§ 1216.900 Definitions.
As used in this part, terms have the meanings provided in NEPA sec. 111, 42 U.S.C. 4336e. In addition:
(a) Authorization means any license, permit, approval, finding, determination, or other administrative decision issued by an agency that is required or authorized under Federal law to implement a proposed action.
(b) Connected action means a separate Federal action within the authority of NASA that is closely related to the proposed agency action and should be addressed in a single environmental document because the proposed agency action:
(1) Automatically triggers the separate Federal action, which independently would require the preparation of additional environmental documents.
(2) Cannot proceed unless the separate Federal action is taken previously or simultaneously.
(3) Is an interdependent part of a larger Federal action that includes a separate Federal action, which mutually depends on the larger Federal action for their justification.
(c) Council or CEQ means the Council on Environmental Quality.
(d) Effects or impacts means changes to the human environment from the proposed action or alternatives that are reasonably foreseeable and have a reasonably close geographic and temporal causal relationship to the proposed action or alternatives.
(1) Effects include ecological (e.g., effects on natural resources and on the components, structures, and functioning of affected ecosystems), aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic (e.g., effects on employment), social, or health effects. Effects appropriate for analysis under NEPA may be either beneficial or adverse, or both, with respect to these values.
(2) A “but for” causal relationship is insufficient to make an agency responsible for a particular effect under NEPA. Effects should generally not be considered if they are remote in time, geographically remote, or the product of a lengthy causal chain. Effects do not include those effects that the agency has no ability to prevent due to the limits of its regulatory authority, or that would occur regardless of the proposed action, or that would need to be initiated by a third party.
(e) Human environment means comprehensively the natural and physical environment and the relationship of present and future generations with that environment. (See also the definition of effects in paragraph (d) of this section.)
(f) Jurisdiction by law means agency authority to approve, veto, or finance all or part of the proposal.
(g) Major Federal action, as defined in 42 U.S.C. 4336e (10):
(1) In general. The term major Federal action means an action that the agency carrying out such action determines is subject to substantial Federal control and responsibility.
(2) Exclusion. the term major Federal action does not include:
(i) A non-Federal action—
(A) With no or minimal Federal funding; or
(B) With no or minimal Federal involvement where a Federal agency cannot control the outcome of the project;
(ii) Funding assistance solely in the form of general revenue sharing funds which do not provide Federal agency compliance or enforcement responsibility over the subsequent use of such funds;
(iii) Loans, loan guarantees, or other forms of financial assistance where a Federal agency does not exercise sufficient control and responsibility over the subsequent use of such financial assistance or the effect of the action;
(iv) Business loan guarantees provided by the Small Business Administration pursuant to section 7(a) or (b) and of the Small Business Act (U.S.C. 636(a)), or title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.);
(v) Bringing judicial or administrative civil or criminal enforcement actions;
(vi) Extraterritorial activities or decisions, which means agency activities or decisions with effects located entirely outside of the jurisdiction of the United States; or
(vii) Activities or decisions that are non-discretionary and made in accordance with the agency's statutory authority.
(h) Mitigation means measures that avoid, minimize, or compensate for effects caused by a proposed action or alternatives as described in an environmental document or record of decision and that have a nexus to those effects. While NEPA requires consideration of mitigation, it does not mandate the form or assumption of any mitigation. Mitigation includes:
(1) Avoiding the impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an action.
(2) Minimizing effects by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation.
(3) Rectifying the impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment.
(4) Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action.
(5) Compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments.
(i) NASA Responsible Official is the NASA official who will ensure that planning and decision-making for each proposed Agency action complies with the regulations in this subpart and with Agency NEPA policy and guidance.
(j) NEPA means the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.).
(k) Notice of intent means a public notice that an agency will prepare an environmental document and consider public comments.
(l) Participating agency means a Federal, State, Tribal, or local agency participating in an environmental review or authorization of an action.
(m) Reasonable alternatives mean a reasonable range of alternatives that are technically and economically feasible, meet the purpose and need for the proposed action, and, where applicable, meet the goals of the agency or the non-Federal project sponsor.
(n) Reasonably foreseeable means sufficiently likely to occur such that a person of ordinary prudence would take it into account in reaching a decision.
(o) Record of environmental consideration is a brief document that is used to describe a proposed action and explain why further environmental analysis is or is not required.
(p) Scope consists of the range of actions, alternatives, and effects to be considered in an environmental document. The scope of a NEPA document may depend on its relationships to other NEPA documents.
(q) Tiering refers to the coverage of general matters in broader environmental impact statements or environmental assessments (such as national program or policy statements) with subsequent narrower statements or environmental analyses (such as regional or basin-wide program statements or ultimately site-specific statements) incorporating by reference the general discussion and concentrating solely on the issues specific to the statement subsequently prepared.