Appendix 13: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

• Author: Nicholas C. Yost
• Pages: 243-272

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Regulations and Procedures (FERC Part 380) Page 243

18 CFR Pt. 380

Part 380—Regulations Implementing

the National Environmental Policy Act

Sec.

380.1 Purpose .

380.2 Defini tions and terminolog y.

380.3 Environ mental informat ion t o be suppl ied b y

an applican t.

380.4 Project s or actio ns ca tegoricall y excl uded.

380.5 Actions that requ ire a n env ironmental

assessment.

380.6 Actions that requ ire a n env ironmental impac t

statement.

380.7 Format of an environmen tal i mpact

statement.

380.8 Preparat ion o f env ironmental docu ments.

380.9 Public avail ability of NEPA d ocuments and

public noti ce of NEPA relate d hea rings and

public meet ings.

380.10 Partici pation in Commission proce edings.

380.11 Environ mental decision making.

380.12 Environ mental reports for Natural Gas Act

applications.

380.13 Compli ance with the E ndangered Species Act.

380.14 Compli ance with the Na tional Historic

Preserv ation Act.

380.15 Siting and mainte nance requireme nts.

380.16 Environ mental reports for sectio n 216 Feder al

Power Act Permits.

Appendi x A to Part 380—Minim um Fili ng

Require ments for Environmen tal Re ports

Under the Natural Gas Act

Authority:

42 U.S.C. 4321-4370h, 7101-7352; E.O. 12009, 3

CFR 1978 Comp., p. 142.

Source:

Order 486, 52 FR 47910, Dec. 17, 1987, unless other-

wise noted.

§380.1 Purpose.

e regulations in t his part implement the Federal

Energy Regu latory Commission’s procedures under the

National Environmental Policy Ac t of 1969 (NEPA).

ese regulations supplement the reg ulations of the

Council on Environmental Qu ality, 40 CFR parts

1500 through 1508. e Commission will comply

with the regulat ions of the Council on Envi ronmental

Quality exc ept where those regul ations are inconsistent

with the statutory requ irements of the Commission.

[Order 486, 52 FR 47910, Dec. 17, 1987, as amended

by Order 756, 77 FR 4895, Feb. 1, 2012]

§380.2 Def‌initions and terminology.

For purposes of this pa rt—

(a) Categorical exclusion means a c ategory of actions

described in § 380.4, which do not individu ally or

cumulatively have a signi cant eect on the human

environment and which the Comm ission has found to

have no such eect and for which, t herefore, neither

an environmental as sessment nor an environmental

impact statement is required. e C ommission may

decide to prepare environmental a ssessments for the

reasons stated in § 380.4(b).

(b) Commission means the Federa l Energy Regulatory

Commission.

(c) Council means the Council on Envi ronmental

Quality.

(d) Environmental assessment mea ns a concise public

document for which the Commis sion is responsible

that serves to:

(1) Briey provide sucient evidence and analysis for

determining whet her to prepare an environmenta l

impact statement or a nding of no signi cant impact.

(2) Aid the Commission’s compliance with NEPA

when no environmental impact state ment is necessar y.

(3) Facilitate preparation of a statement when one is

necessar y. Environmental asses sments must include

brief discussions of the need for t he proposal, of alter-

natives as required by sec tion 102(2)(E) of NEPA, of

the environmental impact s of the proposed action

and alternatives, a nd a listing of agencies and persons

consulted.

(e) Environmental impact statement (EIS) means

a detailed written s tatement as required by section

102(2)(C) of NEPA. DEIS means a dra ft EIS and FEIS

means a nal E IS.

(f) Environmenta l report or ER means that part of

an application submitted to the Com mission by an

applicant for authorization of a proposed act ion which

includes information concerni ng the environment, the

applicant’s analysis of the environmenta l impact of the

action, or alternatives to the ac tion required by this or

other applicable statutes or regu lations.

