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The following
procedures shall be followed prior to the County implementing,
funding or approving the actions or projects directly undertaken
by County government, its departments and agencies.
1. General Procedures and Definitions
Unless otherwise stated herein, the procedures and definitions
established by the New York State Environmental Quality Review
Act of 1975, as amended, and the State-wide regulations and
guidelines adopted by the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (6NYCRR, Part 617) and amendments thereto shall
be used by every department and agency of the County, including
the County Legislature, in the review of direct actions and
projects initiated by the County. It is intended that these
procedures shall be compatible with and no less restrictive
than the State regulations and procedures.
2. Capital
Projects
For all County capital projects, the County Project Approval
Request Team shall be responsible for coordinating the implementation
of this policy. Included in this responsibility is determining
whether the departmental or agency functions described herein
shall be the responsibility of the Capital Program Coordinator,
the sponsoring agency's project manager (or preparer of SEQR
materials), or whatever County department is given the task
of overseeing County capital projects.
3. County
Industrial Development Agency
For actions of the County Industrial Development Agency
(IDA) that require County Legislature approval, the IDA should
follow the IDA's own adopted procedures. When the only involved
agencies for the action are the IDA and the County Legislature,
the IDA shall be the lead agency.
4. Lead
and Sponsoring Agencies
The County department or agency most directly involved in
supervising an action shall be the sponsoring agency for the
purpose of initiation and administration of the SEQR process.
The lead agency under SEQR is that department, agency, or the
County Legislature, that actually undertakes, funds, or approves
a Type I or Unlisted action. An agency is "involved"
for SEQR purposes when it is determined that it has or will
have a discretionary decision to make regarding some aspect
of the action.
By mutual
agreement, any two or more departments or agencies "involved"
in the action, may designate one of the departments or agencies
as the lead agency, subject to confirmation by the appropriate
program committee(s). In the case of a disagreement between
two or more departments or agencies, the County Administrator
shall select a lead agency and make that recommendation to each
of the respective program committee(s). If the program committee(s)
do not jointly accept the recommendation, the matter shall be
referred to the County Legislature for a final decision. "Program
Committee(s)" shall mean the Standing or Special Committee(s)
of the County Legislature as annually established by the Chair
of the Legislature.
Where there
is more than one "involved" agency, whether they be
County agencies or outside of county government, the lead agency
shall conduct a coordinated review for all Type I and Unlisted
actions in order to obtain input from the other involved agencies.
5. Type
II Actions
Each sponsoring department or agency shall conduct an initial
screening to determine if a proposed action falls within the
Type II action category, which requires no further SEQR review.
If so, the action may be implemented without further review.
Until such time as the County Legislature adopts a listing of
Type II actions, the Type II listing shown in Part 617.5 of
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
regulations shall apply. The sponsoring department or agency
shall utilize the County's numerical listing of Type II Actions
that parallel the wording in Part 617.5, but are assigned numbers
to more easily identify the action type.
6. Unlisted
Actions
If the action falls into the Unlisted action category, the sponsoring
agency shall prepare an appropriate Environmental Assessment
Form to assess the environmental impacts and determine which
other units of government may have potential concern or review
authority.
7. Type
I Actions
If the action is deemed to be a Type I action, a full Environmental
Assessment Form shall be prepared by the sponsoring agency and
submitted to the program committee(s). If the Environmental
Assessment Form indicates that there may be one or more significant
impacts (as defined by SEQR part 617.11 regulations), the sponsoring
agency shall prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS). Until such time as the County Legislature adopts a list
of Type I actions, the Type I listing in Part 617.4 of the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation regulations
shall apply. The sponsoring department or agency shall utilize
the County's numerical listing of Type I Actions that parallel
the wording in Part 617.4, but are assigned numbers to more
easily identify the action type.
8. Environmental
Assessment Forms
All necessary Environmental Assessment Forms (EAFs) must be
prepared for all Type I and Unlisted actions as described in
part 617.6 of the SEQR regulations. In completing Environmental
Assessment Forms, County departments and agencies should adhere
to the following guidelines:
"Lead
Agency" · When the Legislature is the lead agency,
use "Tompkins County Legislature"· When dept./agency
is the lead agency, use the name of department or agency
"Responsible
Officer in Lead Agency" - (note, this guideline also applies
when Identifying the Responsible Officer for preparation of
Findings Statements)· When the Legislature is the lead
agency, use name of Chair of the Legislature· When dept./agency
is the lead agency, use name of department/agency head
"Preparer"
- Name of staff person in sponsoring agency who completes the
EAF.
