General Conformity Training Module 3.3: Response to Emergency Events

• Module III:
  Details
• 3.1 Applicability
  Analyses
• 3.2 Emissions
  Calculations
• 3.3 Response to
  Emergency Events
• 3.4 Federal Agencies'
  Presumed to Conform Actions
• 3.5 Demonstrating
  Conformity
• 3.6 Proactive Role
  for Federal Agencies

Words that are shown in bold and italics are defined in the Glossary.

Federal agencies may need to respond to emergencies by taking a federal action approving activities that may otherwise be subject to the General Conformity provisions. Many times, there is no time to complete a General Conformity evaluation before implementing the activities. The EPA recognizes this and provides for an initial 6-month exemption under General Conformity even allowing for a limited number of 6-month extensions of the exemption. EPA’s regulations define emergency event as follows:

“Emergency means a situation where extremely quick action on the part of the federal agency involved is needed and where the timing of such federal activities makes it impractical to meet the requirements of the [regulations], such as natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, civil disturbance such as terrorist attacks and military mobilizations.”

In most cases, the President of the United States or a governor will have declared a state of emergency or has issued orders regarding the emergency. However, federal agencies themselves can determine that an emergency exists. In most cases, responses to emergencies that involve activities that cause emissions can be completed within six months.

The federal agency does not have to produce any paperwork or complete any analysis to justify the initial response. Agencies can reasonably justify emergency responses in cases where General Conformity might otherwise apply. The federal agencies responding to an emergency have broad latitude in implementing responses to the emergency. However, the longer the time period between the emergency event and the response occurs, the greater the risk that the federal agency’s response could be challenged as not meeting the criteria as a response to an emergency.

To extend the exemption beyond the initial 6-month period the federal agency must make a written determination that it is impractical to prepare the General Conformity evaluation that would otherwise be required. Copies of the written determination should be provided to the affected EPA Regional Office(s) as well as affected States and Tribes. If the federal agency wants to extend the exemption for another 6 months, then the agency must provide a draft copy of the determination to affected EPA Regional Office(s), States and Tribes for a 15-day comment period and publish a notice of the determination in a prominent advertisement in a daily newspaper of general circulation in the affected area. The agency can then extend the exemption for up to another 6 months. Two additional extensions are permitted by following the same procedures. However, the agency must complete a General Conformity evaluation if their response to the emergency would extend more than 2 years beyond the date of the event.