(a) The Executive Director of the CPSC shall have the responsibility to ensure that the Commission's policies and procedures set forth in this part are carried out. He or she shall have the following specific powers and duties:

(1) To ensure that CPSC environmental review is conducted in accordance with the NEPA regulations as well as this part 1021.

(2) To evaluate the significance of effects of a CPSC action on the environment and to determine whether a finding of no significant impact or an EIS should be prepared.

(3) To determine when a categorical exclusion requires environmental review because of exceptional circumstances indicating that the otherwise excluded action may produce an environmental effect.

(4) To instruct CPSC staff to prepare supplements to either draft or final EIS's where there is new environmental information or when CPSC makes changes in a proposed action that are important to environmental issues.

(5) To ensure that environmental documents are before the Commission at all stages of review of proposed action.

(6) To make provisions for soliciting public comment on the anticipated effects on the environment of proposed CPSC actions and their reasonable alternatives at any stage of the environmental review process, whenever he or she decides that such comment will be helpful. The Executive Director, for example, shall have the power to require that provision for soliciting such comments, written or oral, be included in any announcement of a public hearing on proposed rulemaking or on the merits of a petition for rulemaking.

(7) To call upon all resources and expertise available to CPSC to ensure that environmental review is accomplished through an interdisciplinary effort.

(8) To delegate any of his or her powers and duties, other than paragraphs (a) (2) and (3) of this section, to any officer or employee of the CPSC.

(a) The Commission shall consider all relevant environmental documents in evaluating proposals for Commission action. The preparation and completion of assessments and statements required by this part shall be scheduled to assure that available environmental information is before the Commission at all appropriate stages of development of CPSC actions along with technical and economic information otherwise required. The range of alternatives discussed in appropriate environmental documents shall be encompassed by the range of alternatives considered by the Commission for an action.

(b) An environmental assessment on a proposed rulemaking action requiring environmental review shall be available to the commission before the Commission votes on a proposed rule, and its alternatives. If the Executive Director determines that an EIS is needed, the draft EIS shall normally be before the Commission at the time it votes to publish a proposed rule. A final EIS shall be before the Commission when it considers final action on a proposed rule. Relevant environmental documents shall accompany the proposed rulemaking action throughout the Commission's decisionmaking process.

(c) Draft EISs or findings of no significant impact together with environmental assessments shall be made available to the public for comment at the time of publication in the Federal Register of CPSC proposals for regulatory action requiring environmental review or promptly thereafter. Pursuant to § 1506.10 of the NEPA regulations, no decision on a proposed action shall be made by the Commission until the later of 90 days after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published a notice announcing receipt of the draft EIS or 30 days after EPA announces receipt of the final EIS. These time periods may run concurrently. In addition, with regard to rulemaking for the purpose of protecting the public health and safety, the Commission may waive the 30 day period and publish a decision on a final rule simultaneously with publication by EPA of the notice of availability.

(d) Whenever the Commission decides to solicit offers by an outside person or organization to develop a proposed consumer product safety standard in accordance with section 7 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2056) and the Executive Director has determined that environmental review is needed, the Executive Director shall recommend to the Commission whether the “offeror” should perform an environmental assessment during development of the proposed standard. In making this recommendation, the Executive Director shall take into account the resources of the “offeror”, including the expertise and money available to it. If the Commission decides that the “offeror” should perform an assessment, the agreement between the Commission and the offeror shall so provide. CPSC, however, shall independently evaluate any assessment prepared and shall take responsibility for the scope and content of the assessment.

(e) CPSC adjudications are primarily law enforcement proceedings and therefore are not agency actions within the meaning of NEPA. (See § 1508.18(8) of the NEPA regulations.) However, in CPSC formal rulemaking proceedings, all available environmental information, including any supplements to a draft or final EIS, shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary and shall be made part of the formal record of the proceeding.

Draft EISs on legislative proposals which may significantly affect the environment shall be prepared as described in § 1506.8 of the NEPA regulations. The draft EIS, where feasible, shall accompany the legislative proposal or report to Congress and shall be available in time for Congressional hearings and deliberations. The draft EIS shall be forwarded to the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with § 1506.9 of the NEPA regulations. Comments on the legislative statement and CPSC's responses shall be forwarded to the appropriate Congressional committees.

(a) Information and comments are solicited from and provided to the public on anticipated environmental effects of CPSC actions as follows:

(1) Promptly after a decision is made to prepare a draft EIS, a notice of intent to prepare the draft EIS shall be published in the CPSC Public Calendar and in the Federal Register. The notice shall state the nature of the proposed action and available alternatives and shall describe the planned scoping process. The notice shall solicit information and comment by other governmental agencies and the public.

(2) As soon as practicable after a finding of no significant impact is completed, a copy of the finding together with the environmental assessment report shall be forwarded to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission to be made available to the public. Any information and comments received from the public on the documents will be considered and will accompany the documents throughout the CPSC decisionmaking process, but comments will not ordinarily be answered individually.

(3)(i) Upon completion of a draft EIS, a notice of its availability for comment should be published in the CPSC Public Calendar and in the Federal Register. Copies of the draft EIS shall be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in accordance with § 1506.9 of the NEPA regulations. The length of the comment period on the draft EIS shall be stated in the notice of availability and on the cover of the draft EIS. The comment period, in accordance with § 1506.10 of the NEPA regulations, shall be a minimum of 45 days from the date the notice of receipt of the draft EIS is published in the Federal Register by EPA. It should also be stated in the CPSC notice that comments received during the comment period will be addressed in the final EIS, whereas late comments will be considered to the extent practicable, and that all comments will be appended to the final EIS.

(ii) Copies of the draft EIS shall be sent to public and private organizations known by CPSC to have special expertise with respect to the environmental effects involved, those who are known to have an interest in the action, and those who request an opportunity to comment. Also, copies shall be circulated for comment to Federal, State, and local agencies with jurisdiction by law and special expertise with respect to environmental effects involved. Part 1503 of the NEPA regulations shall be consulted for further details of this procedure.

(iii) Draft EIS's shall be available to the public in the Office of the Secretary at Commission headquarters.

(4) Upon completion of a final EIS, a notice of its availability in the Office of the Secretary, shall be published in the CPSC Public Calendar and if deemed appropriate, in the Federal Register. Copies of the final EIS shall be forwarded to EPA and one copy shall be sent to each entity or person who commented on the draft EIS.

(5) A list of EIS's under preparation and of EIS's or findings of no significant impact and environmental assessments completed shall be available to the public in the Office of the Secretary, at Commission headquarters. The list shall be continuously updated.

(6) In addition to publication in the CPSC Public Calendar and the Federal Register, notices called for by this section may also be publicized through press releases or local newspapers, whenever appropriate.

Where emergency circumstances make it necessary to take an action without observing all the provisions of these implementing procedures or the NEPA regulations, CPSC will consult with the Council on Environmental Quality about alternative arrangements.

Interested persons may contact the Commission's Office of the Executive Director (301-504-0550) for information regarding CPSC NEPA compliance.