(a) Environmental assessments.
(1) Any person required under this article to submit an environmental impact statement may first submit an environmental assessment (EA). The environmental assessment shall consist of a document supplied to the county to address questions of environmental concerns to the county and shall be completed by the operator of the facility. The county may, upon review of the EA, choose to relieve an operator of its obligation to draft an EIS by delivering to the operator of the facility and finding of no significant impact (FONSI).
(2) The submittal of an EA in no way relieves an operator of a facility of any obligations he may have to file an EIS except upon written notification of a finding of no significant impact by the county.
(b) Review of environmental assessment.
(1) The environmental assessment may be submitted prior to the submittal of an environmental impact statement.
(2) The county shall review the EA for completeness within five calendar days of the date of submittal. If the EA is found to be incomplete, it will be returned to the applicant with notification of its deficiencies.
(3) If accepted as complete, the EA will be reviewed by the county and will be distributed to appropriate departments or agencies within the county for review and comment.
(4) Final action on the EA shall occur within 14 days from the date of acceptance or such longer time as agreed upon in writing. If the EA reveals no significant environmental impacts, the county shall issue a finding of no significant impact (FONSI). If significant impacts are identified, then the county shall so notify the operator of the facility and require that an EIS be prepared.
(5) The filing of an EA with the county shall not relieve a person from any required deadline set out in this article for the submittal of an EIS except upon receipt of a FONSI by the county.
(Ord. of 12-3-1990, § 3)