Federal Activities are only for 

filing purposes; agencies will need to 

send a copy(s) of the EIS directly to the 

appropriate EPA Regional Office for 

review and comment in accordance 

with EPA’s responsibilities under 

Section 309 of the Clean Air Act. 

EPA must be notified (by letter or 

email) when a Federal agency adopts an 

EIS in order to commence the 

appropriate comment or review period. 

If a Federal agency chooses to adopt an 

EIS written by another agency, and it 

was not a cooperating agency in the 

preparation of the original EIS, the EIS 

must be re-circulated and filed with 

EPA according to the requirements set 

forth in 40 CFR 1506.3(b). In turn, EPA 

will publish a NOA in the Federal 

Register announcing that the document 

will have an appropriate comment or 

review period. When an agency adopts 

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2682 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2011 / Notices 

an EIS on which it served as a 

cooperating agency, the document does 

not need to be circulated for public 

comment or review; it is not necessary 

to file the EIS again with EPA. However, 

EPA should be notified in order to 

ensure that the official EIS record is 

accurate. EPA will publish an amended 

NOA in the Federal Register that states 

that an adoption has occurred. This will 

not establish a comment period, but will 

complete the public record. 

EPA should also be notified of all 

situations where an agency has decided 

to withdraw, delay, or reopen a review 

period on an EIS. All such notices to 

EPA will be reflected in EPA’s weekly 

Notices of Availability published in the 

Federal Register. In the case of 

reopening EIS review periods, the lead 

agency should notify EPA as to what 

measures will be taken to ensure that 

the EIS is available to all interested 

parties. This is especially important for 

EIS reviews that are being reopened 

after a substantial amount of time has 

passed since the original review period 

closed. 

Once received by EPA, each EIS is 

stamped with an official filing date and 

checked for completeness and 

compliance with 40 CFR 1502.10. If the 

EIS is not ‘‘complete’’ (i.e., if the 

documents do not contain the required 

components), EPA will contact the lead 

agency to obtain the omitted 

information or to resolve any questions 

prior to publishing the NOA in the 

Federal Register. 

Agencies often publish (either in their 

EISs or individual notices to the public) 

a date by which all comments on an EIS 

are to be received; such actions are 

encouraged. However, agencies should 

ensure that the date they use is based on 

the date of publication of the NOA in 

the Federal Register. If the published 

date gives reviewers less than the 

minimum review time computed by 

EPA, EPA will send the agency contact 

a letter explaining how the review 

period is calculated and the correct date 

by which comments are due back to the 

lead agency. This letter also encourages 

agencies to notify all reviewers and 

interested parties of the corrected 

review periods. 

4. EIS Filing Procedure for COOP 

Events 

In order to ensure official filing of 

EISs in the event of a COOP event, when 

EISs cannot be physically delivered to 

EPA, Federal agencies will need to send 

EPA a copy of the EIS cover sheet to the 

email address identified above. In turn, 

EPA will use the cover sheet 

information to publish the weekly EIS 

NOA in the Federal Register. 

During the COOP event, filing 

agencies should not submit the four 

copies of the EIS to the EPA. However, 

once the COOP event is over, filing 

agencies will have 14 days to submit the 

four copies of all EISs filed during the 

event to the EPA’s Filing Section. If EPA 

does not receive the four copies of the 

EIS filed during the COOP event within 

14 days, it will publish a notice in the 

Federal Register retracting the NOA for 

that EIS. 

5. Notice in the Federal Register 

EPA will prepare a weekly report of 

all EISs filed during the preceding week 

for publication each Friday under a 

NOA in the Federal Register. If the 

Friday is a Federal holiday the 

publication will be on Thursday. At the 

time EPA sends its weekly report for 

publication in the Federal Register, the 

report will also be sent to the CEQ. 

Amended notices may be added to the 

NOA to include corrections, changes in 

time periods of previously filed EISs, 

withdrawals of EISs by lead agencies, 

and retraction of EISs by EPA. 

6. Time Periods 

The minimum time periods set forth 

in 40 CFR 1506.10 (b), (c), and (d) are 

calculated from the date EPA publishes 

the NOA in the Federal Register. 

Comment periods for draft EISs, draft 

supplements, and revised draft EISs will 

end 45 calendar days after publication 

of the NOA in the Federal Register; 

review periods for final EISs and final 

supplements will end 30 calendar days 

after publication of the NOA in the 

Federal Register. If a calculated time 

period would end on a non-working 

day, the assigned time period will be the 

next working day (i.e., time periods will 

not end on weekends or Federal 

holidays). While these time periods are 

minimum time periods, a lead agency 

may establish longer time periods. If the 

lead agency employs a longer time 

period, it must notify EPA of the 

extended time period when either filing 

the EIS or when the lead agency extends 

the time period. 

