Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 08/21/2023

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C d Preill1ring EAWS:A Procedural Guide for Local RGUs expansion is proposed. government RGUs are determined by the project's location as well as by determining which government organization(city, ■ The project is cannot be subject to the exemptions county,or township)has the most jurisdiction over a project. listed in MN Rule 4410.4600. For discretionary EAWs,any government unit with approval authority for a project can order an EAW,even if a citizen The term"governmental action"refers to activities petition for environmental review has been denied by a including projects conducted,permitted,assisted, different government unit. financed,regulated,or approved by federal,state, and local governmental units. A discretionary EAW can also be prepared when a project proposer wishes to voluntarily initiate environmental review The term"permit"means a permit,lease,license, in order to determine if a project has the potential for certificate,or other entitlement for use or per- significant environmental effects. mission to act that may be granted or issued by a governmental unit,or the commitment to issue or the issuance of a discretionary contract,grant, Helpful Tip subsidy,loan,or other form of financial assistance, Once a government unit with approval authority for a by a governmental unit. project orders a discretionary EAW,the government unit is then referred to as the RGU for the project and is The term"governmental unit"applies to local gov- responsible for EAW preparation and review. ernment units such as watershed districts,counties, towns,cities,port authorities,housing authorities and the Metropolitan Council with the exception of courts,school districts,and regional develop- Step 4—Contact the project proposer ment commissions. Once RGU staff have identified a project that needs to undergo mandatory environmental review or may need a discretionary EAW,they should contact the project proposer Helpful Tip as soon as possible and inform them of their findings. This way,the project proposer can attend any relevant meetings It is important to know that making a decision to and provide additional information about the project. In "not order"a discretionary EAW is legally and some cases,the project proposer may already be aware that a procedurally different from denying a citizen peti- mandatory EAW is necessary,and may have already started tion for environmental review. If a government preparing the EAW data portions. unit does not proceed with a discretionary EAW, and then receives a citizen petition at a later date, In some cases,when it seems likely that a council/board will its staff must still appropriately evaluate the con- order a discretionary EAW,a project proposer may actually cerns listed in the petition. volunteer to do an EAW in the hopes of speeding up the process. (So that EAW preparation can begin instead of waiting for a counciliboard decision.) If the project proposer volunteers to prepare an EAW,they should not receive any special treatment or consideration,and are subject to all of the Step 3—Verify your organization has the environmental review requirements listed in the rules. authority to prepare a mandatory EAW or to order a discretionary EAW For projects requiring mandatory EAWs,the EQB has already established rules to determine a project's RGU. (A diagram of the RGU designations assigned by the EQB,can be found on the EQB's website at:www.server.mn.state.us.) Local 5