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24c. Q. What is the function of tiering in such cases?
A. Tiering is a procedure which allows an agency to avoid duplication of
paperwork through the incorporation by reference of the general discussions
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and relevant specific discussions from an environmental impact statement of
broader scope into one of lesser scope or vice versa. In the example given in
Question 24b, this would mean that an overview EIS would be prepared for all
of the energy activities reasonably foreseeable in a particular geographic
area or resulting from a particular development program. This impact statement
would be followed by site-specific or project-specific EISs. The tiering
process would make each EIS of greater use and meaning to the public as the
plan or program develops, without duplication of the analysis prepared for the
previous impact statement.
25a. Q. When is it appropriate to use appendices instead of including
information in the body of an EIS?
A. The body of the EIS should be a succinct statement of all the information
on environmental impacts and alternatives that the decision maker and the
public need, in order to make the decision and to ascertain that every
significant factor has been examined. The EIS must explain or summarize
methodologies of research and modeling, and the results of research that may
have been conducted to analyze impacts and alternatives.
Lengthy technical discussions of modeling methodology, baseline studies, or
other work are best reserved for the appendix. In other words, if only
technically trained individuals are likely to understand a particular
discussion then it should go in the appendix, and a plain language summary of
the analysis and conclusions of that technical discussion should go in the
text of the EIS. The final statement must also contain the agency's responses
to comments on the raft EIS. These responses will be primarily in the form of
changes in the document itself, but specific answers to each significant
comment should also be included. These specific responses may be placed in an
appendix. If the comments are especially voluminous, summaries of the comments
and responses will suffice. (See Question 29 regarding the level of detail
required for responses to comments).
25b. Q. How does an appendix differ from incorporation by reference?
A. First, if at all possible, the appendix accompanies the EIS, whereas the
material that is incorporated by reference does not accompany the EIS. Thus
the appendix should contain information that reviewers will be likely to want
to examine. The appendix should include material that pertains to preparation
of a particular EIS. Research papers directly relevant to the proposal, lists
of affected species, discussion the methodology of models used in the analysis
of impacts, extremely detailed responses to comments, or other information,
would be placed in the appendix.
The appendix must be complete and available at the time the EIS is filed. Five
copies of the appendix must be sent to EPA with five copies of the EIS for
filing. If the appendix is too bulky to be circulated, it instead must be
placed in conveniently accessible locations or furnished directly to
commentors upon request. If it is not circulated with the EIS, the Notice of
Availability published by EPA must so state, giving a telephone number to
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