US Customs and Border Protection Ajo Housing Development ... - GSA

Appendices 0, E, and F
The two documents (Appendices 0 and E) regarding the March 4, 2010, scoping prior to
the preparation of the EA exhibit an apparent serious flaw in the NEPA scoping process.
Each document states that the CBP proposes to construct housing at a specific property,
which happens to be the preferred alternative as identified some months later in this Draft
EA. Scoping for NEPA and the EA is a consideration of alternatives, and perhaps a
recommendation regarding a preferred alternative, not a statement of finality about what is
proposed and exactly where. The scoping documents appear to presume that the preferred
alternative had already been selected and that this was the only alternative discussed.
Public comments resulting from this scoping meeting, as provided in the Draft EA, suggest
that only the preferred alternative was discussed, as is clearly the intent indicated in the
scoping meeting notice and information sheet. Scoping for the EA should be a
consideration of the alternatives not a presentation of the details of the preferred
alternative. If the other alternatives were not discussed in adequate detail at the scoping
meeting, residents were not given an opportunity to consider and comment on all possible
alternatives.
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