Environmental Review Instructions.docx

These Environmental Review Instructions are intended to provide Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) Grantees with the information needed to ensure timely environmental review of OIA-grant funded projects. Work may not begin on any project until OIA provides authorization to proceed (ATP) to the Grantee. OIA uses environmental specialists at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assist with compliance reviews and documentation. These instructions outline the 5-step process. To simplify reviews, USACE recommends that Grantees prepare submittals using information provided herein. Appendices with additional information are also available.

The OIA-USACE environmental review process can be broken down into the following steps:

Step 1: Project Notification Project notification begins when the OIA Grant Manager provides to USACE environmental staff and the Grantee a copy of (1) a signed Scope of Work (SOW) Approval Form, (2) the detailed project description/narrative, and (3) Grantee point of contact information. Upon receipt of this information, USACE will start project review. Grantee will start (or continue) environmental compliance preparation.

Step 2: Project Description The Grantee project description or narrative is typically provided to USACE. However, environmental details about a project may differ from those in the grant application. The project description for environmental review should contain sufficient information to explain and evaluate the full range of potential impacts to human and natural resources. USACE technical staff may request additional information or submittals. USACE will help determine potential effects and the appropriate level of analysis required to support the proposed action.

The project checklist below provides a list of information Grantees should provide to USACE, as warranted.

Submittal Checklist #1 - OIA Project Description ☐ Project description or narrative (who, what, where, why, when, how). Include entire project scope and all phases from beginning to end.

☐ Describe the project purpose and need (such as a required upgrade to replace an inadequate power system).

☐ Project location and details (such as address, location of facilities, staging areas, existing site conditions, planned ground disturbance or habit modifications).

☐ Design plans, drawings, and construction specifications (include diagrams, schematics, size and distance details, flow diagrams, description of construction phases, etc.)

☐ Map(s) ☐ Photographs and Site visit information ☐ Permit package including initial application and final permits.

Next, the Grantee will review the environmental resource areas potentially affected by the proposed project. Grantees should review the effects determination table below for submittal #2. Provide additional information from two bottom questions as needed. Grantees can contact USACE technical staff for assistance.KEEP IN MIND Under NEPA, a project is the aggregation of all geographically and functionally related activities that comprise the undertaking as a whole. This dictates the level of analysis. A project is never parsed out into individual activities to enable separate, small-scale reviews. Rather, the project in its entirety is analyzed during environmental review.

Submittal Checklist #2 – Human and natural environmental resources effects determination table.

b) Will construction have temporary air quality effects?

b) Will the proposal result in alteration or disposal of existing facilities?

b) is there a potential for diverting or altering stream flows, drainage systems, or stormwater runoff?

b) Will the construction involve disturbance of one acre or more of ground surface?

b) Will any ground disturbance occur in waterways, below high tide, on mud flats, on shorelines, or in wetlands?

c) Will any vegetation be removed?

50-years-old?

b) Will the proposal require any excavation, trenching, or grading activity?

b) Will the project require infrastructure changes, such as new utility poles or fencing?

c) Will the proposal alter the traffic patterns in the area?

b) Will the completed project increase noise levels?

b) Is the project controversial?

c) Does the proposal establish a precedent for future action with potentially significant effects?

Provide additional information to explain any “Yes” or “Data needed” answer

Explain how unknown or missing data will be obtained and its relevance to the proposed action:

Step 3: Agency Coordination The Grantee is responsible for obtaining any necessary permits, coordinating with Federal, State and local Agencies, and incorporating consultation findings into their documentation submittals. For more information, Appendix A explains the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) level of analysis recommendation to determine the type of documentation required. Appendix B provides the regulatory agencies that Grantees will most often coordinate with during NEPA process. The Appendix C reference table provides a list of laws and regulations for consideration during the NEPA process.

Experienced Grantees may have a sense of proper Level of Analysis for a project and may begin coordination efforts proactively. However, working with your USACE technical reviewer prior to beginning your NEPA efforts may save you unnecessary effort and allow you to plan more efficiently.

Step 4: Document Preparation In step 4, the Grantee identifies the NEPA level of analysis (as outlined in Appendix A) and if the project fits into a categorical exclusion (CATEX) based on the action description. If a CATEX applies, it is documented by preparation of a Record of Environmental Consideration (REC) or a Memo to File (MTF). The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has designated the following twelve actions, labeled (a) through (l), as categorically excluded under 43 CFR Part 46.210. The DOI CATEXs that may be applicable to OIA grantees are listed below:

(a) Internal organizational changes and facility and bureau reductions and closings

(b) Routine financial transactions

(c) Personnel actions and investigations and personnel services contracts including such things as salaries and expenses, procurement contracts, guarantees, financial assistance, income transfers, audits, fees, bonds and royalties.