"Applicant/Sponsor
Name (and Signature)" - Name of sponsoring agency with
department head signature.
9. Referral
of Unlisted and Type I Actions to Planning Department and Environmental
Management Council
Each sponsoring agency shall notify the Planning Department,
the Environmental Management Council (EMC), other appropriate
Advisory Boards, and the County Legislator representing the
district in which the project is located by submitting to them
a copy of the Environmental Assessment Form and the initial
determination of significance (Negative, Positive, or Conditioned
Negative Declaration) for any Unlisted and Type I actions. This
notification shall be submitted to the Planning Department,
the EMC, other appropriate Advisory Boards, and the County Legislator
representing the district in which the project is located in
time for adequate review prior to action by the appropriate
program committee(s). Actions, whether Unlisted or Type I, which
could involve unusual or substantial impact would require appropriately
longer periods for review.
In the case
of both Unlisted and Type I actions, notification shall be made
no less than thirty (30) days prior to any formal consideration
of the action by the program committee(s). Sponsoring agencies
will also submit a SEQR cover sheet indicating the location
of the action and the deadline for comments. The EMC and other
appropriate Advisory Boards may make a request to the Chair(s)
of the appropriate program committee(s) for additional time
to complete the review.
When, in
the opinion of the County Administrator, circumstances require
speedy action precluding the normal review process, the County
Administrator, with the concurrence of the Chair of the County
Legislature, is authorized to disregard the provisions of this
"Referral of Unlisted and Type I Actions to Planning Department
and Environmental Management Council" section, and bring
resolutions directly to the County Legislature by requesting
the chair of the appropriate committee to place on a County
Legislature agenda a resolution authorizing the action. Even
if this section is bypassed to ensure speedy SEQR compliance,
the County shall adhere to all SEQR regulations.
10. Findings
a) No Significant Impact
If, after reviewing comments from the referrals required in
paragraph 9 (on Unlisted and Type I actions), it is foreseen
that no significant impact (as defined by SEQR Part 617.11 regulations)
is anticipated, the sponsoring agency shall submit the Environmental
Assessment Form, the Negative (or Conditioned Negative) Declaration,
and the negative declaration resolution to the program committee(s),
along with recommendations received from the Planning Department,
the EMC, and other appropriate Advisory Boards.
If formal
County Legislature approval is required, the program committee(s)
shall submit the proposed action, along with a recommendation
as to environmental significance (Negative or Conditioned Negative
Declaration), for action by the County Legislature. If formal
County Legislature approval is not required, the department
or agency acting as lead agency shall prepare the Negative or
Conditioned Negative Declaration, and referral to the County
Legislature is not required.
b) Significant
Impact
If, after reviewing comments from the referrals required in
paragraph 9, it is foreseen that significant impacts (as defined
by SEQR Part 617.11 regulations) may result from the action,
the sponsoring agency shall submit the Environmental Assessment
Form, the Positive Declaration, and the positive declaration
resolution to the program committee(s), along with recommendations
received from the Planning Department, the EMC, and other appropriate
Advisory Boards.
If formal
County Legislature approval is required, the program committee(s)
shall submit the proposed action, along with a recommendation
as to environmental significance (Positive Declaration), for
action by the County Legislature. If formal County Legislature
approval is not required, the department or agency acting as
lead agency shall prepare the Positive Declaration, and referral
to the County Legislature is not required.
Once a Positive
Declaration has been made by the lead agency, a draft EIS shall
be prepared following all SEQR Part 617 procedures. The sponsoring
agency shall be responsible for preparing the EIS (either preparing
the document itself or supervising others in its preparation).
The sponsoring agency or the respective program committee(s)
shall then refer the EIS, along with their recommendations,
to the Planning Department, the EMC, and other appropriate Advisory
Boards for comment in the same manner as described in paragraph
9.
