ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENTS--FRAMEWORK STUDIES AND I. Purpose This statement sets forth the policy of the Water Resources Council regarding the implementation of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (PL 91-190) for framework studies and assessments, regional or river basin plans, and ongoing type 1 and type 2 comprehensive river basin studies. The Council on Environmental Quality has issued interim guidelines (35 F. R. 73907393) providing detailed instructions for the preparation and content of environmental statements required under this section of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Proposed revised guidelines are now under consideration (36 F. R. 1398-1402). The Office of Management and Budget has issued Bulletin No. 71-3, August 31, 1970, establishing interim procedures providing for the utilization of existing review mechanisms in the preparation and submission of the environmental statements. II. General Policy Environmental statements as required under section 102(2)(C) will be prepared by river basin commissions, interagency committees, or WRC coordinating committees for framework studies and assessments and regional or river basin plans, or revisions thereof, during the preparation of the study, assessment, or plan. Environmental statements will also be prepared by river basin commissions, interagency committees, or WRC coordinating committees for ongoing type 1 and type 2 comprehensive framework and river basin studies which have not been transmitted by the Water Resources Council to the President. Environmental statements prepared for framework studies and assessments, regional or river basin plans, and ongoing type 1 and type 2 comprehensive river basin studies will reflect the level of planning involved and will address those environmental considerations and alternatives that are relevant to decisionmaking at each Generally, this means that in the case of the framework studies and assessments and ongoing type 1 studies, the environmental statements will be principally directed toward the alternative choices evaluated in the study responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people. These alternative choices relate to various views of the desires of people in the mix of objectives to be served in planning for the use of the Nation's water and land resources, and reflect the alternative parameters and assumptions upon which the planning is based including, but not necessarily limited to, alternative assumptions regarding the levels of future economic and population growth and environmental quality. In the case of regional or river basin plans, and ongoing type 2 studies, environmental statements will generally address alternative courses of action evaluated in planning for the use of the water and land resources of a region or river basin as this is the level of consideration of alternatives at which the environmental issues and tradeoffs are most likely to be relevant to decision making. They may, however, also address groups of interrelated or individual plan elements where major environmental issues and tradeoffs are likely to be significant to the decision making process. III. Preparation and Review of Environmental Statements This policy shall be implemented in accordance with the interim guidelines issued by the Council on Environmental Quality and the interim procedures established in OMB Bulletin 71-3 or revisions thereto when issued. For framework studies and assessments, regional or river basin plans, and ongoing type 1 and type 2 comprehensive river basin studies carried out by river basin commissions established under the Water Resources Planning Act, the commission chairmen are hereby designated as the Federal officials responsible for the preparation and review of the environmental statements. Where such studies are carried out by interagency committees and coordinating committees, the Chairman of the Water Resources Council or an appropriate designee is responsible for the preparation and review of the environmental statements. However, drafts of proposed environmental statements will be prepared by the interagency committees and coordinating committees during the conduct of such studies and will accompany the proposed reports of the interagency committees and WRC coordinating committees under established review procedures. As a minimum, to meet the requirements of section 10 of the interim guidelines (35 F. R. 7390-7393) issued by the Council on Environmental Quality, the Chairman of the Water Resources Council (or an appropriate designee) or the chairman of a river basin commission, as appropriate, depending on whether such studies are carried out by an interagency committee or WRC coordinating committee, or a river basin commission, shall transmit to the Council on Environmental Quality draft environmental statements at the time a proposed report on such studies is referred for comments to interested Federal, State, and local agencies. The final environmental statement, accompanied by all comments received upon the draft environmental statement, shall be transmitted to the Council on Environmental Quality at the time the Water Resources Council transmits its recommendations to the President. The Chairman of the Water Resources Council (or an appropriate designee) or the chairman of a river basin commission, as appropriate, may transmit draft environmental statements to the Council on Environmental Quality earlier in the planning process if available. IV. Relation to Planning Principles and Standards Proposed planning principles and standards now under consideration by the Water Resources Council providing for full evaluation of environmental effects and systematic formulation and comparison of alternatives would, when approved, conform fully with the spirit of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Accordingly, the need for environmental statements or appropriate summaries for the comprehensive planning program will be reassessed when the proposed planning principles and standards are approved by the President. POLICY STATEMENTS 1. Water and Related Land Resources Planning 7-22-70 2. Environmental Statements Framework Studies and Assessments and Regional or River Basin Plans 2-10-71 The United States Water Resources Council, an independent Executive agency of the U.S. Government, is composed of the Secretaries of Interior; Agriculture; Army; Health, Education and Welfare; Transportation; Chairman, Federal Power Commission; with participation by the Secretaries of Commerce; Housing and Urban Development; Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency; Attorney General; Director, Office of Management and Budget; Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality; and the Chairmen, River Basin Commissions. Council activities encourage the conservation development and utilization of water and related land resources on a comprehensive and coordinated basis by Federal, State, local government and private enterprise. |