1940.324—Adoption of EIS or environmental assessment prepared by another Federal Agency.
(a)
FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 may adopt an EIS or portion thereof prepared by another Federal Agency after completion if:
(1)
An independent review of the document is conducted by the preparer of the FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 environmental review and it is concluded that the document meets the requirements of this subpart; and
(2)
If the actions covered in the EIS are substantially the same as those proposed by FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 and the environmental conditions in the project area have not substantially changed since its publication, FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 will recirculate the EIS as a “final” and so notify the public as specified in § 1940.331(b) of this subpart. The final EIS will contain an appropriate explanation of the FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 involvement and will be sent to all parties who would typically receive a draft EIS published by FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354. If there are differences between the actions or the environmental conditions as discussed in the original EIS, that EIS will be updated to cover these differences and recirculated as a draft EIS with the public so notified. From that point, it will be reviewed and processed in the same manner as any other FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 EIS. For circulation, filing, and timing requirements, see paragraphs (f), (g), and (j) of § 1940.320 of this subpart as well as §§ 1506.3(c), 1506.9, and 1506.10 of the CEQ regulations.
(b)
If the adopted EIS is not final within the agency that prepared it, or if the action it assesses is the subject of a referral under part 1504 of the CEQ regulations, or if the statement's adequacy is the subject of a judicial action which is not final, FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 must so specify and provide an explanation in the recirculated EIS.
(c)
After recirculation (whether as a draft or final), the EIS will be reviewed and processed in the same manner as any other FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 EIS.
(d)
FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 may also adopt all or part of environmental assessments or environmental reviews prepared by other Federal agencies. In this case, only paragraph (a)(1) of this section applies. If the requirements of that paragraph can be met except for the fact that the Federal agency whose assessment is to be adopted has no preliminary public notice requirements similar to FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354's (see § 1940.331(b)(4) of this subpart), the assessment can be adopted without FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 publishing a preliminary public notice. Additionally, when all of another Federal agency's assessment is adopted, without supplementation, for a Class II action and a finding of no significant environmental impact (exhibit I of this subpart) is reached by the proper FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 official, no public notification of FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354's finding of no significant environmental impact is required if:
(1)
The other Federal agency or its designee published a similar finding in a newspaper of general circulation in the vicinity of the proposed action;
(2)
The other Federal agency's or its designee's public notice clearly described the action subject to the FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 environmental review; and
(3)
The other Federal agency's or its designee's public notice was published less than eighteen months from the date FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 adopted the assessment.