[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 86 (Thursday, May 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26314-26315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10696]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary


National Environmental Policy Act: Implementing Procedures; 
Addition to Categorical Exclusions for Bureau of Indian Affairs (516 DM 
10)

AGENCY: Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces a proposed addition to the categorical 
exclusions included in the Departmental Manual 516 DM 10. The proposed 
categorical exclusion pertains to the leasing and funding for single-
family homesites on Indian land, including associated improvements and 
easements, which encompass five acres or less of contiguous land.

DATES: Comments are due by June 4, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Marvin Keller, NEPA Coordinator--Indian 
Affairs, 2051 Mercator Drive, Reston, VA 20191, email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marvin Keller, NEPA Coordinator--
Indian Affairs, (703) 390-6470.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires Federal 
agencies to consider the potential environmental consequences of their 
decisions before deciding whether and how to proceed. The Council on 
Environmental Quality encourages Federal agencies to use categorical 
exclusions to protect the environment more efficiently by; (a) reducing 
the resources spent analyzing proposals which generally do not have 
potentially significant environmental impacts, and (b) focusing 
resources on proposals that may have significant environmental impacts. 
The appropriate use of categorical exclusions allow the NEPA review to 
be concluded without preparing either an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (40 CFR 1500.4(p) and 40 CFR 
1508.4).
    The need for adequate housing is critical on most Indian 
reservations. Several hundred actions associated with new home 
construction are processed each year and this is expected to continue 
at the same level. The Bureau

[[Page 26315]]

of Indian Affairs (BIA) has typically conducted NEPA reviews of actions 
associated with single-family homes by preparing EAs; the addition of a 
categorical exclusion to cover these actions will allow for a more 
efficient NEPA review.

Proposed Categorical Exclusion

    The Department of the Interior proposes to add a categorical 
exclusion to the Departmental Manual at 516 DM 10.5 for approval of 
leases or funds for single-family homesites, including associated 
improvements and easements on Indian land. This category includes 
Federal actions that may include BIA lease approval or funding for a 
single-family homesite, which would include a residence with one to 
four dwelling units, as well as other improvements such as a garage, 
barn or corral. In addition to building construction, associated 
easements may also need BIA approval on adjacent lands for an access 
road and utilities, such as gas, electric and fiber optics. The 
categorical exclusion would be limited to single-family homesites where 
the total area to be disturbed by construction of homes, associated 
structures, and related easements must be five acres or less; do not 
adversely affect any tribal cultural resources or historic properties; 
and are in compliance with applicable federal and tribal laws. As a 
final review, each proposed approval of a lease or funding for a 
single-family homesite must also be reviewed for extraordinary 
circumstances that would preclude use of this categorical exclusion. 
The Department's list of extraordinary circumstances under which a 
normally excluded action would require further analysis and 
documentation in an EA or EIS is found at 43 CFR 46.215.

Analysis

    The intent of this categorical exclusion is to improve the 
efficiency of a routine environmental review process for approval of 
new home construction on Indian land. The BIA environmental staff: (1) 
Reviewed other agencies' NEPA procedures to determine if similar 
categorical exclusions were in effect; (2) reviewed EAs of homesites 
previously prepared by BIA to verify that no significant impacts had 
been identified; and (3) conducted a post-construction reviews of 
individual homesites to determine if any unanticipated impacts had 
occurred as a result of house construction.
    The BIA reviewed other agencies' NEPA procedures and identified 
comparable categorical exclusions currently used by the Department of 
the Army, Indian Health Service, and Rural Development Program. These 
categorical exclusions are comparable because they are for structures 
that provide housing or office space; they have a size limitation on 
the area to be disturbed; they are not restricted to an environmental 
setting or geographic region of the country; and they are subject to 
review for extraordinary circumstances.
    On Indian reservations across the country, the BIA and tribal 
environmental staff routinely conduct NEPA analysis of single-family 
homesites by preparing EAs. These EAs, which have been prepared over 
the years in a variety of environmental and geographic areas, 
consistently result in Findings of No Significant Impact (FONSI).
    To verify these findings the BIA environmental professionals 
reviewed 159 EAs completed between 2009 and 2011 that covered 643 
individual homesites. These EAs ranged in scope from a single homesite 
to a programmatic EA covering over 100 scattered homesites. The review 
confirmed that FONSIs were reached in all cases. The BIA environmental 
professionals also conducted post-construction reviews on 117 homesites 
where construction had already occurred. No unanticipated environmental 
effects were identified in any of these areas, and the conclusions of 
the original EAs and FONSIs were confirmed. The most typical site 
specific mitigation measures that limited site selections involved 
modifying or moving the location of the homesite lease in order avoid 
cultural resources or historic properties. The analysis conducted by 
BIA environmental staff concluded that a sufficient administrative 
record exists to demonstrate the construction of scattered homesites 
would normally not have a significant impact on the human environment, 
with the following limitations: The area of disturbance of the home 
site and any associated facilities must have a five acre limitation; 
and each homesite must be reviewed for extraordinary circumstances, 
which not only includes a review for historic properties and other 
relevant federal and tribal laws, but also the effect to other 
resources such as wetlands, and endangered species. The review for 
extraordinary circumstances, which BIA normally conducts for all 
categorical exclusions, insures that measures would continue to be 
taken to identify and reduce any significant impacts.

Public Comments

    To be considered, any comments on this proposed addition to the 
list of categorical exclusions in the Departmental Manual must be 
received by the date listed in the DATES section of this notice at the 
location listed in the ADDRESSES section. Comments received after that 
date will be considered only to the extent practicable. Comments, 
including names and addresses of respondents, will be part of the 
public record and available for public review at the BIA address shown 
in the ADDRESSES section, during business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Before including your address, 
telephone number, email address, or other personal identifying 
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire 
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made 
publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to 
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we 
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Text of Proposed Addition to 516 DM 10

10.5 Categorical Exclusions

    M. Other.
    (7) Approval of leases, easements or funds for single-family 
homesites and associated improvements, including but not limited to 
homes, outbuildings, access roads, and utility lines, which encompass 
five (5) acres or less of contiguous land, provided that such sites and 
associated improvements do not adversely affect any tribal cultural 
resources or historic properties and are in compliance with applicable 
federal and tribal laws.

    Dated: April 20, 2012.
Willie R. Taylor,
Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2012-10696 Filed 5-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P