[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: 40CFR8.8]
[Page 156-158]
TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
PART 8_ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF NONGOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES
IN ANTARCTICA--Table of Contents
Sec. 8.8 Comprehensive environmental evaluation.
(a) Preparation of a CEE. Unless a PERM or an IEE has been submitted
and determined to meet the environmental documentation requirements of
this part, the operator shall prepare a CEE. A CEE shall contain
sufficient information to enable informed consideration of the
reasonably foreseeable potential environmental effects of a proposed
activity and possible alternatives to that proposed activity. A CEE
shall include the following:
(1) A description of the proposed activity, including its purpose,
location, duration and intensity, and possible alternatives to the
activity, including the alternative of not proceeding, and the
consequences of those alternatives;
(2) A description of the initial environmental reference state with
which predicted changes are to be compared and a prediction of the
future environmental reference state in the absence of the proposed
activity;
(3) A description of the methods and data used to forecast the
impacts of the proposed activity;
(4) Estimation of the nature, extent, duration and intensity of the
likely direct impacts of the proposed activity;
(5) A consideration of possible indirect or second order impacts
from the proposed activity;
(6) A consideration of cumulative impacts of the proposed activity
in light of existing activities and other known planned activities;
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(7) Identification of measures, including monitoring programs, that
could be taken to minimize or mitigate impacts of the proposed activity
and to detect unforeseen impacts and that could provide early warning of
any adverse effects of the activity as well as to deal promptly and
effectively with accidents;
(8) Identification of unavoidable impacts of the proposed activity;
(9) Consideration of the effects of the proposed activity on the
conduct of scientific research and on other existing uses and values;
(10) An identification of gaps in knowledge and uncertainties
encountered in compiling the information required under this section;
(11) A non-technical summary of the information provided under this
section; and
(12) The name and address of the person or organization which
prepared the CEE and the address to which comments thereon should be
directed.
(b) Submission of Draft CEE to the EPA and Circulation to Other
Parties. (1) Any operator who plans a nongovernmental expedition that
would require a CEE must submit a draft of the CEE by December 1 of the
preceding year. Within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the draft CEE,
EPA will: send it to the Department of State which will circulate it to
all Parties to the Protocol and forward it to the Committee for
Environmental Protection established by the Protocol, and publish notice
of receipt of the CEE and request for comments on the CEE in the Federal
Register, and will provide copies to any person upon request. The EPA
will accept public comments on the CEE for a period of ninety (90) days
following notice in the Federal Register. The EPA, in consultation with
other interested federal agencies, will evaluate the CEE to determine if
the CEE meets the requirements under Article 8 and Annex I to the
Protocol and the provisions of this part and will transmit its comments
to the operator within 120 days following publication in the Federal
Register of the notice of availability of the CEE.
(2) The operator shall send a final CEE to EPA at least seventy-five
(75) days before commencement of the proposed activity in the Antarctic
Treaty area. The CEE must address and must include (or summarize) any
comments on the draft CEE received from EPA, the public, and the
Parties. Following the final response from the operator, the EPA will
inform the operator if EPA, with the concurrence of the National Science
Foundation, makes the finding that the environmental documentation
submitted does not meet the requirements of Article 8 and Annex I of the
Protocol and the provisions of this part. This notification will occur
within fifteen (15) days of submittal of the final CEE by the operator
if the final CEE is submitted by the operator within the time limits set
out in this section. If no final CEE is submitted or the operator fails
to meet these time limits, EPA will provide such notification sixty (60)
days prior to departure of the expedition. If EPA does not provide such
notice, the operator will be deemed to have met the requirements of this
part provided that procedures, which include appropriate monitoring, are
put in place to assess and verify the impact of the activity. The EPA
will transmit the CEE, along with a notice of any decisions by the
operator relating thereto, to the Department of State which shall
circulate it to all Parties no later than sixty (60) days before
commencement of the proposed activity in the Antarctic Treaty area. The
EPA will also publish a notice of availability of the final CEE in the
Federal Register.
(3) No final decision shall be taken to proceed with any activity
for which a CEE is prepared unless there has been an opportunity for
consideration of the draft CEE by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative
Meeting on the advice of the Committee for Environmental Protection,
provided that no expedition need be delayed through the operation of
paragraph 5 of Article 3 to Annex I of the Protocol for longer than 15
months from the date of circulation of the draft CEE.
(c) Decisions based on CEE. The decision to proceed, based on
environmental documentation that meets the requirements under Article 8
and Annex I to the Protocol and the provisions of this part, rests with
the operator. Any decision by an operator on whether to proceed with or
modify a
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proposed activity for which a CEE was required shall be based on the CEE
and other relevant considerations.
