(a) EISs will:
(1) Be analytic rather than encyclopedic. Impacts will be discussed in proportion to their significance; and insignificant impacts will only be briefly discussed, sufficient to show why more analysis is not warranted.
(2) Be kept concise and no longer than absolutely necessary to comply with NEPA, CEQ regulations, and this part. Length should be determined by potential environmental issues, not project size. The EIS should be no longer than 300 pages.
(3) Describe the criteria for selecting alternatives, and discuss those alternatives, including the “no action” alternative, to be considered by the ultimate decision maker.
(4) Serve as a means to assess environmental impacts of proposed military actions, rather than justifying decisions.
(b) The EIS will consist of the following:
(1) Cover sheet. The cover sheet will not exceed one page (40 CFR 1502.11) and will be accompanied by a signature page for the proponent, designated as preparer; the installation environmental office (or other source of NEPA expertise), designated as reviewer; and the Installation Commander (or other Activity Commander), designated as approver. It will include:
(i) The following statement: “The material contained in the attached (final or draft) EIS is for internal coordination use only and may not be released to non-Department of Defense agencies or individuals until coordination has been completed and the material has been cleared for public release by appropriate authority.” This sheet will be removed prior to filing the document with the EPA.
(ii) A list of responsible agencies including the lead agency and any cooperating agency.
(iii) The title of the proposed action that is the subject of the statement and, if appropriate, the titles of related cooperating agency actions, together with state and county (or other jurisdiction as applicable) where the action is located.
(iv) The name, address, and telephone number of the person at the agency who can supply further information, and, as appropriate, the name and title of the major approval authority in the command channel through HQDA staff proponent.
(v) A designation of the statement as a draft, final, or draft or final supplement.
(vi) A one-paragraph abstract of the statement that describes only the need for the proposed action, alternative actions, and the significant environmental consequences of the proposed action and alternatives.
(vii) The date by which comments must be received, computed in cooperation with the EPA.
(2) Summary. The summary will stress the major conclusions of environmental analysis, areas of controversy, and issues yet to be resolved. The summary presentation will focus on the scope of the EIS, including issues that will not be evaluated in detail. It should list all federal permits, licenses, and other entitlements that must be obtained prior to proposal implementation. Further, a statement of compliance with the requirements of other federal environmental protection laws will be included (40 CFR 1502.25). To simplify consideration of complex relationships, every effort will be made to present the summary of alternatives and their impacts in a graphic format with the narrative. The EIS summary should be written at the standard middle school reading level. This summary should not exceed 15 pages. An additional summary document will be prepared for separate submission to the DEP and the ASA(I&E). This will identify progress “to the date,” in addition to the standard EIS summary which:
(i) Summarizes the content of the document (from an oversight perspective).
(ii) Outlines mitigation requirements (to improve mitigation tracking and the programming of funds).
(iii) Identifies major and unresolved issues and potential controversies. For EIS actions that have been delegated by the ASA(I&E), this document will also include status of requirements and conditions established by the delegation letter.
(3) Table of contents. This section will provide for the table of contents, list of figures and tables, and a list of all referenced documents, including a bibliography of references within the body of the EIS. The table of contents should have enough detail so that searching for sections of text is not difficult.
(4) Purpose of and need for the action. This section should clearly state the nature of the problem and discuss how the proposed action or range of alternatives would solve the problem. This section will briefly give the relevant background information on the proposed action and summarize its operational, social, economic, and environmental objectives. This section is designed specifically to call attention to the benefits of the proposed action. If a cost-benefit analysis has been prepared for the proposed action, it may be included here, or attached as an appendix and referenced here.
