Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Transportation › Chapter Trans 400 - Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act Procedures For Department Actions › Appendix - FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES ADOPTED BY THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › UNITED STATES COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Section 1500.4 - Reducing paperwork

Current through June 24, 2024
Agencies shall reduce excessive paperwork by:
(a) Reducing the length of environmental
				  impact statements (§ 1502.2(c)), by means such as setting appropriate page
				  limits (§§ 1501.7(b)(1) and 1502.7).
(b) Preparing analytic rather than
				  encyclopedic environmental impact statements (§ 1502.2(a)).
(c) Discussing only briefly issues other than
				  significant ones (§ 1502.2(b)).
(d) Writing environmental impact statements
				  in plain language (§ 1502.8).
(e) Following a clear format for
				  environmental impact statements (§ 1502.10).
(f) Emphasizing the portions of the
				  environmental impact statement that are useful to decisionmakers and the public
				  (§§ 1502.14 and 1502.15) and reducing emphasis on background material
				  (§ 1502.16 ).
(g) Using the
				  scoping process, not only to identify significant environmental issues
				  deserving of study, but also to deemphasize insignificant issues, narrowing the
				  scope of the environmental impact statement process accordingly (§
				  1501.7).
(h) Summarizing the
				  environmental impact statement (§ 1502.12) and circulating the summary
				  instead of the entire environmental impact statement if the latter is unusually
				  long (§ 1502.19).
(i) Using
				  program, policy, or plan environmental impact statements and tiering from
				  statements of broad scope to those of narrower scope, to eliminate repetitive
				  discussions of the same issues (§§ 1502.4 and 1502.20).
(j) Incorporating by reference (§
				  1502.21).
(k) Integrating NEPA
				  requirements with other environmental review and consultation requirements
				  (§ 1502.25).
(l) Requiring
				  comments to be as specific as possible (§ 1503.3).
(m) Attaching and circulating only changes to
				  the draft environmental impact statement, rather than rewriting and circulating
				  the entire statement when changes are minor (§ 1503.4(c)).
(n) Eliminating duplication with State and
				  local procedures, by providing for joint preparation (§ 1506.2), and with
				  other Federal procedures, by providing that an agency may adopt appropriate
				  environmental documents prepared by another agency (§ 1506.3).
(o) Combining environmental documents with
				  other documents (§ 1506.4).
(p) Using categorical exclusions to define
				  categories of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a
				  significant effect on the human environment and which are therefore exempt from
				  requirements to prepare an environmental impact statement (§
				  1508.4).
(q) Using a finding of no
				  significant impact when an action not otherwise excluded will not have a
				  significant effect on the human environment and is therefore exempt from
				  requirements to prepare an environmental impact statement (§
				  1508.13).