GLOSSARY

Exemptions [See 22 CFR 216.2(b)]

Activities eligible for exemption under 22 CFR Part 216 include:

• international disaster assistance;
• other emergency situations;
• circumstances with exceptional foreign policy sensitivities.

The latter two require administrator (A/AID) or assistant administrator (AA/AID) approval after consultation, through the Agency Environmental Coordinator, with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) about the environmental consequences of the proposed activity. These exemptions are not applicable to assistance for the procurement or use of pesticides. Procurement or use is interpreted to include transport of pesticides or control equipment, disposal, or ancillary support [22 CFR 216.2(e)], and includes pesticides procured by non-USAID parties as contributions to an activity in which USAID is participating.

Categorical Exclusions [See 22 CFR 216.2(c)]

Certain activities are eligible for categorical exclusion (CE) under the regulations based on specific criteria. Reg. 16 covers 15 classes of actions for which CEs apply. CEs are not automatically given just because an activity falls within one of the 15 standard CE categories. They must be requested and justified in writing and approved by the Bureau Environmental Officer (BEO).

The criteria for determining CEs are:

• classes of actions that are not known to have an effect on the natural or physical environment;
• actions in which USAID does not have knowledge of or control over the details of the specific activities that can affect the evnironment; and/or
• research activities that can affect the environment but are or limited scope, are carefully controlled, and are effectively monitored [22 CFR 216.2(c)(1)]. Categorical exclusions are not applicable to assistance involving the procurement or use of pesticides.

In cases where some activity components can be categorically excluded from environmental review and others cannot, it is best to split the different components into subsets according to the level of review required. For example, a family planning program that will also include construction of health facilities, can be split into two subsets, in which the construction, if it is of a minor nature, can be recommended for a negative determination. If the program does not fall within one of the 15 classes of action cited, but one can make a solid case that it meets one or more of the three above criteria, then apply for a categorical exclusion just as one would normally.

Initial Environmental Examination (IEE)

An Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) is the first review of the reasonably foreseeable effects of a proposed action on the environment. An IEE provides the rationale for making threshold decisions. Well-reasoned and solid IEEs can often substitute for environmental assessments in carefully circumscribed situations (such as filling potholes in a short stretch of rural road), thereby saving considerable effort.

Threshold Decision [See 22 CFR 216.3(2)]

A threshold decision is a formal agency decision that determines, based on an IEE, whether a proposed Agency action will significantly affect the environment. "Significant impacts" are defined in 22 CFR 216 as detrimental impacts. The recommended threshold decision is presented in the IEE for consideration by the Bureau Environmental Officer (BEO). It is the recommended threshold decision, based on the analysis in the IEE, that the BEO either concurs or does not concur with, and the General Counsel clears or does not clear.

Positive Determination

A positive determination (or positive threshold decision) following an IEE states that an action is likely to cause significant harm to the environment and that an environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) must be prepared.

Negative Determination

A negative determination (or negative threshold decision) following an IEE, states that an action is not likely to harm the environment. Negative determinations are often contingent upon monitoring or mitigation measures described in the IEE which may require adjustments in the grant agreement and activity itself before funds can be disbursed. These monitoring or mitigation measures must be implemented. Convenants or conditions may have to be added to the grant or non-project assistance agreement.

Deferral

A threshold decision can be deferred when programs, activities, or sub-activities have not been specifically identified at the time of authorization. When possible, deferral should be minimized, since many USAID activities (as high as 20 percent in the past) have had unforeseen significant environmental impacts that might have been avoided or mitigated had an IEE been completed during the design process. In cases of deferral, Reg. 16 calls for the application of covenants or conditions beforehand to ensure that environmental review of the specific activities deferred will be completed before USAID commits resources irreversibly.

Where it is not possible to identify activities with enough detail to permit completion of an IEE, initial proposals must contain:

• an explanation of why the IEE cannot be completed;
• an estimate of how much time it will take to complete the IEE; and
• a recommendation that a threshold decision be deferred until the IEE is completed.

