[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR8.7]

[Page 156]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
               CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
 
PART 8_ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF NONGOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES 
IN ANTARCTICA--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 8.7  Initial environmental evaluation.

    (a) Submission of IEE to the EPA. Unless a PERM has been submitted 
pursuant to Sec. 8.6 which meets the environmental documentation 
requirements under Article 8 and Annex I to the Protocol and the 
provisions of this part or a CEE is being prepared, an IEE shall be 
submitted by the operator to the EPA no fewer than ninety (90) days 
before the proposed departure of the expedition.
    (b) Contents. An IEE shall contain sufficient detail to assess 
whether a proposed activity may have more than a minor or transitory 
impact on the Antarctic environment and shall include the following 
information:
    (1) A description of the proposed activity, including its purpose, 
location, duration, and intensity; and
    (2) Consideration of alternatives to the proposed activity and any 
impacts that the proposed activity may have on the Antarctic 
environment, including consideration of cumulative impacts in light of 
existing and known proposed activities.
    (c) Further environmental review. (1) The EPA, in consultation with 
other interested federal agencies, will review an IEE to determine 
whether the IEE meets the requirements under Annex I to the Protocol and 
the provisions of this part. The EPA will provide its comments to the 
operator within thirty (30) days of receipt of the IEE, and the operator 
will have forty-five (45) days to prepare a revised IEE, if necessary. 
Following the final response from the operator, EPA may make a finding 
that the documentation submitted does not meet the requirements of 
Article 8 and Annex I of the Protocol and the provisions of this part. 
This finding will be made with the concurrence of the National Science 
Foundation. If such a notice is required, EPA will provide it within 
fifteen (15) days of receiving the final IEE from the operator or, if 
the operator does not provide a final IEE, within sixty (60) days 
following EPA's comments on the original IEE. If EPA does not provide 
notice within these time limits, the operator will be deemed to have met 
the requirements of this part provided that any required procedures, 
which may include appropriate monitoring, are put in place to assess and 
verify the impact of the activity.
    (2) If a CEE is required, the operator must adhere to the time 
limits applicable to such documentation. (See: Sec. 8.8.) In this event 
EPA, at the operator's request, will consult with the operator regarding 
possible changes in the proposed activity which would allow preparation 
of an IEE.