1.4.6 Agency Decisionmaking. 



Decisionmaking is a dynamic process that leads 

 to selection of a recommended plan. Decisionmak- 

 ing begins at the field level and occurs at different 

 levels through subsequent reviews and approvals 

 as required by the agency until it reaches the level 

 having authority to approve the project (final level). 

 The individual in the responsible planning agency 

 making the decisions at each level is referred to as 

 the "agency decisionmaker." The identity of the 

 agency decisionmaker depends upon the level of 

 project development and review. For projects re- 

 quiring congressional authorization, the final agency 

 decisionmaker is the Secretary of the Department 

 or head of the independent agency. For projects 

 that do not require congressional approval, the final 

 decisionmaker is the Secretary of the Department, 

 head of the agency, or such other official as appro- 

 priately delegated. 



1.4.7 Planning Area. 



The planning area is a geographic space with an 

 identified boundary that includes: 



(a) The area identified in the study's authorizing 

 document; 



(b) The locations of alternative plans, often called 

 "project areas"; and 



(c) The locations of resources that would be di- 

 rectly, indirectly, or cumulatively affected by alterna- 

 tive plans, often called the "affected area." 



1.4.8 Scoping. 



(a) Planning should include an early and open 

 process termed "scoping" to identify both the likely 

 significant issues to be addressed and the range of 

 those issues. This process is complementary with 

 the scoping process described in the CEQ NEPA 

 regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508). The agency 

 should begin scoping as soon as practicable after a 

 decision to begin planning. The scoping process 

 should include affected Federal, State, and local 

 agencies and other interested groups or persons. 

 Scoping should be used as appropriate throughout 

 planning to ensure that all significant decisionmak- 

 ing factors are addressed and that unneeded and 

 extraneous studies are not undertaken. 



(b) As part of the scoping process, the agency 

 should: 



(1) Determine the extent to which the likely sig- 

 nificant issues will be analyzed. 



(2) Define the planning area based on the prob- 

 lems and opportunities and the geographic areas 

 likely to be affected by alternative plans. 



(3) Identify and eliminate from detailed study any 

 issues that are not significant or that have been 

 adequately covered by prior study. However, impor- 

 tant issues, even though covered by other studies, 

 should still be considered in the analysis. 



(4) Identify any current or future planning that is 

 related to but not part of the study under considera- 

 tion. 



(5) Identify review and consultation requirements 

 so that cooperating agencies (as defined in 40 CFR 

 1508.5) may prepare required analyses and studies 

 concurrently with the study under consideration. 



(6) Indicate the tentative planning and decision- 

 making schedule. 



(7) The scoping process should be integrated 

 with other early planning activities. 



(c) Scoping may be used to combine or narrow 

 the number of problems and opportunities, meas- 

 ures, plans, effects, etc., under consideration so 

 that meaningful and efficient analysis and choice 

 among alternative plans can occur. 



(d) Scoping should include consideration of 

 ground water problems and opportunities, including 

 conjunctive use of ground and surface water, and 

 instream flow problems. Appropriate consideration 

 should be given to existing water rights in scoping 

 the planning effort. 



1.4.9 Forecasting. 



(a) Formulation and evaluation of alternative 

 plans should be based on the most likely conditions 

 expected to exist in the future with and without the 

 plan. The without-plan condition is the condition ex- 

 pected to prevail if no action is taken. The with-plan 

 condition is the condition expected to prevail with 

 the particular plan under consideration. 



(b) The forecasts of with- and without-plan condi- 

 tions should use the inventory of existing conditions 

 as the baseline, and should be based on considera- 

 tion of the following (including direct, indirect, and 

 cumulative effects) — 



(1) National/regional projections of income, em- 

 ployment, output, and population prepared and pub- 

 lished by the Department of Commerce. 



(2) Other aggregate projections such as exports, 

 land use trends, and amounts of goods and sen/- 

 ices likely to be demanded; 



(3) Expected environmental conditions; and 



