[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 108 (Thursday, June 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32563-32564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13035]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
[Docket Number DHS-2013-0052]
National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures
AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Revisions to National Environmental Policy
Act implementing procedures and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to provide an opportunity for
public comment on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or
Department) draft Directive 023-01, Rev. 01 and draft Instruction
Manual 023-01-001-01, Rev. 01, Implementation of the National
Environmental Policy Act (herein after referred to as Directive and
Instruction). Together, the Directive and Instruction serve as the
Department's procedures for implementing the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as amended, and the
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the
procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508). Pursuant to the
CEQ regulations, DHS is soliciting comments on its proposed internal
Directive and Instruction from members of the interested public.
DATES: Comments and related material must be received on or before (or,
if mailed, postmarked on or before) August 4, 2014 to ensure
consideration. Late comments may be considered to the extent
practicable.
ADDRESSES: Relevant documents are posted at http://www.regulations.gov
(Docket ID: DHS-2013-0052) and www.dhs.gov/nepa. These documents
include: this notice, the proposed Directive and Instruction, and a
synopsis of the Department's administrative record for several proposed
new NEPA categorical exclusions (CATEXs).
You may submit comments, identified by ``DHS NEPA Procedures,'' by
one of the following methods:
(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the online instructions for submitting comments electronically via
docket number DHS-2013-0052.
(2) Mail: Sustainability and Environmental Programs, Office of the
Chief Readiness Support Officer, Management Directorate, Department of
Homeland Security, 245 Murray Lane SW., Mail Stop 0075, Washington, DC
20528-0075.
(3) Email: [email protected].
In choosing among these means of providing comments, please give
due regard to the security screening difficulties and delays associated
with delivery of mail to federal agencies in Washington, DC, through
the U.S. Postal Service.
All comments received, including any personal information provided,
will become a part of the public record for the Department's NEPA
procedures and may be posted without change on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov and http://www.dhs.gov/nepa.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Shick, Environmental Protection
Specialist, Department of Homeland Security, 202-603-3517, or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS or
Department) encourages interested persons to submit written data,
views, or comments. Persons submitting comments should include their
name, address, and other appropriate contact information. You may
submit your comments and material by one of the means listed under
ADDRESSES. If you submit them by mail or hand delivery, submit them in
an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for
copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would
like to know that they were received, please enclose a stamped, self-
addressed postcard or envelope. DHS will consider all comments received
during the comment period.
The Directive and Instruction establish the policy and procedures
DHS follows to comply with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the CEQ
regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508). Together, the Directive and
Instruction apply to all of DHS, which is currently comprised of over
20 support and operational components, and help ensure the integration
of environmental stewardship into DHS decision making as required by
NEPA. The Directive and Instruction serve as the DHS implementing
procedures for NEPA and the CEQ regulations (as required by 40 CFR
1505.1 and 1507.3) and therefore must be read in conjunction with the
CEQ regulations.
The Directive and Instruction have been substantially revised to
address a number of circumstances and requirements that have arisen
since April 19, 2006, the effective date of the original DHS procedures
(Federal Register, Vol. 71, No. 64, April 4, 2006). Revision of the
Directive and Instruction, including additions to the Department's list
of NEPA categorical exclusions (CATEXs), was a collaborative effort on
the part of numerous DHS environmental and legal professionals from
across the Department. These professionals are NEPA practitioners and
environmental protection specialists with numerous years of federal
NEPA experience, including experience in implementing the 2006 DHS NEPA
procedures or Component-specific procedures, and legal practitioners
with advanced education and experience advising federal agency project
and program managers on NEPA compliance. The DHS Components and offices
whose staff contributed to the update of the Directive and Instruction
include:
Sustainability and Environmental Programs (SEP), Office of
the Chief Readiness Support Officer, Under Secretary for Management,
DHS HQ
Office of the General Counsel, DHS HQ
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
United States Coast Guard (USCG)
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)
United States Secret Service (USSS)
Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)
National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD)
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
When originally published in 2006, the Directive and Instruction
did not apply to the Components of FEMA, CBP, or USCG; these three
Components each maintained their own procedures for implementing NEPA
when the Department was established in 2002. This proposed revision to
the Directive and Instruction incorporates FEMA, CBP, and USCG into the
Department's NEPA procedures and addresses the full scope of DHS
activities to which NEPA
[[Page 32564]]
applies. When the updated procedures are finalized and become
effective, they will apply to all Components of DHS, including FEMA,
CBP, and USCG. In addition, every Component will have the option of
developing Supplemental Instructions to establish how that particular
Component will meet the requirements of the final version of the DHS
Directive and Instruction. In a separate yet related effort, FEMA will
pursue rescission of its regulations at 44 CFR 10 and replace them with
Supplemental Instructions that conform to requirements of the final
version of the DHS Directive and Instruction.
