N.M. Admin. Code § 20.7.7.20
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024
Section 20.7.7.20 - ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS) PREPARATIONA. Steps in preparing the EIS. In addition to the other requirements specified in this procedure, the responsible official will conduct the following activities: (1) Notice of intent. If a determination is made that an EIS will be required, the responsible official shall prepare and distribute a notice of intent.(2) Scoping. As soon as possible, after the publication of the notice of intent, the responsible official will convene a meeting of affected federal, state, and local agencies, or affected Indian tribes, the applicant and other interested parties to determine the scope of the EIS. As part of the scoping meeting, NMED will, as a minimum: (a) Determine the significance of issues for and the scope of those significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the EIS;(b) Identify the preliminary range of alternatives to be considered;(c) Identify potential cooperating agencies and determine the information or analyses that may be needed from cooperating agencies or other parties;(d) Discuss the method for EIS preparation and the public participation strategy;(e) Identify consultation requirements of other environmental laws; and(f) Determine the relationship between the EIS and the completion of the facilities plan and any necessary coordination arrangements between the preparers of both documents.(3) Identifying and evaluating alternatives. Immediately following the scoping process, the responsible official shall commence the identification and evaluation of all potentially viable alternatives to adequately address the range of issues identified in the scoping process. Additional issues may be addressed, or others eliminated, during this process and the reasons documented as part of the EIS.B. Methods for preparing EIS. After NMED determines the need for an EIS, it shall select one of the following methods for its preparation: (1) By NMED contracting directly with a qualified consulting firm;(2) By utilizing a third party method whereby the responsible official enters into "third party agreements" for the applicant to engage and pay for the services of a third party to prepare the EIS. Such agreement shall not be initiated unless both the applicant and the responsible official agree to its creation. A third party agreement will be established prior to the applicant's EID and eliminate the need for the document. In proceeding under the third party agreement, the responsible official shall carry out the following practices: (a) In consultation with the applicant, choose the third party contractor and manage that contract;(b) Select the consultant based on ability and absence of conflict of interest. Third party contractors shall execute a disclosure statement prepared by the responsible official signifying they have no financial or other conflicting interest in the outcome of the project; and(c) Specify the information to be developed and supervise the gathering, analysis, and presentation of the information. The responsible official shall have sole authority for approval and modification of the statements, analyses, and conclusions included in the third party EIS.N.M. Admin. Code § 20.7.7.20
10-22-88; 11-30-95; 20.7.7.20 NMAC - Rn, 20 NMAC 7.7.306, 7/16/2000, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXI, Issue 05, March 10, 2020, eff. 3/10/2020