This section provides the specific and detailed methods which shall be followed in a coordinated way to conduct intergovernmental joint environmental assessments. There shall be three classes of environmental assessment documentation which may be required by the Otero County Commission: informal letters, initial assessment reports, and environmental impact reports.
A. Preliminary review: informal letters. Informal letters shall be used to document preliminary discussions and decisions of proposals categorically excluded from NEPA assessments, and for planning activities establishing or refining management objectives, desired future conditions, or identifying or rejecting future management needs or proposals. The activities appropriate to informal letters are usually those preceding formal proposals or projects requiring NEPA assessment.
B. Initial Assessment report (IAR).
(1) An IAR shall be prepared at the request of the Otero County Commission when there is an indication that an effect on the environment (physical, social, cultural, property rights, and/or economic factors) will result from proposed federal agency actions. The IAR is similar to NEPA environmental assessment documentation.
(2) The IARs must be consistent with the Otero County Comprehensive Land Use and Policy Plan. There is no standard format required, but the IARs should include the following information:
(c) Local citizens' values and management objectives.
(d) Production thresholds for the area(s) involved.
(e) Potential environmental impacts.
(g) Consistency of the plan, program, or project with the Otero County Comprehensive Land Use and Policy Plan.
C. Environmental impact report (EIR).
(1) Based on findings documented in an IAR, the Otero County Commission shall make its determination whether to require a more formal and detailed EIR. The EIR is similar to the NEPA environmental impact statement documentation. The EIR shall be developed jointly by the federal agency and by Otero County, as a joint lead agency, as provided by NEPA CEQ regulations. The "affected environment" shall encompass the human environment as described in the NEPA CEQ regulations:
| '"Human environment" shall be interpreted comprehensively to include the natural and physical environment and the relationship of people with that environment. . .When an environmental impact statement is prepared and economic or social and natural or physical environmental effects are interrelated, then the environmental impact statement will discuss all of these effects on the human environment.' |
(2) Since the majority of land in Otero County is federal land, and the County's major industries, livestock, timber, and recreation, are tied to that land, then all economic or social and natural or physical environmental effects are interrelated.
(3) The purpose of an EIR is to:
(a) Identify the significant effects of a project on the environment (natural, social, cultural, property rights, and economic factors).
(b) Identify reasonable alternatives to the project when there is a negative effect, especially on the health, safety, and livelihood (economic welfare) of County citizens.
(c) Indicate the manner in which those significant effects can be mitigated or avoided.
(4) The EIRs will assess cumulative impacts along with the "direct effects and their significance. . .(and) indirect effects and their significance" of proposed plans, programs, or projects in accordance with NEPA CEQ regulations. Also, in accordance with NEPA requirements, the EIRs shall consider all reasonable alternatives to the proposed action with the goal of finding the alternative with the least environmental impacts in relation to its benefits.
(5) Information developed in individual EIRs shall be incorporated into a database which can be used to reduce delay and duplication in preparation of subsequent environmental impact reports.
(6) The contents of the EIRs shall be as follows:
| Cover Sheet |
| Summary of Environmental Impacts |
| Table of Contents |
| | 1. | Purpose and need for the action |
| | 2. | Description of the plan, program, or project |
| | 3. | Affected physical and socioeconomic environment |
| | 4. | Management objectives for the affected area |
| | 5. | Desired future conditions for the affected area |
| | 6. | Environmental impacts |
| | | a. | Assessment of impacts on the physical environment |
| | | b. | Assessment of impacts on the social environment (culture, governance, schools) |
| | | c. | Assessment of impacts on the economic environment (industries and customs) |
| | | d. | Assessment of impacts on private property rights (takings) |
| | | e. | Assessment of impacts of cumulative effects |
| | 7. | Alternatives |
| | 8. | Mitigation Plans |
| | 9. | Public Involvement Requirements |
| | 10. | Time Schedules for Completion of the Environmental Impact Report |
| Appendices |
(a) Purpose and need for action: a brief statement of the underlying purpose and need which has brought about the proposed plan, program, or project and the alternatives.
(b) Description of the plan, program, or project: a summary description of the proposed plan, program, or project.