The EIS
may be revised, based on comments received, and shall then,
along with a draft Findings Statement (prepared by the sponsoring
agency), and comments received from the Planning Department,
the EMC, and other appropriate Advisory Boards, be referred
to the County Legislature (or the department or agency if they
are lead agency). The County Legislature (or departmental lead
agency) may hold a Public Hearing on the EIS. After preparing
and issuing a final Findings Statement, the County Legislature
(or departmental lead agency) may approve, disapprove or amend
the action.
11. County
Legislature Resolutions
Each program committee, in preparing resolutions for County
Legislature meeting agendas, shall indicate on the resolution
whether the action stated in the resolution requires no further
review under SEQR (Type II), is an Unlisted action, or is a
Type I action, and shall provide supporting information as appropriate.
If it is a Type II action, no further SEQR review shall be necessary
and the SEQR process may be deemed complete.
If it is
an Unlisted action requiring County Legislature approval, there
shall be a separate resolution indicating that the Environmental
Assessment Form was reviewed by the program committee(s) and
stating the determination of the committee(s) as to the environmental
significance of the action (Negative, Positive, or Conditioned
Negative Declaration). The Environmental Assessment Form and
supporting information shall be submitted to the County Legislature.
The County Legislature may confirm or amend the determination.
If the resolution
is a Type I action, the program committee(s) shall submit to
the County Legislature an Environmental Assessment Form and,
if required, an EIS prepared, reviewed and completed in accordance
with the requirements of SEQR Part 617, and shall make a recommendation
as to their determination of significance of the action (Negative,
Positive, or Conditioned Negative Declaration). If an EIS is
prepared, the County Legislature may hold a Public Hearing and,
after public comment, shall prepare and issue a Findings Statement.
The County Legislature may then consider the action by resolution,
including a Findings Statement.
12. Required
Notices and Filings
Each sponsoring agency shall maintain readily accessible files
of all SEQR documents and notices for all Unlisted and Type
I actions and shall make the files available to the public on
request. All EIS's prepared for County initiated, funded, or
approved projects shall be filed in a central location and a
database maintained so as to facilitate retrieval. It shall
be the responsibility of the sponsoring agency to send copies
of EIS's to the County department assigned responsibility for
records storage.
The sponsoring
agency is also required to file all determinations of significance
(Negative, Positive, or Conditioned Negative Declarations) and
Findings Statements with the Clerk of the County Legislature.
In addition,
it is the responsibility of the sponsoring agency to complete
all of the filing and distribution requirements outlined in
the SEQR Part 617.12 (b) and (c). These include sending copies
of all Type I Negative Declarations, Conditioned Negative Declarations,
Positive Declarations, Notice of Completion of an EIS, EIS,
Notice of Hearing and Findings to: (1) the chief executive officer
of the political subdivision in which the action will be principally
located, (2) the lead agency, (3) all involved agencies, (4)
any person who requests a copy, and (5) if the action involves
an applicant, with the applicant.
Type I Negative
Declarations, Conditioned Negative Declarations, Positive Declarations,
and Notices of Completion of an EIS are required to be published
in the NYS "Environmental Notice Bulletin."
Copies of
all EIS's must be sent to the Department of Environmental Conservation,
Division of Regulatory Services, in Albany, NY.
13. Implementation
of Mitigation Measures
It is the responsibility of the sponsoring agency to implement
the mitigation measures that are imposed through the SEQR review
process.
14. Forms
Unless otherwise authorized by the County Legislature, each
department or agency shall use the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recommended forms or essential
facsimiles thereof. It is understood that the DEC forms may
need to be significantly altered when the sponsoring agency
is able to coordinate the SEQR/NEPA review process, as described
in paragraph 15. In those cases, all care shall be taken by
the sponsoring agency (with County Attorney review, if necessary)
that the requirements of SEQR are met with whatever forms are
used.
15. SEQR's
Relationship with NEPA
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the federal
mechanism for conducting environmental review of federally funded,
approved, or directly undertaken actions. When possible, the
County sponsoring agency should work to coordinate the SEQR/NEPA
review process by seeking early consultations with federal agencies
for purposes of coordinating reviews, preparing environmental
assessments and EISs, conducting public hearings, and preparing
and publicizing public notices. In many cases, environmental
assessments and impact statements can be modified to include
all of the elements required by both the SEQR and NEPA regulations.
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Tompkins
County Administrative Policy Manual