In determining whether mitigation measures, including reasonable alternatives to the proposal, should be studied, and in determining the scope of such studies, the lead agency should be governed by the rule of reason as explicated by the Washington courts. In general, the greater the scale of a project and the more significant its impacts, the broader the range of alternatives that should be studied and the more deeply the impacts should be analyzed. For proposals modest in scale and impact, a study of potential means of mitigating the adverse environmental impacts generally would be sufficient.
Invites comment on the preliminary environmental assessment.
The comment period shall be extended to twenty-eight days if a written request for an extension is received within the initial fourteen day period. The lead agency also shall accept and review comments received after the close of the comment period but before the agency makes its environmental assessment. If impacts cannot be mitigated, reasonable alternatives shall also be considered. The results and conclusions of those studies and environmental documents shall be summarized in lay terms in a summary of environmental studies. Pursuant to standards adopted by the lead agency, for a project of exceptional magnitude, complexity, or community concern, the lead agency shall send copies of the summary of environmental studies to all persons who submitted comments on the preliminary environmental assessment or requested notice of the lead agency's decision.