How the Programmatic EIS Was Prepared

The OCS Alternative Energy Programmatic EIS was prepared according to the terms of regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act.

The President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has issued regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. These regulations identify the steps that must be taken in the preparation of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). These steps are:

1. A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare the Programmatic EIS is published in the Federal Register. (Note: the NOI for the OCS Alternative Energy Programmatic EIS is also available on the Documents page of this Web site.)



2. The NOI announces a scoping period during which written and other comments on the content of the programmatic EIS are gathered, including statements made at public meetings.



3. A Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft Programmatic EIS) is prepared, which, at a minimum, includes:
1. Summary;
2. Purpose of and need for action;
3. Alternatives, including proposed action;
4. Affected environment; and
5. Environmental consequences.


4. A Notice of Availability (NOA) is published in the Federal Register announcing the distribution of the Draft Programmatic EIS, announcing a public comment period, and describing how the public may comment, including the location and schedule of public meetings on the Draft Programmatic EIS.



5. A Final Programmatic EIS is prepared that includes descriptions of public comments on the draft and discussions on how they were addressed in the Final Programmatic EIS.



6. An NOA is published in the Federal Register notifying the public that the Final EIS has been issued.



7. A Record of Decision (ROD) is published in the Federal Register no sooner than 30 days after publication of the Final EIS. The ROD describes the agency's decision regarding the proposed action.

The Draft and Final Programmatic EIS documents, the Notices of Intent and Availability, and the ROD are/will be available for downloading and browsing on this Web site when they are published.