§304a Accelerated Decisionmaking in Environmental Reviews

Summary

The lead agency preparing a final environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 may attach short errata sheets instead of redoing the whole draft when changes are minor and only fix facts or explain why a comment does not need more response. The errata sheets must show the sources and reasons for the agency’s position and, when needed, say what would make the agency recheck its decision. The lead agency must try to produce one fast document that combines the final environmental impact statement and the record of decision, unless the final statement makes big changes that affect environmental or safety concerns or new important information appears. Department of Transportation offices must avoid repeating work by adopting or incorporating environmental documents from another office when appropriate. One office can adopt another’s draft or final document without reissuing it if the adopting office says the actions are basically the same, the other office agrees, and doing so follows NEPA. An office can also incorporate parts of another document if it cites and briefly describes the material, makes it available for public review in time, and does not include proprietary data that people cannot review.