Section R18-15-106. Environmental Review

A.      The Authority shall conduct an environmental review accord- ing to this Section for impacts of the design or construction of water infrastructure. Projects under the Water Supply Devel- opment Revolving Fund Program are not subject to the requirements of R18-15-106. As part of the application pro- cess, the Authority shall request information from the appli- cant to conduct an environmental review consistent with 40 CFR 35.3140 and 40 CFR 35.3580. The Authority shall deter- mine whether the project meets the criteria for categorical exclusion under subsections (B) and (C), or whether the project requires the preparation of an environmental assess- ment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) to identify and evaluate its environmental impacts.

B.       A project may be categorically excluded from environmental review if the project fits within a category that is eligible for exclusion and the project does not involve any of the extraor- dinary circumstances listed in subsection (C). If, based on the application and other information submitted by the applicant, the Authority determines that a categorical exclusion from an environmental review is warranted, the project is exempt from the requirements of this Section, except for the public notice and participation requirements in subsection (J). The Author- ity may issue a categorical exclusion if information and docu- ments demonstrate that the project qualifies under one or more of the following categories:

1.        Any project relating to existing infrastructure systems that involves minor upgrading, minor expansion of sys- tem capacity, rehabilitation (including functional replace- ment) of the existing system and system components, or construction of new minor ancillary facilities adjacent to or on the same property as existing facilities. This cate- gory does not include projects that:

a.        Involve new or relocated discharges to surface water or groundwater,

b.        Will likely result in the substantial increase in the volume or the loading of pollutant to the receiving water,

c.        Will provide capacity to serve a population 30% greater than the existing population,

d.        Are not supported by the state or other regional growth plan or strategy, or

e.        Directly or indirectly involve or relate to upgrading or extending infrastructure systems primarily for the purposes of future development.

2.        Any clean water project in unsewered communities involving the replacement of existing onsite systems, pro- viding the new onsite systems do not result in substantial increases in the volume of discharge or the loadings of pollutants from existing sources, or relocate an existing discharge.

C.      The Authority shall deny a categorical exclusion if any of the following extraordinary circumstances apply to the project:

1.        The project is known or expected to have potentially sig- nificant adverse environmental impacts on the quality of the human environment either individually or cumula- tively over time.

2.        The project is known or expected to have disproportion- ately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on any community, including minority communi- ties, low-income communities, or federally-recognized Indian tribal communities.

3.        The project is known or expected to significantly affect federally listed threatened or endangered species or their critical habitat.

4.        The project is known or expected to significantly affect national natural landmarks or any property with nation- ally significant historic, architectural, prehistoric, archeo- logical, or cultural value, including but not limited to, property listed on or eligible for the Arizona or National Registers of Historic Places.

5.        The project is known or expected to significantly affect environmentally important natural resource areas such as wetlands, floodplains, significant agricultural lands, aqui- fer recharge zones, wild and scenic rivers, and significant fish or wildlife habitat.

6.        The project is known or expected to cause significant adverse air quality effects.

7.        The project is known or expected to have a significant effect on the pattern and type of land use or growth and distribution of population, including altering the charac- ter of existing residential areas, or may not be consistent with state or local government, or federally-recognized Indian tribe approved land use or federal land manage- ment plans.

8.        The project is known or expected to cause significant public controversy about a potential environmental impact of the proposed action.

9.        The project is known or expected to be associated with providing financial assistance to a federal agency through an interagency agreement for a project that is known or expected to have potentially significant environmental impacts.

10.     The project is known or expected to conflict with federal, state, or local government, or federally-recognized Indian tribe environmental, resource-protection, or land-use laws or regulations.

D.      If the Authority denies the categorical exclusion under subsec- tion (C), the Authority shall conduct an EA according to sub- section (E), unless the Authority decides to prepare an EIS according to subsections (F) and (G) without first undertaking an EA. If the Authority conducts an EA, the applicant shall:

1.        Prepare an environmental information document (EID) in a format prescribed by the Authority. The EID shall be of

sufficient scope to undertake an environmental review and to allow development of an EA under subsection (E); or

2.        Provide documentation, upon Authority approval, in another format if the documentation is of sufficient scope to allow the development of an EA under subsection (E).

