§ 1216.600 Lead, cooperating, and participating agencies.
(a)NASA shall serve as the lead Federal agency for proposed actions which it proposes and over which no other Federal agency has jurisdiction by law to permit, approve, or authorize a required aspect of the proposed action. When serving as the lead agency, NASA is ultimately responsible for completing the NEPA process and will determine and document the scope of the project at hand. When a joint lead relationship is established pursuant to NEPA sec. 107(a)(1)(B), 42 U.S.C. 4336a(a)(1)(B), NASA and the other joint lead agency or agencies are collectively responsible for completing the NEPA process. (b)If NASA shares responsibility with another Federal agency for NEPA compliance, NASA and the other agency shall, prior to issuing a
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§ 1216.600 Lead, cooperating, and participating agencies.
(a) NASA shall serve as the lead Federal agency for proposed actions which it proposes and over which no other Federal agency has jurisdiction by law to permit, approve, or authorize a required aspect of the proposed action. When serving as the lead agency, NASA is ultimately responsible for completing the NEPA process and will determine and document the scope of the project at hand. When a joint lead relationship is established pursuant to NEPA sec. 107(a)(1)(B), 42 U.S.C. 4336a(a)(1)(B), NASA and the other joint lead agency or agencies are collectively responsible for completing the NEPA process.
(b) If NASA shares responsibility with another Federal agency for NEPA compliance, NASA and the other agency shall, prior to issuing a notice to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement, determine by letter or memorandum, which agency shall be the lead agency based on consideration of the:
(1) Magnitude of each agency's involvement.
(2) Project approval or disapproval authority.
(3) Expertise concerning the proposed action's environmental effects.
(4) Duration of each agency's involvement.
(5) Sequence of each agency's involvement.
(c) In deciding under paragraph (b) of this section, NASA and other participating Federal agencies may agree to appoint such State, Tribal, or local agencies as joint lead agencies as the involved Federal agencies determine to be necessary.
(d) When serving as the lead agency, NASA may, with respect to a proposed agency action, designate any Federal, State, Tribal, or local agency that has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved in a proposal to serve as a cooperating agency. A cooperating agency may, not later than a date specified in the schedule established by NASA, submit comments on the environmental document being prepared for the proposed action.
(e) NASA may request other Federal, State, Tribal, or local agencies to serve as participating agencies in the NEPA process where the Federal, State, Tribal, or local agency has particularized knowledge regarding an aspect of the project that will beneficially inform development of the environmental document and subsequent final agency decision making on the proposed action. A participating agency may, not later than a date specified in the schedule established by NASA, submit comments on the environmental document being prepared for the proposed action.
(f) To the extent practicable, NASA will prepare a single, coordinated environmental document for NEPA actions with joint, cooperating, and participating agencies.