(g) Finding of no signi cant impact (FONSI) means

a document by the Commission briey present ing

the reason why an action, not other wise excluded by

§380.4, will not have a signica nt eect on the human

environment and for which an environmenta l impact

statement therefore will not be prepared . It must

Page 244 NEPA Deskbook

include the environmental asse ssment or a summary

of it and must note other environmental documents

related to it. If the asses sment is included, the FONSI

need not repeat any of the discu ssion in the asse ssment

but may incorporate it by reference.

§380.3 Environmental information to be

supplied by an applicant.

(a) An applicant must submit information as fol lows:

(1) For any proposed action identied i n §§ 380.5 and

380.6, an environmental repor t with the proposal as

prescribed in parag raph (c) of this section.

(2) For any proposal not identied in paragr aph (a)

(1) of this section, any environmental information

that the Commis sion may determine is neces sary for

compliance with thes e regulations, the regulations of

the Council, NEPA and other Federal law s such as the

Endangered Species Ac t, the National Historic Preser-

vation Act or the Coasta l Zone Management Act.

(b) An applicant must also:

(1) Provide all nece ssary or relevant information to the

Commission;

(2) Conduct any studies that the C ommission sta 

considers necessar y or relevant to determine the impact

of the proposal on the human envi ronment and natu-

ral resources;

(3) Consult with appropriate Federal, regional, State,

and local agencie s during the pla nning stages of the

proposed action to ensure that a ll potential environ-

mental impacts are identi ed. (e specic require-

ments for consultation on hydropower projects are

contained in § 4.38 and § 16.8 of this ch apter and in

section 4(a) of the Electric Consumers Protect ion Act,

Pub. L. No. 99-495, 100 Stat. 1243, 1246 (1986));

(4) Submit applications for all Federal and State

approvals as early a s possible in the planning process;

and

(5) Notify the Commission st a of all other Federal

actions required for completion of the proposed act ion

so that the sta m ay coordinate with other interested

Federal agencies.

(c) Content of an applicant’s environmental report for

specic proposals —1) Hydropower projects. e infor-

mation required for specic project applicat ions under

part 4 or 16 of this chapter.

(2) Natural gas projects. (i) For any application led

under the Natural Ga s Act for any proposed action

identied in §§ 380.5 or 380.6, except for prior notice

lings under § 157.208, as described in § 380.5(b), the

information identied in § 380.12 and Appendix A of

this part.

(ii) For prior notice lings under § 157.208, the report

described by § 157.208(c)(11) of this chapter.

(3) Electric transmission project. For pre-l ing requests

and applications led under sec tion 216 of the Federal

Power Act identied in §§ 380.5(b)(14) and 380.6(a)

(5).

[Order 486, 52 FR 47910, Dec. 17, 1987, as amended

by Order 533, 56 FR 23155, May 20, 1991; Order 603,

64 FR 26611, May 14, 1999; Order 689, 71 FR 69470,

Dec. 1, 2006; Order 756, 77 FR 4895, Feb. 1, 2012]

§380.4 Projects or actions categorically

excluded.

(a) General rule. Except as st ated in paragraph (b) of

this section, neither an envi ronmental ass essment nor

an environmental impac t statement will be prepared

for the following projects or actions:

(1) Procedural, ministerial, or internal a dministra-

tive and management ac tions, programs, or decisions,

including procurement, contract ing, personnel actions,

correction or claric ation of lings or orders, and

acceptance, reject ion and dismis sal of lings;

(2)(i) Reports or recommendations on legislation not

initiated by the Commis sion, and

(ii) Proposals for legislation and promulgat ion of rules

that are clari fying, corrective, or procedura l, or that

do not substantially c hange the eect of legislation or

regulations being a mended;

(3) Compliance and review act ions, including invest i-

gations (jurisdict ional or otherwi se), conferences, hear-

ings, notices of probable violation, show cause orders,

and adjustments under section 502(c) of the Natural

Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA);

(4) Review of grants or denia ls by the Department of

Energy (DOE) of any adjustment request, a nd review

of contested remedial orders issue d by DOE;

(5) Information gathering, a nalysis, and dissemination;

(6) Conceptual or fea sibility studie s;

(7) Actions concerning t he reservation and classica-

tion of United States lands as water power sites a nd

other actions under section 24 of the Federa l Power

Act;