[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of County Commissioners of
Otero County 5-17-1993 by Ord. No. 93-04. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
The intent of the Otero County Commission in adopting this chapter
is to promote the stated purposes and philosophy of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) which is:
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"To declare a national policy which will encourage the productive
and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote
efforts which will eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere
and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding
of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the nation.
. ."
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B.
The intent, therefore, of this chapter is to create an Otero County
environmental planning process which will:
(1)
Ensure the protection of not only the physical environment but also
the customs, culture, and economic stability of Otero County.
(2)
Require that federal agencies abide by existing laws which require
them to conduct joint planning with Otero County for proposed plans,
programs, and projects on federal land and state lands within the
County.
(3)
Ensure full mitigation of adverse effects of environmental decisions
to Otero County and its citizens.
It is the policy of the Otero County Commission that all federal
agencies proposing to undertake or engage in any planning activities
which will significantly affect the quality of both the physical and
socioeconomic environment in Otero County shall henceforth comply
with the requirements of:
A.
This chapter.
B.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
C.
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations.
D.
The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and supporting regulations.
E.
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and supporting
regulations.
F.
All other federal, state, and County laws, regulations, and ordinances
relating to management of the human and physical environment.
The Otero County Commission has identified the following primary
objectives for environmental planning and review within the County:
A.
To disclose to federal and state decisionmakers and the public the
significant environmental effects of proposed government actions on
the physical environment and the customs, culture, property rights,
and economic stability of Otero County.
B.
To identify means to mitigate or eliminate adverse impacts to both
the physical and socioeconomic environment.
C.
To prevent injury to both the physical and socioeconomic environment
by requirement implementation of feasible alternatives or mitigation
measures.
D.
To require intergovernmental coordination and joint planning in the
environmental planning and review process in Otero County.
E.
To encourage and enhance public education and participation in the
environmental review process.
F.
To plan and manage natural resources consistent with environmental
and community standards.
A.
Otero County's economy is dependent upon federal and state lands
to a major extent. It is therefore advantageous that state and federal
agencies work closely together with Otero County to jointly determine
the benefits, impacts, and costs of resource plans and decisions.
By pooling local, state, and federal resources, the general public
will be better informed about resource decisions. Joint planning and
coordination will also provide a unique opportunity to cooperatively
develop realistic mitigation alternatives for redressing negative
environmental, social and economic impacts.
B.
The procedures and guidelines of this chapter shall be consistent
with the requirements of federal and state laws and their implementing
regulations. Furthermore, in the event that environmental assessment
documentation is required by both this chapter and NEPA, a combined
environmental impact assessment documentation shall be coordinated
and jointly prepared by the County Commission and the federal agency.
C.
The legal authority for this chapter is derived from state and federal
statutes as defined in the Otero County Comprehensive Land Use and
Policy Plan. The joint intergovernmental planning and coordination
requirements of this chapter are consistent with the requirements
of NEPA CEQ regulations as follows:
D.
Joint environmental planning.
(1)
Under the NEPA and CEQ requirements for coordinated resource project
planning, the Otero County Comprehensive Land Use and Policy Plan
specifically requires that a coordinated planning and review process
be established for all federal actions and plans within Otero County.
(2)
Upon invoking the environmental assessment process, the County Commission
shall, as it deems necessary, enter into a memorandum of agreement
(MOA) for joint planning and preparation of environmental assessment
documents, including procedures for designating Otero County as a
joint lead agency in the federal environmental assessment process
in accordance with CEQ regulations. The MOAs shall be in full conformance
with the requirement of this chapter and NEPA.
(3)
All federal agencies shall notify the Otero County Commission immediately
upon initiation of any proposal or planning activity that may lead
to a proposal or project affecting the human environment in Otero
County. At the first Commission meeting following notification, the
County Commission shall make a formal decision as to whether to require
joint planning and/or documentation in accordance with the environmental
assessment process detailed in this chapter, and so notify the initiating
agency.
(4)
In Otero County, joint planning shall be conducted in the following
sequence to ensure that all planning, proposals, and projects are
formulated and/or evaluated against appropriate and realistic objectives:
(a)
Establish management objectives in terms of people values for
the site impacted. These can, in part, be determined through review
of federal, state, and County land plans. They may need to be refined
and defined specific to the site impacted. This definition of objectives
must include the commodity and amenity outputs or production thresholds
needed to achieve the values the citizens of the County have determined
to be important or necessary to their well-being.
(b)
Design desired future conditions (DFC) to best meet the above-determined
management objectives within the physical capabilities of the environment.
(c)
Evaluate all proposals against achieving the DFCs and management
objectives established for the area.
(d)
Utilize an ecosystem management approach to evaluate any single
proposal. That is, all uses, management objectives, and environmental
capabilities will be considered.
E.
Joint environmental research. The Otero County Commission hereby
states its intent to take advantage of the joint environmental research
and studies clause of NEPA by entering into joint pilot research and
studies with the federal agencies. The purpose of the joint pilot
research and studies will be to develop a coordinated approach to
resource management through:
(1)
Promoting understanding of like values or the customs and culture
of Otero County.
(2)
Identifying output/product requirements for improving resource conditions
and trends, and for protecting the community and economic stability
of the County.
(3)
Developing landscape descriptions for DFCs, including standards and
monitoring methods.
(4)
Coordinating the development of resource management approaches for
preferred management alternatives in the planning process.
F.
Joint public hearings. Joint public hearings shall be conducted ".
. .to the fullest extent possible" in accordance with NEPA requirements.
G.
Joint preparation of environmental assessment documentation. In accordance with NEPA requirements and § 120-5 of this chapter, federal agencies shall work jointly with Otero County to conduct environmental impact analyses of the proposal and alternatives for both the physical and socioeconomic environment.
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:
(a)
Project description.
(b)
Environmental setting.
(c)
Local citizens' values and management objectives.
(d)
Production thresholds for the area(s) involved.
(e)
Potential environmental impacts.
(f)
Mitigation measures.
(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:
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'"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.'
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(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:
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Cover Sheet
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Summary of Environmental Impacts
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Table of Contents
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1.
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Purpose and need for the action
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2.
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Description of the plan, program, or project
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3.
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Affected physical and socioeconomic environment
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4.
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Management objectives for the affected area
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5.
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Desired future conditions for the affected area
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6.
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Environmental impacts
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a.
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Assessment of impacts on the physical environment
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b.
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Assessment of impacts on the social environment (culture, governance,
schools)
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c.
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Assessment of impacts on the economic environment (industries
and customs)
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d.
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Assessment of impacts on private property rights (takings)
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e.
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Assessment of impacts of cumulative effects
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7.
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Alternatives
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8.
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Mitigation Plans
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9.
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Public Involvement Requirements
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10.
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Time Schedules for Completion of the Environmental Impact Report
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Appendices
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(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.
[b]
Range resources.
[c]
Dry land crops.
[d]
Watershed 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.
[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.
In addition to the procedures contained in this chapter, the
Otero County Commission shall:
A.
Adopt such administrative rules and oversight guidelines deemed necessary
to carry out this chapter.
B.
Establish an oversight committee or other organization to assure
that the intent and purposes of the procedures established by this
chapter are maintained.
C.
Develop such environmental and resource related cooperative agreements,
memorandums of understanding, joint policy statements, and joint letters
of intent with appropriate state and federal agencies, so that the
goals and objectives of this chapter and the Otero County Comprehensive
Land Use and Policy Plan may be carried out.
This chapter shall be recorded in the books kept for that purpose
and shall be authenticated by the signature of the County Clerk and
shall take effect in accordance with the law.
