Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 785 - Oklahoma Water Resources Board › Chapter 50 - Financial Assistance › Subchapter 9 - Clean Water State Revolving Fund Regulations › Part 7 - SRF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS › Section 785:50-9-60 - Requirement of environmental review

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
As required by the provisions of Section 602(b) (6) of the Clean
													 Water Act, the Board shall conduct an interdisciplinary environmental review consistent with the National
													 Environmental Policy Act of the project proposed for funding through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
													 Loan Account. This review will insure that the project will comply with the applicable local, state and
													 federal laws and Board regulations relating to the protection and enhancement of the environment. Based upon
													 the staff's review, the Board will make formal determinations regarding the potential social and
													 environmental impacts of the proposed project. As necessary, the determination will include mitigative
													 provisions as a condition of financial assistance for building and no financial assistance will be provided
													 until a final environmental determination has been made. Nothing in this Part shall prohibit any public,
													 private or governmental party from seeking administrative or legal relief from the determinations of the
													 Board. Potential applicants to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Account should obtain guidance from
													 the staff regarding the scope of the environmental review to be conducted by the Board and the environmental
													 information which the applicant will be required to submit in support of the proposed project.
(1)
Basic environmental determination.
There are three (3)
											  basic environmental determinations that will apply to projects proposed to be implemented with assistance
											  from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Account. These are: a determination to categorically exclude a
											  project from a formal environmental review; a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) based upon a formal
											  environmental review supported by an environmental information assessment (EA); and a determination to
											  provide or not to provide financial assistance based upon a Record of Decision (ROD) following the
											  preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS). The appropriate determination will be based on the
											  following criteria.
(A) The categorical exclusion determination applies to
											  categories of projects that have shown over time not to entail significant impacts on the quality of the
											  human environment. Documentation required in this subsection will be submitted to the Board.
(i) Applicants seeking a categorical exclusion will provide the Board with
											  sufficient documentation to demonstrate compliance with the criteria of this Chapter and shall satisfy the
											  provisions of
											  40 C.F.R. Section
											  6.204. At a minimum, this will consist of:
(I) a brief, complete description of the proposed project and its costs;
(II) statement identifying the categorical exclusion that
											  applies to the action;
(III) a statement explaining why no
											  extraordinary circumstances apply to the proposed action; and
(IV) a plan map or maps of the proposed project showing the location of all
											  construction areas, the planning area boundaries, and any known environmentally sensitive areas.