USAID acts on a deferral request concurrently with action on the initial proposal and designates a time for completion of the IEE. This completion date will normally allow enough time to prepare an EA or EIS, if required, before a final funding decision is made. Some exceptions are permitted [see 22 CFR 216.3 (a)(7)].

Environmental Assessment (EA) [See 22 CFR 216.6]

Positive determinations (or positive threshold decisions) which state that significant harm to the environment is likely, lead to the next step, an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Also, certain classes of actions are judged a priori in USAID's Environmental Procedures as "normally having a significant effect on the environment." For these, an EA or EIS will be required unless a case is made that the program will not have a significant effect.

An EA is a detailed study of the reasonably foreseeable significant effects, both beneficial and harmful, of a proposed action on the environment of a host country or countries. An EA requires a level of analytical detail, host-country coordination, and time and effort that is a quantum step above what's required to complete an IEE.

The following actions require EAs:

• programs involving river-basin development;
• irrigation and water-management projects;
• agricultural land leveling;
• drainage projects;
• large-scale agricultural mechanization;
• new lands development;
• resettlement projects;
• penetration road building or road improvement projects;
• power plants;
• industrial plants;
• potable water and sewerage projects, other than small-scale ones;
• projects or programs involving the procurement or use of pesticides; and
• actions which may jeopardize a threatened or endangered species, or adversely modify its critical habitat. An EA or EIS "shall discuss alternatives or modifications to avoid or mitigate such impact" [22 CFR 216.5].

An IEE is not normally necessary for activities within these classes or action, except when a case is to be made that the action will not have a significant effect on the environment [22 CFR 216.2 (d)(2)].

A Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) is performed to assess:the environmental effects of a number of individual actions and their cumulative environmental impact on regional bases within one or more countries; or the impacts that are generic or common to a class of actions or activities that are not country-specific [22 CFR 216.6(d)]. In the Bureau for Africa, PEAs have come into increasing use, having been applied, for example, to pest management, disaster relief and rural roads programs.

PEAs normally are prepared when an activity has many sub-activities that cannot be specifically identified up front, but that can be discussed in general terms as classes of sub-activities. An example woud be an umbrella small-grants program for NGOs to work on several kinds of sustainable development activities. Typically, this would include grants dealing with community and rural development services, public facilities and road rehabilitation work.

In a PEA, an EA is undertaken on the generic classes of activities for the region or country, and environmental precedures and guidelines are set up within the program. During implementation of the program, as site-specific sub-activities are identified, they are reviewed under these approved procedures and guidelines as part of the program itself. The cumulative environmental effects of a number of individual actions can be substantial. PEAs typically attempt to assess such cumulative effects. One of the advantages of a PEA is that it reduces the amount of time and paperwork associated with conducting subsequent environmental reviews for an on-going program.

EAs and PEAs are usually completed by teams of consultants strengthened by local experts, including PVOs, NGOs and USAID's regional environmental staff.

The process of submitting and securing approvals for EAs and PEAs is the same as for IEEs. Before commencing the environmental assessment process, all parties should understand their roles and responsibilities regarding gathering information, monitoring activities and mitigating impacts. Collaboration among USAID, the host country's government, and local community resource users is critical.

Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) [See 22 CFR 216.7]

Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) are to be performed when agency actions significantly affect the United States or the global environment, or areas outside the jurisdiction of any nation, such as the oceans [22 CFR 216.7]. To date, USAID has completed only one EIS, and that was in response to a lawsuit brought in 1975 (Section 5.2).

EISs would usually be completed by teams of consultants strengthened by local experts, including PVOs, NGOs and USAID's regional environmental staff.

The process of submitting and securing approvals for an EIS is the same as for IEEs. Before commencing the environmental assessment process, all parties should understand their roles and responsibilities regarding gathering information, monitoring activities and mitigating impacts. Collaboration among USAID, the host country's government, and local community resource users is critical.