PUBLIC LAW 109–59—AUG. 10, 2005
119 STAT. 1861
‘‘(B) supporting land use, economic development, or growth objectives established in applicable Federal, State, local, or tribal plans; and ‘‘(C) serving national defense, national security, or other national objectives, as established in Federal laws, plans, or policies. ‘‘(4) ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS.— ‘‘(A) PARTICIPATION.—As early as practicable during the environmental review process, the lead agency shall provide an opportunity for involvement by participating agencies and the public in determining the range of alternatives to be considered for a project. ‘‘(B) RANGE OF ALTERNATIVES.—Following participation under paragraph (1), the lead agency shall determine the range of alternatives for consideration in any document which the lead agency is responsible for preparing for the project. ‘‘(C) METHODOLOGIES.—The lead agency also shall determine, in collaboration with participating agencies at appropriate times during the study process, the methodologies to be used and the level of detail required in the analysis of each alternative for a project. ‘‘(D) PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.—At the discretion of the lead agency, the preferred alternative for a project, after being identified, may be developed to a higher level of detail than other alternatives in order to facilitate the development of mitigation measures or concurrent compliance with other applicable laws if the lead agency determines that the development of such higher level of detail will not prevent the lead agency from making an impartial decision as to whether to accept another alternative which is being considered in the environmental review process. ‘‘(g) COORDINATION AND SCHEDULING.— ‘‘(1) COORDINATION PLAN.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency shall establish a plan for coordinating public and agency participation in and comment on the environmental review process for a project or category of projects. The coordination plan may be incorporated into a memorandum of understanding. ‘‘(B) SCHEDULE.— ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency may establish as part of the coordination plan, after consultation with each participating agency for the project and with the State in which the project is located (and, if the State is not the project sponsor, with the project sponsor), a schedule for completion of the environmental review process for the project. ‘‘(ii) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In establishing the schedule, the lead agency shall consider factors such as— ‘‘(I) the responsibilities of participating agencies under applicable laws; ‘‘(II) resources available to the cooperating agencies; ‘‘(III) overall size and complexity of the project; ‘‘(IV) the overall schedule for and cost of the project; and
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