Notice of Intent

The first step in the public planning process for an environmental impact statement (EIS) is the Notice of Intent, which is published by the lead agency in the Federal Register. The lead agency for the Bureau of Mines EIS is the National Park Service.

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (40 CFR 1500 - 1508) regulations state:
A Notice of intent is a notice that an environmental impact statement will be prepared and considered. The notice briefly describes:
(a) The purpose and need for the project
(b) The agency's proposed scoping process including whether, when, and where any scoping meeting will be held.
(c) The name and address of a person within the agency who can answer questions about the proposed action and the environmental impact statement (40 C.F.R. § 1508.22).

The scoping process follows the publication of the notice of intent; is a forum for public participation in the early stages of the process and the appropriate platform for the agency to determine the scope of an EIS, the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts to be considered in it, and the allocation of responsibility among any public or private parties involved in the proposed action. Formal public involvement is a crucial part of the scoping process.

Document Content:

Notice of Intent   (51.5 KB, PDF file) Notice of Intent as Published in the Federal Register   (47.9 KB, PDF file) Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published. Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.