(d) Departmental legal activities including, but not limited to, such things as arrests, investigations, patents, claims, and legal opinions. (Does not include bringing enforcement actions which are outside the scope of NEPA).

(e) Nondestructive data collection, inventory (including field, aerial, and satellite surveying and mapping), study, research, and monitoring activities.

(f) Routine and continuing government business, including such things as supervision, administration, operations, maintenance, renovations, and replacement activities having limited context and intensity.

(g) Management, formulation, allocation, transfer and reprogramming of the Department’s budget at all levels. (This does not exclude the preparation of environmental documents for proposals included in the budget when otherwise required.)

(h) Legislative proposals of an administrative or technical nature (including such things as changes in authorizations for appropriations and minor boundary changes and land title transactions) or having primarily economic social, individual, or institutional effects.

(i) Policies, directives, regulations, and guidance: that are of an administrative, financial, legal, technical, or procedural nature; or whose environmental effects are too broad, speculative, or conjectural to lend themselves to meaningful analysis.

(j) Activities which are educational, informational, advisory, or consultative to other agencies, public and private entities, visitors, individuals or the public.

(k) Hazardous fuels reduction activities using prescribed fire not to exceed 4,500 acres, and mechanical methods for crushing, piling, thinning, pruning, cutting, mulching and mowing, not to exceed 1,000 acres. For applicability, see subclauses under 43 CFR Part 46.210(k)

(l) Post-fire rehabilitation activities not to exceed 4,200 acres. For applicability, see subclauses under 43 CFR Part 46.210(l) It is also important to indicate if More than one CATEX is Applicable. If applicable, the Grantee drafts their supporting NEPA documentation (see example template in Appendix D) and then submits it to USACE, along with any Agency coordination documents.

NEPA documentation should include:

☐ Identification of the applicable CATEX(s) ☐ Rationale supporting its appropriate use.

☐ Statement of finding that no extraordinary circumstances exist.

☐ Additional information about any compensatory mitigation actions or Agency requirements.

Note that if extraordinary circumstances exist for a proposed action that would otherwise be categorically excluded, the action cannot proceed without preparation of an EA or EIS (see 43 CFR Part 46.215). In cases where Grantees cannot draft their own NEPA documents, when there are extraordinary circumstances, or when a CATEX does not apply, Grantees should contact the OIA grant manager and USACE technical staff for assistance.REMEMBER If at any time the project scope changes, if new circumstances and/or environmental conditions arise, or if alternatives not considered originally are selected, the impacts of the project must be reassessed, and the original finding reviewed for validity.

Once the Grantee has submitted their NEPA documentation package, the Draft submittals will be reviewed by USACE technical staff for completeness, consistency, and compliance with legal requirements.

Step 5: USACE Recommendation & OIA Authorization USACE staff will review the NEPA package and work with the Grantee to provide feedback and editorial recommendations.

Based on the Grantee’s finalized NEPA package, USACE technical staff will make a final compliance recommendation to OIA. If the recommendation is positive, OIA will then provide the Grantee with a formal Authorization to Proceed (ATP).

The five step OIA-USACE environmental review process does not cover all possible contingencies, but it does provide a framework for communication and work flow. Successful review and approval depends on a free and honest exchange of information regarding project design and potential environmental impacts. Consulting early and often is the best policy. Remember, USACE technical reviewers are here to help your project succeed!

USACE NEPA Review Staff Mr. Michael Desilets – Environmental Technical Reviewer/Archeologist michael.desilets@usace.army.mil; 808-835-4039 Ms. Rhonda Lucas – Environmental Technical Reviewer/Biologist Rhonda.s.lucas@usace.army.mil; 808-835-4502

APPENDIX A – NEPA Levels of Analysis All related activities undertaken using OIA grant funds are subject to the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), which established national policies, goals, and procedures for protecting, restoring, and enhancing environmental quality. Under the NEPA Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), each Federal Agency must develop their own NEPA Implementing Procedures. The Department of the Interior (DOI) NEPA implementing procedures, categorical exclusions, and extraordinary circumstances used by OIA are contained in 43 CFR Part 46. Specific categorical exclusions for OIA are currently under review by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

Based on the Step 2 submittals provided by the Grantee, USACE will make a NEPA “Level of Analysis” recommendation to determine the type of documentation required.

