NEPA
Regulations issued to assist federal agencies implement the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR §§ 1500–1508).
What are CEQ Regulations?
A U.S. environmental law that applies to all federal agencies and their actions and how their actions may affect the human and natural environment.
What is NEPA?
The authority that requires consultation when waters of the United States are modified by a federal action or federally permitted action.
What is the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act?
National Historic Preservation Act, Historic Sites Act, Antiquities Act, and the Abandoned Shipwreck Act.
What are Historic Preservation Laws?
No consequences to listed species or critical habitat that result from the proposed action.
What is a "No Effect" determination?
The specific objectives of agency’s proposed action; and the broader underlying social/agency need or legal/legislative requirement to which agency is responding.
What is 'Purpose and Need."?
Changes to the human environment that are reasonably foreseeable and close causal relationship to the proposed action or alternatives.
What are effects?
…“illegal for anyone to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird except under the terms of a valid permit issued pursuant to federal regulations”…
What is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act or MBTA?
Requires federal agencies to consider the effects on historic properties of projects they carry out, assist, fund, permit, license, or approve throughout the country.
What is Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act or 106 or NHPA?
Undertaken when a Federal action agency determines that a project is Not Likely to Adversely Affect federally listed species and/or critical habitat.
What is Informal Consultation?
Category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment.
What is a 'Categorical Exclusion?'
Prohibits, with certain exceptions, the "take" of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens on the high seas.
What is the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972?
Encourages conservation of hurricane prone, biologically rich coastal barriers through the limitation on federal expenditures and financial assistance which have the effect of encouraging development on coasts.
What is the Coastal Barrier Resources Act? 16 USC§3501-3510
Anything that alters the way in which people live, work, play, relate to one another, organize to meet their needs and generally cope as members of society.
What are Socioeconomic Impacts or socioeconomic resources?
Undertaken when an agency's actions are determined to result in adverse effects to federally listed species or critical habitat, in accordance with the endangered species act.
What is Formal Consultation?
Describes the public involvement (e.g. scheduled meetings), scoping process and the proposed action, CEQ Regulation 1506.6 and the Army's 33 CFR Part 230.12.
What is a Notice of Intent
33 CFR part 230.10 describes a document which provides sufficient information to the district commander on potential environmental effects of the proposed action and, if appropriate, its alternatives, for determining whether to prepare an EIS or a FONSI (40 CFR 1508.9).
The habitat necessary for managed fish to complete their life cycle, thus contributing to a fishery that can be harvested sustainably.
What is Essential Fish Habitat?
The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
What is Environmental Justice?
USFWS or NOAA Fisheries will prepare a Biological Opinion in response to this document that is prepared by the action agency.
What is a Biological Assessment?
Supreme Court decision:…it is now well settled that NEPA itself does not mandate particular results, but simply prescribes the necessary process…Other statutes may impose substantive environmental obligations on federal agencies, but NEPA merely prohibits uninformed – rather than unwise – agency action.”
What is 'Robertson v Methow Valley (1989)?
Used to help identify resources that should be analyzed in an EA/EIS.
What is an environmental factor checklist
A subset of Essential Fish Habitat, habitat types and/or geographic areas identified by the eight regional fishery management councils and NOAA Fisheries as priorities for habitat conservation, management and research.
What are Habitats Areas of Particular Concern or HAPCs?
Under Section 106, the Federal agency must consider the effects of the action on what?
What are Historic Properties?
ESA coordination involving "an act of God, disasters, casualties, national defense or security emergencies, etc., and includes response activities that must be taken to prevent imminent loss of human life or property."