It should be noted that 40 CFR 

1506.10(b) allows for an exception to 

the rules of timing. An exception may 

be made in the case of an agency 

decision which is subject to a formal 

internal appeal. Agencies should assure 

that EPA is informed so that the 

situation is accurately reflected in the 

NOA. 

Moreover, under 40 CFR 1506.10(d), 

EPA has the authority to both extend 

and reduce the time periods on draft 

and final EISs based on a demonstration 

of ‘‘compelling reasons of national 

policy.’’ A lead agency request to EPA to 

reduce time periods or another Federal 

agency (not the lead agency) request to 

formally extend a time period should be 

submitted in writing to the Director, 

Office of Federal Activities, and outline 

the reasons for the request. EPA will 

accept telephone requests; however, 

agencies should follow up such requests 

in writing so that the documentation 

supporting the decision is complete. A 

meeting to discuss the consequences for 

the project and any decision to change 

time periods may be necessary. For this 

reason, EPA asks that it be made aware 

of any intent to submit requests of this 

type as early as possible in the NEPA 

process. This is to prevent the 

possibility of the time frame for the 

decision on the time period 

modification from interfering with the 

lead agency’s schedule for the EIS. EPA 

will notify CEQ of any reduction or 

extension granted. 

7. Retention 

Filed EISs are retained in the EPA 

Office of Federal Activities for a period 

of two years and are made available to 

office staff only. After two years the EISs 

are sent to the National Records Center. 

After a total of twenty (20) years the 

EISs are transferred to the National 

Archives Records Administration 

(NARA). 

8. Soliciting Comments on Future 

Updates of the EIS Filing Guidelines 

In addition to the modifications to the 

filing guidelines outlined herein, EPA is 

considering additional modifications 

that may lead to the implementation of 

an electronic EIS filing process. With 

that in mind, EPA is soliciting 

comments from Federal agencies, other 

stakeholders and the public on the 

following questions. 

For Federal Agencies 

1. Does your agency make its Draft, 

Final, and Supplemental EISs available 

for public review on the Internet? 

2. If so, how long do the Draft, Final, 

and Supplemental EISs remain available 

for review on the Internet? 

3. In a related matter, does your 

agency mandate how long EISs must be 

available for public review? 

4. If so, how long is that period? 

5. Also, does your agency mandate 

how long its EISs must be retained as 

official agency records? 

6. If so, how long is that period? 

For Stakeholders and the Public 

1. At some point in the future, CEQ 

and EPA may eliminate the publication 

of weekly Notices of Availability for 

EISs in the Federal Register in favor of 

a central repository on the Internet 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2011 / Notices 2683 

(possibly on EPA’s Web site). Would 

you find this approach more or less 

useful than the current process? 

2. Do you foresee any problems/issues 

with reviewing EISs that are made 

available only on the Internet? 

3. In your opinion, how long should 

EISs remain accessible to the public? 

Please submit your responses to the 

above questions to: Robert Hargrove, 

Director, NEPA Compliance Division, 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. 

(2252A), Washington, DC 20460; or 

hargrove.robert@epa.gov, by COB 

February 28, 2011. 

Dated: January 11, 2011. 

Susan E. Bromm, 

Director, Office of Federal Activities. 

[FR Doc. 2011–758 Filed 1–13–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9252–9] 

Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 

1605: (Buy American Requirement) of 

the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to 

the Inland Empire Utilities Agency 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a 

project waiver of the Buy American 

requirements of ARRA Section 1605(a) 

under the authority of Section 

1605(b)(2) (manufactured goods are not 

produced in the United States in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantities and of a satisfactory quality) 

to the Inland Empire Utilities Agency 

(IEUA), a Clean Water State Revolving 

Fund (CWSRF)/ARRA loan recipient, 

for the purchase of Air Release Vacuum 

(ARV) Valves manufactured by A.R.I. in 

Israel, for Project #5176–140 funded by 

the California CWSRF/ARRA Loan #08– 

851. This is a different project than 

Project #5176–110/5176–130 which was 

previously issued a waiver for this same 

product. The IEUA indicates that the 

design for the Church Street lateral 

project includes A.R.I. valves, which are 

the standard air relief structures used 

within the regional pipeline system, and 

that currently there is not a comparable 

domestic equivalent that meets the 

IEUA specifications. This is a projectspecific waiver and only applies to the 

use of the specified product for the 

ARRA funded project being proposed. 