E.       The Authority shall conduct the EA that includes:

1.        A brief discussion of:

a.        The need for the project;

b.        The alternatives, including a no action alternative;

c.        The affected environment, including baseline condi- tions that may be impacted by the project and alter- natives;

d.        The environmental impacts of the project and alter- natives, including any unresolved conflicts concern- ing alternative uses of available resources; and

e.        Other applicable environmental laws.

2.        A listing or summary of any coordination or consultation undertaken with any federal agency, state or local govern- ment, or federally-recognized Indian tribe regarding com- pliance with applicable laws and executive orders;

3.        Identification and description of any mitigation measures considered, including any mitigation measures that must be adopted to ensure the project will not have significant impacts; and

4.        Incorporation of documents by reference, if appropriate, including the EID.

F.       Upon completion of the EA required by subsection (E), the Authority shall determine whether an environmental impact statement (EIS) is necessary.

1.        The Authority shall prepare or direct the applicant to pre- pare an EIS in the manner prescribed in subsection (G) if any of the following conditions exist.

a.        The project would result in a discharge of treated effluent from a new or modified existing facility into a body of water and the discharge is likely to have a significant effect on the quality of the receiving water.

b.        The project is likely to directly, or through induced development, have significant adverse effect upon local ambient air quality or local ambient noise lev- els.

c.        The project is likely to have significant adverse effects on surface water reservoirs or navigation projects.

d.        The project would be inconsistent with state or local government, or federally-recognized Indian tribe approved land use plans or regulations, or federal land management plans.

e.        The project would be inconsistent with state or local government, or federally-recognized Indian tribe environmental, resource-protection, or land-use laws and regulations for the protection of the environ- ment.

f.         The project is likely to significantly affect the envi- ronment through the release of radioactive, hazard- ous, or toxic substances, or biota.

g.        The project involves uncertain environmental effects or highly unique environmental risks that are likely to be significant.

h.        The project is likely to significantly affect national natural landmarks or any property on or eligible for the Arizona or National Registers of Historic Places.

i.         The project is likely to significantly affect environ- mentally important natural resources such as wet- lands, significant agricultural lands, aquifer recharge

zones, wild and scenic rivers, and significant fish or wildlife habitat.

j.         The project in conjunction with related federal, state, or local government, or federally-recognized Indian tribe projects is likely to produce significant cumula- tive impacts.

k.        The project is likely to significantly affect the pat- tern and type of land use or growth and distribution of population, including altering the character of existing residential areas.

l.         The project is a new regional wastewater treatment facility or water supply system for a community with a population greater than 100,000.

m.      The project is an expansion of an existing wastewa- ter treatment facility that will increase existing dis- charge to an impaired water by more than 10 million gallons per day (mgd).

2.        The Authority may issue a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) if the EA supports the finding that the project will not have a significant impact on the environ- ment. The FONSI shall include the submitted EA and a brief description of the project, alternatives considered, and project impacts. The FONSI must also include any commitments to mitigation that are essential to render the impacts of the project not significant. The Authority shall issue the FONSI for public comment in accordance with subsection (J).

G.      The Authority shall prepare or direct the applicant to prepare an EIS required by subsection (F)(1) when the project will sig- nificantly impact the environment, including any project for which the EA analysis demonstrates that significant impacts will occur and not be reduced or eliminated by changes to, or mitigation of, the project. The Authority shall perform the fol- lowing actions:

1.        As soon as practicable after its decision to prepare an EIS and before the scoping process, the Authority shall pre- pare a notice of intent. The notice of intent shall briefly describe the project and possible alternatives and the pro- posed scoping process. The Authority shall distribute the notice of intent to affected federal, state, and local agen- cies, any affected Indian tribe, the applicant, and other interested parties. The Authority shall issue the notice of intent for public comment in accordance with subsection (J)(3).

2.        As soon as possible after the distribution and publication of the notice of intent required by subsection (G)(1), the Authority shall convene a meeting of affected federal, state, and local agencies, affected Indian tribes, the appli- cant, and other interested parties. At the meeting, the par- ties attending the meeting shall determine the scope of the EIS by considering a number of factors, including all of the following:

a.        The significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the EIS,

b.        The preliminary range of alternatives to be consid- ered,

c.        The potential cooperating agencies and information or analyses that may be needed from cooperating agencies or other parties, and

d.        The method for EIS preparation and the public par- ticipation strategy.

