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INTRODUCTION
Compliance Procedures Manual for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
as Applied to Construction Related Activities
August 1995
Facilities Management (FM) has been delegated the authority to direct the
preparation and approval of NEPA compliance documents pertaining to VA
construction related activities. However, VA NEPA compliance will still be
governed by the requirements contained in VA Regulations, Title 38 CFR, Part
26. These Regulations require that every construction project VA undertakes
be evaluated by the offices responsible for NEPA compliance, early in project
development, to determine the need and level of compliance action required
including: Categorical Exclusion, Environmental Assessment, and Environmental
Impact Statement.
Compliance Documents Defined:
Categorical Exclusion (CE) - A decision document that the proposed project,
considering regulatory criteria and thresholds, will not have significant
effects on the human environment. After a CE determination, neither an
environmental assessment (EA) nor an environmental impact statement (EIS) is
usually required.
Environmental Assessment (EA) - A concise public document that serves to
provide sufficient evidence and analysis for determining whether to prepare an
EIS, i.e. whether the impacts of a proposed project are significant as
enumerated in the regulations. An EA shall include brief discussions of the
need for the proposed project, alternatives, environmental impacts of the
proposed project and a listing of agencies and individuals contacted. After
preparing the EA concluding the proposed project will have no significant
impacts, a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) must be issued. The FONSI
summarizes the EA and must be made publicly available for review.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - A multiple step process producing a
definitive public document analysis of the environmental impacts of the
proposed project as enumerated in the regulations. The decision to prepare an
EIS is based either on the CE or EA criteria enumerated in the regulations.
The first action commencing the EIS process is to publish the Notice of Intent
for the Secretary's signature. Next is the public scoping meeting, followed
by the draft EIS, then the final EIS. The draft and final EIS's present
extensive facts and discussion concerning: project purpose and need, proposed
action alternatives, affected environment, environmental consequences,
mitigative measures, list of preparers, list of agencies and organizations
consulted, list of all federal permits, appendices, and index. The last step
in the EIS process is the Record of Decision for the Secretary's signature.
This is a separate, publicly available document identifying the VA decision
including all mitigation required to implement the project.
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