§6.203 Body of EISs.

(a) Purpose and need. The EIS shall clearly specify the underlying purpose and need to which EPA is responding. If the action is a request for a permit or a grant, the EIS shall clearly specify the goals and objectives of the applicant.

(b) Alternatives including the proposed action. In addition to 40 CFR 1502.14, the EIS shall discuss:

(1) Alternatives considered by the applicant. This section shall include a balanced description of each alternative considered by the applicant. These discussions shall include size and location of facilities, land requirements, operation and maintenance requirements, auxiliary structures such as pipelines or transmission lines, and construction schedules. The alternative of no action shall be discussed and the applicant's preferred alternative(s) shall be identified. For alternatives which were eliminated from detailed study, a brief discussion of the reasons for their having been eliminated shall be included.

(2) Alternatives available to EPA. EPA alternatives to be discussed shall include: (i) Taking an action; or (ii) taking an action on a modified or alternative project, including an action not considered by the applicant; and (iii) denying the action.

(3) Alternatives available to other permitting agencies. When preparing a joint EIS, and if applicable, the alternatives available to other Federal and/or State agencies shall be discussed.

(4) Identifying preferred alternative. In the final EIS, the responsible official shall signify the preferred alternative.

(c) Affected environment and environmental consequences of the alternatives. The affected environment on which the evaluation of each alternative shall be based includes, for example, hydrology, geology, air quality, noise, biology, socioeconomics, energy, land use, and archeology and historic subjects. The discussion shall be structured so as to present the total impacts of each alternative for easy comparison among all alternatives by the reader. The effects of a "no action" alternative should be included to facilitate reader comparison of the beneficial and adverse impacts of other alternatives to the applicant doing nothing. A description of the environmental setting shall be included in the "no action" alternative for the purpose of providing needed background information. The amount of detail in describing the affected environment shall be commensurate with the complexity of the situation and the importance of the anticipated impacts.

(d) Coordination. The EIS shall include:

(1) The objections and suggestions made by local, State, and Federal agencies before and during the EIS review process must be given full consideration, along with the issues of public concern expressed by individual citizens and interested environmental groups. The EIS must include discussions of any such comments concerning our actions, and the author of each comment should be identified. If a comment has resulted in a change in the project or the EIS, the impact statement should explain the reason.

(2) Public participation through public hearings or scoping meetings shall also be included. If a public hearing has been held prior to the publication of the EIS, a summary of the transcript should be included in this section. For the public hearing which shall be held after the publication of the draft EIS, the date, time, place, and purpose shall be included here.

(3) In the final EIS, a summary of the coordination process and EPA responses to comments on the draft EIS shall be included.

[44 FR 64177, Nov. 6, 1979, as amended at 50 FR 26316, June 25, 1985]