47 CFR § 1.1314 - Environmental impact statements (EISs).
(a) Draft Environmental Impact Statements (DEISs) (§ 1.1315) and Final Environmental Impact Statements (FEISs) (referred to collectively as EISs) (§ 1.1317) shall be prepared by the Bureau responsible for processing the proposal when the Commission's or the Bureau's analysis of the EA (§ 1.1308) indicates that the proposal will have a significant effect upon the environment and the matter has not been resolved by an amendment.
(b) As soon as practically feasible, the Bureau will publish in the Federal Register a Notice of Intent to prepare EISs. The Notice shall briefly identify the proposal, concisely describe the environmental issues and concerns presented by the subject application, and generally invite participation from affected or involved agencies, authorities and other interested persons.
(c) The EISs shall not address non-environmental considerations. To safeguard against repetitive and unnecessarily lengthy documents, the Statements, where feasible, shall incorporate by reference material set forth in previous documents, with only a brief summary of its content. In preparing the EISs, the Bureau will identify and address the significant environmental issues and eliminate the insignificant issues from analysis.
(d) To assist in the preparation of the EISs, the Bureau may request further information from the applicant, interested persons and agencies and authorities, which have jurisdiction by law or which have relevant expertise. The Bureau may direct that technical studies be made by the applicant and that the applicant obtain expert opinion concerning the potential environmental problems and costs associated with the proposed action, as well as comparative analyses of alternatives. The Bureau may also consult experts in an effort to identify measures that could be taken to minimize the adverse effects and alternatives to the proposed facilities that are not, or are less, objectionable. The Bureau may also direct that objections be raised with appropriate local, state or Federal land use agencies or authorities (if their views have not been previously sought).
(e) The Bureau responsible for processing the particular application and, thus, preparing the EISs shall draft supplements to Statements where significant new circumstances occur or information arises relevant to environmental concerns and bearing upon the application.
(f) The Application, the EA, the DEIS, and the FEIS and all related documents, including the comments filed by the public and any agency, shall be part of the administrative record and will be routinely available for public inspection. All documents and comments shall be filed electronically.
(g) If EISs are to be prepared, the applicant must provide the community with notice of the availability of environmental documents and the scheduling of any Commission hearings in that action.
(h) The timing of agency action with respect to applications subject to EISs is set forth in 40 CFR 1506.10. No decision shall be made until ninety (90) days after the Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is published in the Federal Register, and thirty (30) days after the Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement is published in the Federal Register, which time period may run concurrently, See 40 CFR 1506.10(c); see also §§ 1.1315(b) and 1.1317(b).
(i) Guidance concerning preparation of the Draft and Final Environmental Statements is set out in 40 CFR part 1502.