(a) General. Upon completing the environmental impact statement, at the time of its decision a USDA subcomponent, if the lead agency, shall prepare and publish a record of decision or joint record of decision. When it will not prevent the USDA subcomponent from meeting the deadline in § 1b.7(k), the record of decision may be prepared in conjunction with the environmental impact statement and included in the same document and will not count towards the page limits in § 1b.7(i). When including the record of decision in the environmental impact statement (EIS), the EIS cover page should be updated to reflect the document also includes the record of decision.

(b) Elements. USDA subcomponents may apply any format they choose for the record of decision, but shall address the following elements at a minimum:

(1) Incorporate by reference the environmental impact statement and note any other documentation related to it, such as documentation contained in the proposal record. The record of decision need not repeat any of the discussion in the environmental impact statement;

(2) Certify that the subcomponent has considered all the substantive alternatives, information, and analyses submitted by State, Tribal, and local governments and public commenters for consideration by the lead and cooperating agencies in developing the environmental impact statement;

(3) State the decision, that is, the alternative selected;

(4) Provide explanation on how the responsible official considered significance, in accordance with § 1b.2(f)(3), relative to the alternatives described in the environmental impact statement;

(5) Identify and discuss all such factors, including any essential considerations of national policy, that the responsible official balanced in making the decision and state how those considerations informed the decision. The discussion may include preferences among alternatives based on other relevant factors, such as environmentally preferable, economic and technical feasibility considerations, and subcomponent statutory missions;

(6) State any means identified to mitigate adverse environmental effects of the proposed action or selected alternative. The responsible official is mindful in this respect that NEPA imposes no substantive environmental obligations or restrictions and does not require or authorize the subcomponent to impose any mitigation measures. The subcomponent shall adopt and summarize, where applicable, a monitoring and enforcement program for any enforceable mitigation requirements or commitments;

(7) A statement regarding when implementation of the action is anticipated to begin; and

(8) Include the date issued and the signature of the responsible official.

(c) Publication of the ROD. When the ROD is not included in the same document as the environmental impact statement, as permitted in paragraph (a) of this section, USDA subcomponents shall make the record of decision available to the public on the USDA website that was specified in the notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

(d) Notification. The responsible official shall notify any agencies or persons consulted, as listed in the environmental impact statement, and any parties that submitted comments during in response to publication of the notice of intent or any other opportunities for comment on the environmental impact statement, that the record of decision has been signed and is available on a USDA website. Notification shall be in the manner of communication used to consult with the agency, person, or party.

(e) Timing of action. The Environmental Protection Agency publishes a notice of availability in the Federal Register each week of the environmental impact statements filed since its prior notice. Once the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register for the environmental impact statement filed by the USDA subcomponent and the subcomponent has published the record of decision on a USDA website and provided necessary notifications (as required in paragraph (d) of this section), and unless other statutes or regulations require otherwise, the USDA subcomponent or applicant may begin implementing the action.