(c) Affected physical and socioeconomic environment: the environmental setting, both physical and socioeconomic, which will be affected or created by the proposed alternatives.
(d) Management objectives for the affected area:
[1] The management objectives for the planning process which take into account people's values, socioeconomic needs, and production thresholds necessary for realization of the values important to people of the County. These management objectives and production levels will then become the goals and evaluation criteria against which all proposals and alternatives shall be evaluated.
[2] The management objectives shall be drawn from reviews of the Otero County Comprehensive Land Use and Policy Plan and various federal and state land management plans. Since most of these land plans are programmatic and broad in scope, the management objectives may have to be refined specific to the affected area or site.
(e) Desired future conditions for the area: a description of the vegetative mosaic or landscape that best accomplishes the desired management objectives, within the physical capabilities of the natural resources. Since different landscape descriptions will produce different levels of outputs, Otero County must be involved in designing landscape descriptions to best preserve the customs, culture, and economic stability of County citizens when choices have to be made between conflicting management objectives.
(f) Environmental impacts: a concise description showing the affects of the proposed plan, program, or project on both the physical and socioeconomic environment, including current and desired future conditions of the area.
[1] Assessment of impacts on the physical environment: a description of any effects on the County's natural resource assets and environmental quality to include effects on:
[a] Forest and timber resources.
[e] Private surface and groundwater rights and irrigated cropland.
[f] Environmental quality: air, water (including surface water and groundwater), energy, soils, etc.
[g] Integrated resource planning and management in which County private parties and/or public interests are involved.
[h] Multiple use, sustained yield, and range resource laws.
[i] Private investments and costs into public land resources.
[j] The "productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment." The plan must "stimulate the health and welfare of man. . .and support diversity and variety of individual choice" in accordance with the NEPA mandate.
[2] Assessment of impacts on the social environment: a description of any effects on Otero County's culture, governance, schools, and other local programs, including effects on:
[a] The culture of Otero County due to population loss.
[b] The culture of Otero County from possible limitations and restrictions on cultural beliefs and practices, and maintenance of cultural and community cohesion and kinships.
[c] Cultural and community aesthetics, including historical sites, natural resource vistas, river ways, and landscapes.
[d] The County's ability to protect the health, safety, and social and cultural well-being of its citizens.
[e] The County's ability to promote environmental values and resource protection and development.
[f] The County's ability to finance public programs and services through bonding, lending, and other financing mechanisms.
[g] Local governments (e.g., villages, towns, and County) and schools from identified tax revenue losses.
[h] Local emergency medical services, law enforcement, fire protection, and nuisance abatement.
[i] The local government infrastructure, including transportation, community water systems (including those provided through irrigation and reclamation districts), and landfill services.
[j] Local community well-being, stability of governance, and the education of children from cumulative and long-term impacts.
[3] Assessment of impacts on the economic environment: a description of any effects on the County's economy, customs, services, and businesses, to include effects on:
[a] Private investment backed expectations.
[b] The economic value of private water rights and real property.
[c] Direct, indirect, and cumulative employment.
[d] The base industries of timber, cattle, and mining, specifying unit cost effects (e.g., economic value of AUMs, MMBFs, etc.).
[e] Local businesses directly and indirectly related to the resource decisions or plans.
[f] Housing, real estate values, and residential energy needs.
[g] Thresholds for business demand and markets.
[h] Local community well-being, stability, and ability to maintain current and future debt service by long-term and cumulative impacts.
[4] Assessment of impacts on private property (takings): a description of any effects on property rights and protectable interests in the County. In addition to the requirements above, there shall be an evaluation of the impacts of property rights, using the Presidential Executive Order No. 12630, entitled "Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected Property Rights," and the Attorney General's guidelines entitled "Evaluation of Risks and Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings." In addition, the Otero County Comprehensive Land Use and Policy Plan mandates that the following tests or criteria be used in assessing possible taking of private property rights:
[a] Whether the plan, program, or project constitutes an actual physical intrusion or actual taking of private property.
[b] Potential for loss of economic value or investment backed expectation.
[c] Related effects on custom and culture.
[d] Whether the agency action conforms to constitutionally protected property rights and commonly accepted notions of fairness and due process.
