The Sustainability Imperative - Sustainable Design: The Science of Sustainability and Green Engineering - page 238

Table 6.3 North Carolina's State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Review Process

Step I : An applicant consults/meets with the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) about the potential need
for SEPA document and to identify/scope issues of concern.
Step II : The applicant submits a draft environmental document to the DENR.
• The environmental document is either an environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS).
Step III : The DENR-lead division reviews the environmental document.
Step IV : The DENR-other divisions review the environmental document.
• 15 to 25 calendar days.
• DENR issues must be resolved prior to sending to the Department of Administration-State Clearinghouse (SCH) review.
Step V : The DENR-lead division sends the environmental document and FONSI? to the SCH.
Step VI : SCH publishes a notice of availability for an environmental document in the NC Environmental Bulletin . Copies of the
environmental document and FONSI? are sent for comments to the appropriate state agencies and regional clearinghouses.
• Interested parties have either 30 (EA) or 45 (EIS) calendar days from the bulletin publication date to provide comments.
Step VII : The SCH forwards copies of the environmental document comments to the DENR-lead division which ensures that the
applicant addresses the comments.
• The SCH reviews the applicant's responses to the comments and recommends whether or not the environmental document is
adequate to meet SEPA requirements.
• Substantial comments may cause the applicant to submit a revised environmental document to the DENR-lead division. This will
result in repeating steps III to VI.
Step VIII : The applicant submits a final environmental document to the DENR-lead division.
Step IX : The DENR-lead division sends the final environmental document and FONSI (in the case of EA and if not previously
prepared) to the SCH.

Environmental Assessment
Step X : The SCH provides a letter stating one of the following:
• The document needs supplemental information
• document does not satisfy a FONSI and an EIS should be prepared

• document is adequate; the SEPA review is complete.

Environmental Impact Statement
Step XI : After the lead agency determines that the federal EIS is adequate, the SCH publishes an ROD in the NC Environmental Bulletin .

Notes:
Public hearing(s) are recommended (but not required) during the draft stage of document preparation for both EA and EIS. For an EA, if no
significant environmental impacts are predicted, the lead agency (or sometimes the applicant) will submit both the EA and the FONSI
to the SCH for review (either early or later in the process).

Finding of No Significant Impact : statement prepared by the lead division which states that the project proposed will have only minimal
impact on the environment

and possible impacts, and the very large role of the public in deciding on the
environmental worth of a highway, airport, dam, waterworks, treatment plant, or
any other major project sponsored or regulated by the federal government. This
has been a major impetus in the growth of the environmental disciplines since
the 1970s. We needed experts who could not only “do the science” but who
could communicate what their science means to the public (and we still do!).