The alternatives section is the heart of the environmental impact statement. The alternatives section should identify the reasonably foreseeable environmental effects of the proposed action and the alternatives in comparative form based on the information and analysis presented in the sections on the affected environment (§ 1502.15) and the environmental consequences (§ 1502.16). In doing so, the analysis should sharply define the issues for the decision maker and the public and provide a clear basis for choice among options. In this section, agencies shall:

(a) Rigorously explore and objectively evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed action, and, for alternatives that the agency eliminated from detailed study, briefly discuss the reasons for their elimination. The agency need not consider every conceivable alternative to a proposed action; rather, it shall consider a reasonable range of alternatives that will foster informed decision making. Agencies also may include reasonable alternatives not within the jurisdiction of the lead agency.

(b) Discuss each alternative considered in detail, including the proposed action, so that reviewers may evaluate their comparative merits.

(c) Include the no action alternative.

(d) Identify the agency's preferred alternative or alternatives, if one or more exists, in the draft statement and identify such alternative in the final statement unless another law prohibits the expression of such a preference.

(e) Include appropriate mitigation measures not already included in the proposed action or alternatives.

(f) Identify the environmentally preferable alternative or alternatives amongst the alternatives considered in the environmental impact statement. The environmentally preferable alternative will best promote the national environmental policy expressed in section 101 of NEPA by maximizing environmental benefits, such as addressing climate change-related effects or disproportionate and adverse effects on communities with environmental justice concerns; protecting, preserving, or enhancing historic, cultural, Tribal, and natural resources, including rights of Tribal Nations that have been reserved through treaties, statutes, or Executive Orders; or causing the least damage to the biological and physical environment. The environmentally preferable alternative may be the proposed action, the no action alternative, or a reasonable alternative.