This part contains Consumer Product Safety Commission procedures for review of environmental effects of Commission actions and for preparation of environmental impact statements (EIS) and related documents. These procedures supersede any Commission procedures previously applicable. The procedures provide for identification of effects of a proposed action and its alternatives on the environment; for assessment of the significance of these effects; for consideration of effects at the appropriate points in the Commission's decision-making process; and for preparation of environmental impact statements for major actions significantly affecting the environment. These procedures are intended to implement the Council on Environmental Quality's final regulations of November 29, 1978 (43 FR 55978; 40 CFR part 1500, et seq.) concerning agency compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (NEPA) (15 U.S.C. 4321-4347 as amended by Pub. L. 94-83, August 8, 1975).

It is the policy of the Commission to weigh and consider the effects upon the human environment of a proposed action and its reasonable alternatives. Actions will be designed to avoid or minimize adverse effects upon the quality of the human environment wherever practicable.

(a) The term CPSC actions means rulemaking actions; enforcement actions; adjudications; legislative proposals or reports; construction, relocation, or renovation of CPSC facilities; decisions on petitions; and any other agency activity designated by the Executive Director as one necessitating environmental review.

(b) The term Commission means the five Commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

(c) The term CPSC means the entire organization which bears the title Consumer Product Safety Commission.

(d) The term NEPA regulations means the Council of Environmental Quality regulations of November 29, 1978 (43 FR 55978) for implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C 4321, et. seq).

(e) The term environmental review process refers to all activities associated with decisions to prepare an environmental assessment, a finding of no significant impact, or an environmental impact statement.

(f) The definitions given in part 1508 of the Council's NEPA regulations are applicable to this part 1021 and are not repeated here.

The environmental review process normally begins during the staff development of a proposed action and progresses through the following steps:

(a) Environmental assessment. (Section 1508.9 of the NEPA regulations). The assessment is initiated along with the staff development of a proposal and the identification of realistic alternatives. The assessment shall be available to the Commission before the Commission votes on a proposal and its alternatives. Its purpose is to identify and describe foreseeable effects on the environment, if any, of the action and its alternatives. The assessment culminates in a written report. This report generally contains analyses of the same categories of information as would an EIS, but in a much less detailed fashion. (See § 1021.10(a), below.) It contains sufficient information to form a basis for deciding whether effects on the environment are likely to be “significant.” (See § 1508.27 of the NEPA regulations.).

(b) Decision as to significance of effects on the environment. This decision is made by the Executive Director of the CPSC and is based upon the results of the environmental assessment as well as any other pertinent information. If the effects are significant, CPSC publishes in the Federal Register a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. (See § 1508.22 of the NEPA regulations.) If not, a finding of no significant impact is prepared. (Section 1508.13 of the NEPA regulations.)

(c) Finding of no significant impact. This is a written document which gives reasons for concluding that the effects of a proposed action, or its alternatives, on the environment will not be significant. Together with the environmental assessment, it explains the basis for not preparing an EIS. The finding of no significant impact is signed by the Executive Director. The finding of no significant impact and the environmental assessment accompany the proposed action throughout the Commission decision-making process.

(d) Draft environmental impact statement. The content of a draft EIS is described in § 1021.12, below. For a particular proposal, the breadth of issues to be discussed is determined by using the scoping process described in § 1501.7 of the NEPA regulations. The draft EIS pertaining to a proposed rule is before the Commission at the time it considers the proposed action and is available to the public when the notice of proposed rulemaking is published or as soon as possible thereafter. In appropriate instances, the Federal Register preamble for a proposed rule may serve as the draft EIS. The draft EIS shall accompany the proposed action throughout the remainder of the Commission decision-making process.

(e) Final EIS. The content of this document is described in § 1021.12. A final EIS responds to all substantive comments on the draft statement. It is before the Commission when it considers a final action.

(f) Supplemental statements. When CPSC makes changes in the proposed action that are important to environmental issues or when there is significant new environmental information, the Executive Director instructs CPSC staff to prepare supplements to either the draft or final EIS (See § 1502.9(c) of the NEPA regulations).

(g) Record of decision. (Sections 1505.2 and 1506.1 of the NEPA regulations.) At the time of a decision on a proposed action which involves an EIS, CPSC prepares a written record of decision explaining the decision and why any alternatives discussed in the EIS were rejected. This written record is signed by the Secretary of the Commission for the Commission. No action going forward on the proposal may be taken until the record of decision is signed and filed in the Office of the Secretary of the Commission.

(a) There are no CPSC actions which ordinarily produce significant environmental effects. Therefore, there are no actions for which an environmental impact statement is normally required.

(b) The following categories of CPSC actions have the potential of producing environmental effects and therefore, normally require environmental assessments but not necessarily environmental impact statements:

(1) Regulatory actions dealing with health risks.

(2) Actions requiring the destruction or disposal of large quantities of products or components of products.

(3) Construction, relocation, or major renovation of CPSC facilities.

(4) Recommendations or reports to Congress on proposed legislation that will substantially affect the scope of CPSC authority or the use of CPSC resources, authorize construction or razing of facilities, or dislocate large numbers of employees.

(5) Enforcement actions which result in the widespread use of substitute products, which may present health risks.

(c) The following categories of CPSC actions normally have little or no potential for affecting the human environment; and therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required. (These categories are termed “categorical exclusions” in the NEPA regulations; see §§ 1507.3(b)(2) and 1508.4):

(1) Rules or safety standards to provide design or performance requirements for products, or revision, amendment, or revocation of such standards.

(2) Product certification or labeling rules.

(3) Rules requiring poison prevention packaging of products or exempting products from poison prevention packaging rules.

(4) Administrative proceedings to require individual manufacturers to give notice of and/or to correct, repair, replace, or refund the purchase price of banned or hazardous products. Other administrative adjudications which are primarily law enforcement proceedings.

(5) Recommendations or reports to Congress on proposed legislation to amend, delete or add procedural provisions to existing CPSC statutory authority.

(6) Decisions on petitions for rulemaking.

(7) Issuance of subpoenas, general orders, and special orders.

(d) In exceptional circumstances, actions within category in paragraph (c) of this section (“categorical exclusions”) may produce effects on the human environment. Upon a determination by the Executive Director that a normally excluded proposed action may have such an effect, an environmental assessment and a finding of no significant impact or an environmental impact statement shall be prepared.