scope:

Purpose.

(a) This subpart contains the major environmental policies of the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) or its successor agency under Public Law 103- 354. It also provides the procedures and guidelines for preparing the environmental impact analyses required for a series of Federal laws, regulations, and Executive orders within one environmental document. The timing and use of this environmental document within the FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 decision-making process is also outlined.

(b) This subpart is intended to be consistent with the Council on Environmental Ouality's (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 40 CFR parts 1500- 1508. CEQ's regulations will not be repeated in this subpart except when essential for clarification of important procedural or substantive points. Otherwise, citations to applicable sections of the regulations will be provided. The CEQ regulations will be available at all FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 offices.

(c) This subpart is designed to integrate the requirements of NEPA with other planning and environmental review procedures required by law, or by Agency practice, so that all such procedures run concurrently rather than consecutively. The environmental document, which results from the implementation of this subpart, provides on a project basis a single reference point for the Agency's compliance and/or implementation