(5) Alternatives considered, including proposed action and no action alternative. This section presents all reasonable alternatives and their likely environmental impacts, written in simple, nontechnical language for the lay reader. A no action alternative must be included (40 CFR 1502.14(d)). A preferred alternative need not be identified in the DEIS; although a preferred alternative generally must be included in the FEIS (40 CFR 1502.14(e)). The environmental impacts of the alternatives should be presented in comparative form, thus sharply defining the issues and providing a clear basis for choice among the options that are provided the decision maker and the public (40 CFR 1502.14). The information should be summarized in a brief, concise manner. The use of graphics and tabular or matrix format is encouraged to provide the reviewer with an at-a-glance review. In summary, the following points are required:
(i) A description of all reasonable alternatives, including the preferred action, alternatives beyond DA jurisdiction (40 CFR 1502.14(c)), and the no action alternative.
(ii) A comparative presentation of the environmental consequences of all reasonable alternative actions, including the preferred alternative.
(iii) A description of the mitigation measures and/or monitoring procedures (§ 651.15) nominated for incorporation into the proposed action and alternatives, as well as mitigation measures that are available but not incorporated and/or monitoring procedures (§ 651.15).
(iv) Listing of any alternatives that were eliminated from detailed study. A brief discussion of the reasons for which each alternative was eliminated.
(6) Affected environment (baseline conditions) that may be impacted. This section will contain information about existing conditions in the affected areas in sufficient detail to understand the potential effects of the alternatives under consideration (40 CFR 1502.15). Affected elements could include, for example, biophysical characteristics (ecology and water quality); land use and land use plans; architectural, historical, and cultural amenities; utilities and services; and transportation. This section will not be encyclopedic. It will be written clearly and the degree of detail for points covered will be related to the significance and magnitude of expected impacts. Elements not impacted by any of the alternatives need only be presented in summary form, or referenced.
(7) Environmental and socioeconomic consequences. This section forms the scientific and analytic basis for the comparison of impacts. It should discuss:
(i) Direct effects and their significance.
(ii) Indirect effects and their significance.
(iii) Possible conflicts between the proposed action and existing land use plans, policies, and controls.
(iv) Environmental effects of the alternatives, including the proposed action and the no action alternative.
(v) Energy requirements and conservation potential of various alternatives and mitigation measures.
(vi) Irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources associated with the proposed action.
(vii) Relationship between short-term use of the environment and maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity.
(viii) Urban quality, historic, and cultural resources, and design of the built environment, including the reuse and conservation potential of various alternatives and mitigation measures.
(ix) Cumulative effects of the proposed action in light of other past, present, and foreseeable actions.
(x) Means to mitigate or monitor adverse environmental impacts.
(xi) Any probable adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided.
(8) List of preparers. The EIS will list the names of its preparers, together with their qualifications (expertise, experience, and professional disciplines) (40 CFR 1502.17), including those people who were primarily responsible for preparing (research, data collection, and writing) the EIS or significant background or support papers, and basic components of the statement. When possible, the people who are responsible for a particular analysis, as well as an analysis of background papers, will be identified. If some or all of the preparers are contractors' employees, they must be identified as such. Identification of the firm that prepared the EIS is not, by itself, adequate to meet the requirements of this point. Normally, this list will not exceed two pages. Contractors will execute disclosure statements specifying that they have no financial or other interest in the outcome of the project. These statements will be referenced in this section of the EIS.
(9) Distribution list. For the DEIS, a list will be prepared indicating from whom review and comment is requested. The list will include public agencies and private parties or organizations. The distribution of the DEIS and FEIS will include the CBTDEVs from whom comments were requested, irrespective of whether they provided comments.
(10) Index. The index will be an alphabetical list of topics in the EIS, especially of the types of effects induced by the various alternative actions. Reference may be made to either page number or paragraph number.
(11) Appendices (as appropriate). If an agency prepares an appendix to an EIS, the appendix will consist of material prepared in connection with an EIS (distinct from material not so prepared and incorporated by reference), consist only of material that substantiates any analysis fundamental to an impact statement, be analytic and relevant to the decision to be made, and be circulated with the EIS or readily available.