§ 216.7 Environmental impact statements.

(a) Applicability. An Environmental Impact Statement shall be prepared when agency actions significantly affect: (1) The global environment or areas outside the jurisdiction of any nation (e.g., the oceans); (2) The environment of the United States; or (3) Other aspects of the environment at the discretion of the Administrator. (b) Effects on the United States: Content and form. An Environmental Impact Statement relating to paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall comply with the CEQ Regulations. With respect to effects on the United States, the terms environment and significant effect wherever used in these procedures have the same meaning as in the CEQ Regulations rather than as defined in § 216.1(c) (12) and (13) of these procedures. (c) Other effects: Content and form. An Environmental Impact Statement relating to paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(3) of this section will generally follow the CEQ Regulations, but will take into account the special considerations and concerns of A.I.D. Circulation of such Environmental Impact Statements in draft form will precede approval of a Project Paper or equivalent and comments from such circulation will be considered before final project authorization as outlined in § 216.3 of these procedures. The draft Environmental Impact Statement will also be circulated by the Missions to affected foreign governments for information and comment. Draft Environmental Impact Statements generally will be made available for comment to Federal agencies with jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved, and to public and private organizations and individuals for not less than forty-five (45) days. Notice of availability of the draft Environmental Impact Statements will be published in the Federal Register. Cognizant Bureaus and Offices will submit these drafts for circulation through the Environmental Coordinator who will have the responsibility for coordinating all such communications with persons outside A.I.D. Any comments received by the Environmental Coordinator will be forwarded to the originating Bureau or Office for consideration in final policy decisions and the preparation of a final Environmental Impact Statement. All such comments will be attached to the final Statement, and those relevant comments not adequately discussed in the draft Environmental Impact Statement will be appropriately dealt with in the final Environmental Impact Statement. Copies of the final Environmental Impact Statement, with comments attached, will be sent by the Environmental Coordinator to CEQ and to all other Federal, state, and local agencies and private organizations that made substantive comments on the draft, including affected foreign governments. Where emergency circumstances or considerations of foreign policy make it necessary to take an action without observing the provisions of § 1506.10 of the CEQ Regulations, or when there are overriding considerations of expense to the United States or foreign governments, the originating Office will advise the Environmental Coordinator who will consult with Department of State and CEQ concerning appropriate modification of review procedures.