Based on agencies’ feedback to EPA’s 2018 survey to identify and improve the effectiveness of the Clean Air Act Section 309 Program, many federal agencies requested additional time to file their environmental impact statements (EISs) with EPA. Agencies stated that extending the submittal deadline from Fridays to Mondays would provide additional time, if needed, for internal approvals. 

Currently, EPA publishes a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register of all EISs filed during the preceding week for publication each Friday. The deadline to submit an EIS for publication was on Fridays at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Effective August 26, 2019, EPA extended the EIS submittal deadline to Mondays at 10:00 AM Eastern Time for publication that same week in Friday’s Federal Register. EPA believes this will allow federal agencies the time needed to finalize any required approvals before filing their EISs with EPA for publication. 

Due to the short turnaround time for EPA to process the EIS filings for publication, federal agencies must have received all required approvals before filing on a Monday. EPA will be unable to make any changes to the Federal Register report after the 10:00 AM Monday deadline, such as withholding the EIS from publication. When Mondays are designated federal holidays, the deadline will be 10:00 AM Eastern Time of the Friday before the federal holiday until further notice.

As a reminder, the lead agency is responsible for the accessibility requirements for the PDF documents filed with the EPA, as required under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d). Visit Adobe's accessibility page Exitfor more information on how to make PDF files accessible to people with disabilities.

The entire EIS, including appendices, will need to be filed through e-NEPA electronic filing system. Ensuring that the PDF document is bookmarked and opens in bookmark view ensures confirmation of completeness. Registration is required to use the e-NEPA system and it is only open to federal government employees (unless the state government employees’ agencies have been granted NEPA authority from the appropriate federal agency). Please note that using e-NEPA for filing does not affect agencies' responsibilities for public distribution of EISs.

Questions on e-NEPA and EIS filings may be directed to Julie Roemele (roemele.julie@epa.gov), (202) 564-5632. As always, we encourage federal agencies to file EISs early to avoid issues that may arise in the filing.