NEPA Levels of Analyses include, in descending level of complexity:

· Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), documented with a Record of Decision (ROD)

· Environmental Assessment (EA), documented with a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

· Categorical Exclusion (CATEX)

· documented via Record of Environmental Consideration (REC), or

· documented via Memo to File (MTF) Many OIA grants are comprised of categorically excluded activities. Grant activities that require no physical construction or ground disturbance (such as financial transactions or educational training) can typically be documented with an MTF. CATEX actions requiring construction, additional Agency coordination, or the implementation of special measures or conditions to avoid impacts may require more detailed documentation in a REC.

The flowchart below (Figure 1) shows a decision tree illustrating the NEPA pathways and steps for completing a categorical exclusion (CATEX, green), environmental assessment (EA, yellow), or an environmental impact statement (EIS, pink). Contingent on the nature and scope of the proposed action, additional Agency coordination, analysis, and documentation may be required in Steps 3 and 4.

Although NEPA is only one environmental law among many, it typically serves as an umbrella under which other laws are covered. In addition to NEPA, OIA grant projects are subject to other Federal laws related to environmental conditions, as well as similar authorities and permit requirements at the State and local levels.

*Significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns or substantial changes in the proposed action may necessitate preparation of a supplemental EIS following ether a draft or final EIS, or the ROD per 40 CFR 1502.9 (d) Figure 1 – NEPA analysis flowchart OIA Environmental Review Instructions USACE, March 2024

OIA Environmental Review Instructions USACE, March 2024

APPENDIX B – Regulatory Agencies CNMI Agencies

· CNMI Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality (BECQ), Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ)

· CNMI DCCA, Historic Preservation Office (HPO)

· CNMI BECQ, Division of Coastal Resources Management (DCRM)

· CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), Department of Land and Natural Resources American Samoa

· Project Notification and Review System (PNRS)

· ASG Historic Preservation Office (HPO)

· ASG Coastal Management Program (CMP)

· ASG Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

· ASG Dept. of Marine and Wildlife Resources

· ASG Dept. of Commerce (DOC), American Samoa Coastal Management Program (ASCMP) Guam Agencies

· Guam Coastal Management Program, Bureau of Statistics and Plans

· Guam Historic Resources Division

· Guam Environmental Protection Agency (GEPA)

· Guam Dept. of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources

· Guam Dept. of Land Management, Seashore Reserve and/or Wetlands U.S. Federal Agencies & Authorities (coordinated with by OIA and USACE for grant activities)

· NOAA Fisheries – Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA), Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)

· U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – ESA, Fish & Wildlife Coordination Act

· U.S. National Marine Fishery Service – ESA, MMPA

· U.S. EPA Region 9 – Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) General Permit, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Notice of Intent

· U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Office – Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 10/Section 404 Nationwide Permit; EO 11990, Rivers and Harbors Act (these permits are separate from NEPA)

· U.S. Department of Agriculture – EO 13112 Invasive Species

APPENDIX C – Federal Laws and Regulations Federal regulations, laws, and executive orders that may need to be considered during the NEPA environmental review process.

33 U.S.C. 403, et seq.

APPENDIX D – CATEX example REC Template

RECORD OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

Date: DDMMMYYYY

Purpose of the REC:

To satisfy the requirements for environmental review as required by the following:

(a) National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq. (NEPA)

(b) Council on Environmental Quality Regulations 40 CFR 1500-1508

(c) Department of the Interior (DOI) NEPA Implementing Regulations at 43 CFR Part 46

(d) Revised Draft – Department of the Interior, Departmental Manual, Part 516 – National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Chapter 6 – Managing the NEPA Process – Office of Insular Affairs, revised date of April 16, 2013.

1. Official Project Title and Funding Information:

2. Date of Proposed Action: YYYY

3. Description of Proposed Action:

The Proponent Authority proposes to utilize Department of Interior (DOI)- Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) TYPE OF GRANT funding to (insert project description covered under SOW).

3.1 Project Background and Location

The facility is located at INSERT LOCATION DESCRIPTION including address/street, town, island, territory from specific to general. May also include other descriptions or coordinates. Include map or other figures. Provide brief background and context. The structure was initially constructed in YYYY. The project is associated with/for the purpose of/is used by…

3.2 Purpose and Need of the Project

Add a Purpose and Need paragraph that establishes the reason why an agency is proposing a project. The purpose states the intention to solve the problem. The need statement should describe the problem and then supply supporting evidence/data to justify expected outcome of public expenditure.