[5] Assessment of cumulative effects:
[a] An analysis of the effects of planning decisions to ensure that there are no cumulative, long-term effects on the County's economy, customs, culture, services, and businesses.
[b] Because the monitoring and maintenance efforts of federal agencies are inadequate to effectively measure the cumulative and long-term effects of their plans, programs, and projects, these impacts remain unmeasured in any sense that will permit remedial action. This is especially true for the impacts on multiple uses of natural resources and economic stability. To provide a necessary tool for addressing these issues, Otero County shall develop and make available local economic studies containing unit cost and other indices for the purpose of measuring economic impacts.
[c] One of the primary reasons for enacting the procedures contained in this chapter and the commitment of County resources for the development of accurate data is to assist federal agencies to systematically identify both present and cumulative impacts associated with their actions and to develop effective and feasible mitigation measures and alternatives so that these adverse impacts may be eliminated or substantially reduced or compensated.
(g) Alternatives: a description of the environmental impacts of the proposed plan, program, or project and the reasonable alternatives in comparative form which will provide a clear basis for choice among the options by the decisionmakers and the public (in accordance with NEPA CEQ regulations). This section will:
[1] Provide an objective evaluation of all reasonable alternatives and a discussion of why any alternatives were eliminated.
[2] Provide a detailed description of each alternative, including the proposal, so that reviewers may evaluate their comparative merits.
[3] Include reasonable alternatives not within the jurisdiction of the lead agency.
[4] Include the alternative of no action.
[5] Identify the preferred alternative or alternatives.
[6] Include appropriate mitigation measures not already included in the mitigation plan.
(h) Mitigation plan: a mitigation plan which will provide detailed and realistic alternatives in accordance with NEPA. It is the policy of the Otero County Commission that federal agencies shall not approve plans, programs, or projects as proposed if there are feasible alternatives or mitigation measures available which would, if implemented, reduce or eliminate significant impacts to both the physical and socioeconomic environment. The mitigation plan shall:
[1] Identify each impact which the mitigation measure is intended to address.
[2] Identify the party or agency responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the proposed mitigation measure.
[3] Specify the following for each mitigation alternative (in accordance with NEPA CEQ regulations):
[a] How impacts may be avoided altogether by not taking certain actions.
[b] How impacts may be minimized by limiting the degree or magnitude of the proposed action.
[c] How impacts may be rectified through repair, rehabilitation, or restoration of the affected environment.
[d] How impacts may be reduced or eliminated over time through preservation and maintenance actions during the life of the action.
[e] How the agency could compensate for the impact by providing substitute resources of equal economic value.
[4] Specify, for each mitigation measure, its:
[c] Fiscal and economic feasibility.
[d] Social, cultural, and political feasibility.
[5] Provide a mitigation monitoring plan, which is based on specific objectives and performance standards, to ensure implementation of mitigation measures during the life of the plan, program, or project.
[6] Provide feedback to the County Commission from the mitigation monitoring process.
(i) Public involvement requirements. During the preparation of an analysis for a decision document, or amendment to a proposed project or agency plan, Otero County and the federal agencies shall jointly provide opportunities for the involvement of Otero County citizens, local governments, schools, utility companies, civic or other community groups, and all economic segments within Otero County. This shall be done through public hearings and other means the Otero County Commission deems appropriate. The joint public involvement program shall have the following elements:
[1] Federal agencies shall coordinate joint public involvement planning, programs, and processes with the Otero County Commission, pursuant to this section of this chapter, and in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality regulations.
[2] The public involvement program shall include objectives to:
[a] Identify the major issues, affected parties, and opportunities of the proposed action.
[b] Apprise landowners of regulations and decisions that may affect their property rights.
[c] Provide public opportunities to evaluate alternative plans and to participate in choosing the preferred alternative.
[d] Create an atmosphere in which conflicting demands for resources and uses can be resolved without destabilizing community economic, social and/or cultural fabrics.
(j) Time schedules for completion of the EIR. Estimated time schedules shall be developed for all phases of the EIR. The time schedules shall be developed early in the process for each phase of the assessment, including issuance of a final decision.