As the Department has matured, the requirements of its Directives
System have changed. The current DHS Directives System, effective as of
August 2012, establishes standards for the length, format, and content
of documents such as policies, delegations of authority, directives,
instructions, manuals, handbooks, etc. The 2006 Directive and
Instruction do not align to the requirements of the Department's
current Directives System, and therefore revisions were necessary. For
example, a directive must be used to establish policy as well as high-
level roles and responsibilities, and cannot exceed five pages in
length; an instruction accompanies a directive and provides detail on
how to comply with the requirements of the directive, such as by
establishing specific roles and responsibilities, processes, systems,
and program management requirements. The revised Directive establishes
the policy that DHS will comply with NEPA, and the revised Instruction
establishes the procedures for ensuring this compliance is implemented
in an effective and efficient manner.
The requirements put forth in the revised Directive and Instruction
emphasize that the NEPA process must be appropriately integrated into
the performance of DHS missions and activities and decision making. The
Instruction covers the following: overview of NEPA requirements,
including requirements for the preparation and content of NEPA
documents; management of NEPA implementation in DHS; criteria for
Components to obtain a delegation of authority to approve their
respective NEPA reviews; public involvement; dispute resolution;
information protected from public disclosure; procedures for
emergencies; review of applications from persons or organizations
outside of DHS (e.g., grant applications); and an identification of the
types of DHS activities normally reviewed in a CATEX, Environmental
Assessment, or Environmental Impact Statement.
Revisions were also made to the Directive and Instruction to
address the requirements of laws and Executive Orders since 2006, as
well as to incorporate recent CEQ guidance memoranda. Readability,
clarity, and organization of the content were improved to comply with
the requirements of the Plain Writing Act of 2010. The revised
Instruction incorporates CEQ guidance on mitigation and monitoring;
establishing and applying CATEXs; emergencies; preparation of efficient
and timely environmental reviews; and environmental collaboration and
conflict resolution.
The CATEXs published in 2006 are being retained and are included in
the revised Instruction (Appendix A, Table 1). In addition, the
following new CATEXs are proposed: One CATEX for an administrative
activity; five CATEXs for real property management activities; 13
CATEXs for non-grant activities unique to FEMA's mission and
authorities; and 19 CATEXs for federal assistance (e.g., grant)
activities. DHS followed the CEQ guidance memorandum on ``Establishing,
Applying, and Revising Categorical Exclusions under the National
Environmental Policy Act,'' dated November 23, 2010, in developing
these new CATEXs. For synopses of the administrative record support for
the Department's list of existing and proposed new CATEXs, see the
docket and the DHS NEPA Web page at http://www.dhs.gov/nepa.
There are currently approximately 80 federal assistance programs in
DHS (see the Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) at https://www.cfda.gov for the list of programs). The majority of these programs
are administered by FEMA. Applicants use federal assistance from DHS,
such as grant funding, to implement a variety of emergency
preparedness, response, and recovery and hazard mitigation activities
and projects, ranging from classroom training and purchases of portable
equipment to laboratory research to facility repair, renovation, and
construction. Because these activities are federally-assisted, DHS, in
coordination with the recipients of grants or other assistance, must
ensure they are compliant with NEPA. DHS is proposing several CATEXs
for its federal assistance activities because DHS has determined these
activities would normally not have the potential to have an
individually or cumulatively significant impact on the quality of the
human environment. These CATEXs will help ensure the timely and
effective delivery of DHS assistance in an environmentally compliant
fashion. These proposed new CATEXs are included in the Instruction in
Appendix A, Table 1, Section N.
Several statutes, authorities, programs, and activities are unique
to FEMA (i.e., not relevant to or undertaken by any other DHS
component) and therefore additions to the list of CATEXs include
several developed specifically for FEMA activities that would not
normally have the potential to have individually or cumulatively
significant impacts on the quality of the human environment. These
include activities associated with the administration of the National
Flood Insurance Program, and emergency and disaster response and
recovery and hazard mitigation activities authorized by the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 93-
288) as amended. These proposed new CATEXs are included in the
Instruction in Appendix A, Table 1, Section M.
DHS invested over three years in developing the proposed revision
to its NEPA procedures. The revised Directive and Instruction were
provided to CEQ in the fall of 2013 for discussion prior to this
publication for public comment. CEQ will remain engaged and be asked to
issue a letter prior to publication of the final Directive and
Instruction as required under 40 CFR 1507.3. The Directive and
Instruction published here in the Federal Register are available for a
60-day public comment period. The comments received will be analyzed
and any appropriate revisions will be made to the documents. The
Directive and Instruction revised in response to public comments will
be shared with CEQ prior to final adoption and implementation. A Notice
of Final Directive and Instruction will be published in the Federal
Register with a 120-day waiting period before the new NEPA procedures
become effective. This notice will present the response to the public
comments received on the proposed revised Directive and Instruction.
A copy of this Federal Register publication and the proposed
Directive and Instruction and supporting documents are available on the
internet at www.regulations.gov and http://www.dhs.gov/nepa.
Dated: May 29, 2014.
Teresa R. Pohlman,
Director of Sustainability and Environmental Programs.
[FR Doc. 2014-13035 Filed 6-4-14; 8:45 am]
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