3.3 Scope of Work

Description of proposed action from the SOW. Provide information and plans supporting new facilities or structures. Include tables showing excavations areas/volumes, bulleted list of equipment to be purchased and installed as part of this project, ground disturbance specifications, schedule of activities, description of construction phases, staging areas, etc. This should include ALL potential activities and phases of a project from beginning to end.

4. Environmental Coordination with Resource Agencies:

This action has been/will be coordinated with the offices and Agencies in Table 1 to adequately analyze, consider, and document the potential impacts on environmental resources. Agency comments and conditions identified during the consultation process are detailed further below. Insert applicable regulations into the table below. Customize as appropriate for geographic area and type of project. See Appendices B and C.

Table 1. Coordinating Agencies and Environmental Compliance

Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW).

The following special conditions or measures are required by Authorizing Agencies as a condition of project implementation. Include any Agency conditions or findings as applicable in Section below as warranted.

For example:

4.1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Our analysis determined there would be “No effect” on federally listed species or critical habitat associated with the proposed action. We initiated informal consultation with USFWS on XXXXXXX date. On XXXX date we received a letter from USFWS concurring with our determination of No Effect on Listed Species with the implementation of conservation measures and BMPs. The following conservation measures are required to avoid and minimize any potential impacts:

5. Potential Environmental Impacts:

The project proponent has evaluated the potential effects of the proposed action on human and natural environmental resources consistent with 40 CFR 1508.1(g). Table 2 provides a checklist of resources potentially affected by construction and/or operation associated with the proposed action. Discussion(s) on the “yes” or “unknown” responses immediately follow.

Table 2. Summary of Potential Effects of the proposed Action

Aesthetics or Views

Air Quality, Dust, or Emissions

Aquatic Resources or Shorelines

Invasive Species/Weeds

Fish and Wildlife Habitat or Vegetated Areas

Threatened/Endangered Species or Critical Habitat

Historic Properties (> 45 years old)

Cultural/Archeological Resources or any digging

Work in Floodplains or Wetlands

Hazardous Materials, Toxins, Radioactive Waste

Hydrology or Water Drainages

Land Use or Public Recreation

Noise (short or long-term)

Disproportionate Effects to Low Income/Minority Groups

Erosion, Grading, any Ground Disturbance

Water Quality Effects or Project > 1 acre

ADD OTHER RESOURCES AS NEEDED

5.1 Affected Resources

Discussion of items marked “yes” or “unknown”. Also discuss how missing data will be obtained and its relevance to the proposed action. Include both positive and negative effects on resources. Explain BMPs or any other actions that would be required to reduce potential impacts to an insignificant level.

5.2 Mitigation Measures

Discuss as warranted. Also include BMPs or any other actions that would be required to reduce potential impacts to an insignificant level.

6. Determination of Categorically Excluded Actions:

Per 40 CFR 1508.1 (CEQ Regulations), categorical exclusion is defined as a category of actions that an Agency has previously evaluated and then determined, and listed within its Agency NEPA implementing procedures, normally do not have a significant effect on the human environment. Categorically excluded actions do not require additional environmental review necessitating an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. Any actions identified as categorically included shall be evaluated for extraordinary circumstances in which a normally excluded action may have a significant environmental effect. Ensure any potential effects or extraordinary circumstances under 43 CFR Part 46.215 have been reviewed that would otherwise exclude an action.

A review of the proposed action, the results of resource agency coordination, and the analysis of potential environmental impacts (Section 5), indicate that the action as identified and described in this document does not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment. This proposed action qualifies as a categorical exclusion accordance with 40 CFR 1508.1 and DOI NEPA regulations at 43 CFR Part 46, paragraph (X):

type in the applicable CATEX from 43 CFR Part 46.210 paragraphs (a) though (l).

All the requirements and conditions set forth in any additional agency consultation conducted during the preconstruction permitting process will be complied with. The extraordinary circumstances governing the use of OIA Categorical Exclusions discussed in 43 CFR 46.215, have been considered and it has been determined that these conditions are not applicable to the proposed action.

7. Conclusion This section is completed by OIA and/or USACE following an independent analysis. Following a completed memorandum, the REC is signed and dated.

This REC does not relieve the proponent from compliance with other applicable Federal, State, and Local requirements or other general or specific requirements, restrictions, and practices set forth as a result of resource agency coordination.

Prepared by:

Reviewed by:

OIA Environmental Review Instructions USACE, March 2024

ATTACHMENTS – Plans, Specifications, Figures, Photographs image2.emf image3.png image1.png image4.png