3.        Upon completion of the process described in subsection (G)(2), the Authority shall identify and evaluate all potentially viable alternatives to adequately address the range of issues identified. Additional issues also may be

addressed, or others eliminated, and the reasons docu- mented as part of the EIS.

4.        After the analysis of issues is conducted according to sub- section (G)(3), the Authority shall issue a draft EIS for public comment according to subsection (J)(4).

5.        Following public comment according to subsection (J), the Authority shall prepare a final EIS, consisting of all of the following:

a.        The draft EIS.

b.        An analysis of all reasonable alternatives and the no action alternative;

c.        A summary of any coordination or consultation undertaken with any federal, state, or local govern- ment, or federally-recognized Indian tribe;

d.        A summary of the public participation process;

e.        Comments received on the draft EIS;

f.         A list of persons commenting on the draft EIS;

g.        The Authority’s responses to significant comments received;

h.        A determination of consistency with the Certified Water Quality Management Plan, if applicable;

i.         The names and qualifications of the persons prima- rily responsible for preparing the EIS; and

j.         Any other information added by the Authority.

6.        The Authority shall prepare or direct the applicant to pre- pare a supplemental EIS when appropriate, including when substantial changes are made to the project that are relevant to environmental concerns, or when there are significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns bearing on the project.

H.      After issuance of a final EIS under subsection (G)(5), the Authority shall prepare and issue a record of decision (ROD) containing the Authority’s decision whether to proceed or not proceed with a project. A ROD issued with a decision to pro- ceed shall include a brief description of the project, alterna- tives considered, and project impacts. In addition, the ROD must include any commitments to mitigation, an explanation if the environmental preferred alternative was not selected, and any responses to substantive comments on the final EIS. A ROD issued with a decision not to proceed shall preclude the project from receiving financial assistance under this Article.

I.        For all determinations (categorical exclusions, FONSIs, or RODs) that are five years old or older and for which the project has not been implemented, the Authority shall re-eval- uate the project, environmental conditions, and public views to determine whether to conduct a supplemental environmental review of the project and complete an appropriate environ- mental review document or reaffirm the Authority’s original determination. The Authority shall provide public notice of the re-evaluation according to subsection (J)(5).

J.        The Authority shall conduct public notice and participation under this Section as follows:

1.        If a categorical exclusion is granted under subsection (B), the Authority shall provide public notice of that fact by publishing the notice as a legal notice at least once, in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the county or counties concerned.

2.        If a FONSI is issued under subsection (F)(2), the Author- ity shall provide public notice that the FONSI is available for public review by publishing the notice as a legal notice at least once in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the county or counties concerned. The notice shall provide that comments on the FONSI may be submitted to the Authority for a period of 30 days from the date of publication of the notice. If no comments are received, the FONSI shall immediately become effective.

The Authority may proceed with the project subject to any mitigation measures described in the FONSI after responding to any substantive comments received on the FONSI during the 30-day comment period, or 30 days after issuance of the FONSI if no substantive comments are received.

3.        If a notice of intent is prepared and distributed under sub- section (G)(1), the Authority shall publish it as a legal notice at least once, in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the county or counties concerned.

4.        If a draft EIS is issued under subsection (G)(4), the Authority shall provide public notice by publishing the notice as a legal notice at least once, in one or more news- papers of general circulation in the county or counties concerned, that the draft EIS is available for public review. The notice shall provide that comments on the draft EIS may be submitted to the Authority for a period of 45 days from the date of publication of the notice. When the Authority determines that a project may be controversial, the notice shall provide for a general public hearing to receive public comments.

5.        If the Authority reaffirms or revises a decision according to subsection (I), the Authority shall provide public notice of that fact by publishing the notice as a legal notice at least once, in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the county or counties concerned.

Historical Note

Adopted effective September 18, 1997 (Supp. 97-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 7 A.A.R. 5956, effective December 4, 2001 (Supp. 01-4). Section repealed; new Section made by final rulemaking at 16 A.A.R. 1709, effective October 9, 2010 (Supp. 10-3). Section repealed; new R18-15-106 renumbered from R18-15-107 and amended at 16 A.A.R. 1709, effective October 9, 2010

(Supp. 10-3).