§ 26.42 Public engagement procedures.
(a) As a preliminary step to determining, in connection with a proposal that is not excluded pursuant to a CATEX, whether VA will prepare an EA or an EIS, VA will determine and document the scope of the project at hand.
(b) As soon as practicable after determining that a proposal is sufficiently developed to allow for meaningful public comment and requires an EIS, VA will publish a notice of intent to prepare an EIS. If VA determines that it will prepare an EA for a proposed action, VA may publish a notice of intent to publish an EA.
(1) The notice of intent for an EIS will include a request for public comment on alternatives or effects and on relevant information, studies, or analyses with respect to the proposed agency action. See section 107(c) of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4336a(c)).
(2) In addition to a request for comment required for notices of intent for EISs, notice of intent for any environmental document may include:
(i) The purpose and need for the proposed action;
(ii) A preliminary description of the proposed action and alternatives the environmental document will consider;
(iii) A brief summary of expected effects;
(iv) Anticipated permits and other authorizations (that is, anticipated related actions);
(v) A schedule for the decision-making process;
(vi) A description of the public scoping process, including any scoping meeting(s);
(vii) Contact information for a person within VA who can answer questions about the proposed action and the environmental document; and
(viii) Identification of any cooperating and participating agencies (that is, agencies responsible for related actions), and any information that such agencies require in the notice to facilitate their decisions or authorizations.
(c) VA may use an early and open process to determine the scope of issues for analysis in an environmental document, including identifying substantive issues that meaningfully inform the consideration of environmental effects and the resulting decision on how to proceed, eliminating from further study non-substantive issues, and determining whether connected actions should be addressed in the same environmental document. Scoping may begin as soon as practicable after the proposed action is sufficiently developed for consideration. Scoping may include appropriate pre-application procedures or work conducted prior to publication of the notice of intent.