Any other ARRA project that may wish 

to use the same product must apply for 

a separate waiver based on projectspecific circumstances. The Assistant 

Administrator of the Office of 

Administration and Resources 

Management has concurred with this 

decision to make an exception under 

section 1605(b)(2) of ARRA. 

DATES: Effective Date: November 30, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Abimbola Odusoga, Environmental 

Engineer, Water Division, Infrastructure 

Office (WTR–4), (415) 972–3437, U.S. 

EPA Region 9. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with ARRA Sections 1605(c) 

and 1605(b)(2), EPA hereby provides 

notice it is granting a project waiver of 

the requirements of Section 1605(a) of 

Public Law 111–5, Buy American 

requirements, to the IEUA for the 

acquisition of the ARV valves 

manufactured in Israel by A.R.I. The 

head of each federal agency is 

authorized to issue project waivers 

pursuant to Section 1605(b) of ARRA. 

Section 1605(a) of the ARRA requires 

that none of the funds appropriated or 

otherwise made available by the ARRA 

may be used for the construction, 

alteration, maintenance, or repair of a 

public building or public work unless 

all of the iron, steel, and manufactured 

goods used in the project are produced 

in the United States. Pursuant to Section 

1605(b), a waiver from this requirement 

may be provided if EPA determines: (1) 

Applying these requirements would be 

inconsistent with the public interest; (2) 

iron, steel, and the relevant 

manufactured goods are not produced in 

the United States in sufficient and 

reasonably available quantities and of a 

satisfactory quality; or (3) inclusion of 

iron, steel, and the relevant 

manufactured goods produced in the 

United States will increase the cost of 

the overall project by more than 25 

percent. 

A Delegation of Authority 

Memorandum was issued by the EPA 

Administrator on March 31, 2009 which 

provided EPA Regional Administrators 

with the authority to issue waivers to 

Section 1605(a) of ARRA within the 

geographic boundaries of their 

respective regions and with respect to 

requests by individual recipients of 

ARRA financial assistance. 

The IEUA provides drinking water 

and waste water treatment services to 

municipalities in the Chino Basin. The 

Church Street lateral project consists of 

approximately 4,200 linear feet of 12- 

inch diameter recycled water pipeline 

that will convey recycled water to serve 

customers in the 1430 and 1630 

pressure zones. Project specifications 

provided by the applicant state that 

acceptable products are A.R.I. Flow 

Control Accessories, Ltd. (Model D–060) 

or an approved equal. 

The functional justification for these 

specifications advanced by the IEUA 

was that the IEUA had, in years prior to 

the enactment of ARRA, made the ARI 

valves their standard air relief structures 

used within the regional pipeline 

system based on the IEUA’s 

determination that these valves had a 

superior design, functionality, and ease 

of maintenance. Specifically: 

• ARI combination valves (D–060’s) 

have the air release on the top of the 

valve, whereas alternative valves have 

the air release on the side. A side release 

creates an internal air pocket on the 

valve, which allows the rubber seal for 

the vacuum component to dry out and 

leak over time. 

• The 316SS float for the ARI vacuum 

component stops against a 316SS ring. 

The alternative valves have a float that 

stops against a flat rubber seal on the 

top of the valve, and constant pounding 

during closure tends to crack the seal 

and cause leaks. 

• The ARI valves are half the weight 

and size of the alternative valves, which 

makes installation and maintenance 

easier. Also, as the valves are smaller, 

the enclosures for the valves are less 

expensive. 

The consequences of finding the 

IEUA’s specifications not justified 

would include the following: 

• Additional design costs would be 

incurred to change all ARV valves, 

including re-calculating the size of the 

valves based on the competitors design 

criteria, modifying valve and enclosure 

details, and modifying the pipeline 

profiles to accommodate larger valves. 

Alternative ARV valves that must be 

buried would require lowering the 

pipeline depth several feet on each side 

of the valves to accommodate a deeper 

valve vault. 

• Construction costs would be higher 

due to the increase in valve sizes, larger 

enclosures, and a deeper pipeline. The 

pricing through the change order 

process would be significantly higher 

than prices for a competitive bid. The 

cost for the material and installation of 

the valves is approximately $198,708. If 

the ARI valves are replaced with 

alternative valves, the estimated cost for 

the material and installation would be 

approximately $100,000 more. 

• IEUA staff would have to be trained 

on the different types of valves installed 

and additional spare parts would need 

to be ordered and stocked. Since the 

IEUA has moved forward with 

implementing the ARI valves as the 

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