remain individually responsible for their consultation re-
sponsibilities under this Act. 
(c) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this Act shall exempt 
an agency from additional consultation required under any 
other law or from taking any other consultative actions 
as required by any other law or agency prerogative in addi-
tion to those required by this Act. Nor does it preclude 
an agency from additional consultation that complies with 
agency regulations for consultation, advances agency con-
sultation practices, or supports agency efforts to build or 
strengthen government-to-government relationships with 
Indian tribes. The requirements of this Act supplement, 
but do not replace, other consultation requirements such 
as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations 
for license applicants. 
SEC. 202. TIMING. 
Consultation as described in sections 203 and 204 
shall be completed prior to the expenditure of any Federal 
funds on the activity or prior to the issuance of any license 
other than for funding nondestructive project planning ac-
tivities provided that such actions do not restrict the sub-
sequent consideration of alternatives to avoid, minimize, 
or mitigate the activity’s adverse tribal impacts. 
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SEC. 203. SCOPING STAGE CONSULTATION. 
(a) PLANNING DOCUMENT.—As early as possible in 
the planning stage of an activity, the agency shall compile 
a draft of the scope of the project, including any geo-
graphic areas important to Indian tribes that might be 
affected and any other anticipated tribal impacts. The 
agency shall make a good faith effort to include areas that 
might reasonably be expected to contain sites important 
to Indian tribes whether or not such sites are explicitly 
known to the agency. 
(b) TRIBAL CONSULTATION PARTNERS.—The agency 
shall consult with all Indian tribes that may be impacted 
by an activity. When appropriate, the agency shall consult 
with regional and national tribal organizations such as the 
National Congress of American Indians, the National 
Tribal Environmental Council, the Native American Fish 
and Wildlife Society, the United South and Eastern 
Tribes, the National Association of Tribal Historic Preser-
vation Officers, the Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Pres-
ervation and Repatriation Alliance, and the Affiliated 
Tribes of Northwest Indians, to determine which Indian 
tribes may be affected by the activity. Under no cir-
cumstance shall the agency treat consultation with inter-
tribal organizations as a substitute for consultation with 
each affected Indian tribe, unless the Indian tribes com-
prising such an organization agree that consultation 
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should proceed through the intertribal organization. The 
agency shall remain responsible for its consultation re-
sponsibilities under this Act to any affected Indian tribes 
not participating in such an agreement. Other resources 
for identifying Indian tribes that need to be consulted in-
clude officials, such as cultural resource specialists, from 
other agencies who have consulted with Indian tribes in 
the region in the past, ethnographies, local histories, local 
university experts, oral accounts, the National Park Serv-
ice’s Native American Consultation Database, MAPS: GIS 
Windows on Native Lands, Current Places, and History, 
and the Library of Congress Indian Land Cessions docu-
ment website. 
(c) INITIAL CONTACT WITH CONSULTATION PART-
NERS.—The agency— 
(1) shall send, via United States mail and e- 
mail, if possible, a copy of the planning document 
and a letter requesting consultation meetings to the 
relevant tribal government officials including the 
tribal leader and all members of any elected tribal 
governing body, such as a tribal council, relevant 
tribal governmental agencies, including the Tribal 
Historic Preservation Officer or cultural resource 
manager, and relevant non-tribal stakeholders, such 
as the State Historic Preservation Officer and local 
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governments that have jurisdiction on any affected 
land via agreement with the agency; 
(2) at the request of the Indian tribe, shall 
send, via United States mail and e-mail, if possible, 
a copy of the planning document and a letter re-
questing consultation meetings to nongovernmental 
tribal stakeholders, such as elders councils and reli-
gious leaders; 
(3) shall not request consultation with non-
governmental tribal stakeholders without the written 
consent of the Indian tribe; and 
(4) shall follow-up with phone calls to confirm 
receipt of the documents by all recipients. 
(d) CONSULTATION MEETING ARRANGEMENTS.— 
The agency shall negotiate with stakeholder representa-
tives to determine the time, place, agenda, travel funds, 
facilitator, format, and goals of a consultation meeting. 
The agency shall make a good faith effort to engage in 
consultation, keeping thorough documentation of all steps 
taken to contact and engage the Indian tribe in consulta-
tion. If, after a good faith effort, the agency fails to en-
gage the Indian tribal government, it may terminate its 
scoping stage consultation efforts by providing all con-
sultation partners with a written notification and expla-
nation for its decision, signed by the head of the agency, 
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