The SEQR Cookbook and Handbook are both great resources to reference when reviewing the steps that shall be taken to determine whether an action can proceed.

Here is a screengrab of the SEQR Cookbook's flowchart.

Action Types

Type I, Type II, and Unlisted actions are very specific. One must reference 6 CRR-NY 617.4 & .5 for the list of Type I and II actions. If your action does not fall under any of these project types, it is considered an Unlisted action. Recently, in June '26, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) adopted amendments to the regulations (6 NYCRR Part 617) that implement the State Environmental Review Act (SEQR; ECL Article 8). This document issued by the NYSDEC called "Part 617 Express Terms" has the updated changes made to 6 CRR-NY 617.4 & .5 (which I will detail further in the SEQR Recent Reform dropdown section below).\

Review Types

Type II actions do not require further review under SEQR. Type I actions require a coordinated review, starting with the preparation of the Full Environmental Assessment Form (FEAF) Parts 1-3. Unlisted actions do not require coordinated reviews.

Involved agencies (IA) are agencies that has or will have a discretionary decision to make regarding an aspect of the action (see page 62 of the Handbook). IA will be determined for Unlisted actions depending on the review option taken (Type I actions always require this step). There are 3 options:

• Uncoordinated review option: (see page 57 of the Handbook) each involved agency (IA) acts as Lead and independently conducts an env. review to determine action significance. If all IA issue a negative declaration (neg dec), a project may proceed. If any issue a positive declaration (pos dec), an EIS must proceed.

• Conditioned Neg Dec option: (see page 90 of the Handbook) if an unlisted action is determined by an IA that the potentially significant impact(s) could be eliminated or reduced to a non-significant level through imposed conditions, this option will suffice. A FEAF and coordinated review is required for this option.

• Coordinated review option: (see page 56 of the Handbook) all IV must be contacted by the project sponsor to indicate the coordinated review commencement. LA must be established by agreement of agencies within 30 calendar days. Following LA designation, it has 20 calendar days to determine significance once all information is received. For a Neg Dec, a file must be maintained of the project for public access. The determination must also be posted to the Environmental Notice Bulletin (ENB) (by Wednesday @6pm to be posted for the following Wednesday).

The Neg Dec is typically expanded upon in the Part 3 FEAF, where it identifies the relevant env concerns, thoroughly analyzes such concerns, and documents the determination (should be declared in meeting minutes), in writing, showing the reasons why the concerns were not deemed significant. If a Pos Dec is determined, the project sponsor must proceed to the EIS procedure under SEQR.

EIS

1. Scoping: Issues to be addressed in the draft EIS are identified. There are six objectives to this phase:³
   • focus the draft EIS on the potentially significant adverse environmental impacts;
   • eliminate non-significant and non-relevant issues;
   • identify the extent and quality of information needed;
   • identify the range of reasonable alternatives to be discussed;
   • provide an initial identification of mitigation measures; and
   • provide the public with an opportunity to participate in the identification of impacts.

The project sponsor must provide the LA with a draft scope incorporating all these elements. Then, the LA will distribute it to the IA/anyone else who expressed written interest. The LA must provide the applicant a final scope within 60 calendar days of the receipt of the draft scope. If they fail to do so, the applicant can proceed with preparing the draft EIS based on their draft scope. The LA must file a Notice of Completion (NOC) of the draft and final scopes in the ENB.
The LA must provide a reasonable opportunity (usually min of 20 days) for the public and interested agencies (see page 66 of the Handbook) to participate and review the draft scope.

2. The draft EIS can be drafted by the project sponsor or default to the LA (who can do it or have it prepared by a consultant). The agency can charge the sponsor a fee if a consultant prepares it. Otherwise, the LA can charge a SEQR fee for the review of the EIS if a preparation fee is not charged. The draft must include a cover sheet with the info specified in 617.9(b)(3), a TOC, and a summary of the EIS. All drafts must include:

   • description of proposed action, its purpose, public need and benefits, including social and economic considerations;
   • description of the environmental setting of the areas to be affected, sufficient to understand the impacts of the proposed action and alternatives;
   • a statement and evaluation of the pot. sign adverse env impacts at a level of detail reflecting the severity of the impacts and reasonable likeliness of their occurrence. See Cookbook (pgs 13-14) for additional discussions to include where relevant and significant
   • a description of the mitigation measures to minimize environmental impacts;
   • a description and evaluation of the range of reasonable alternatives to the action that are feasible, considering the objectives and capabilities of the project sponsor, which should be at a level of detail sufficient to permit a comparative assessment of the alternatives discussed. The range of alternatives must include the no-action alternative. The no-action alternative discussion should evaluate the adverse or beneficial site changes that may occur, in the absence of the proposed action. The range of alternatives may also include, as appropriate, alternative: sites*, technology, scale or magnitude, design, timing, use, and types of action.
     *For private project sponsors, site alternatives may be limited to parcels owned by, or under option to, a private project sponsor.

3. Once a draft EIS is submitted, the LA has 45 calendar days to determine if it is ready for public review. If it is not ready, the LA will express why in writing for the sponsor to address. Once resubmitted, the LA has 30 days to determine adequacy. A NOC (per 617.12) is issued for the draft and is posted to a publicly available website.

4. Once filed, the public comment period starts (min of 30 days). LA can extend this period if deemed necessary, and must continue at least 10 days following close of a public hearing, if one is held.

5. Public hearings (see 617.9(a)(4)) are not mandatory for DEIS. If held, a notice of PH must be posted with DEIS and in a newspaper, and the PH can be scheduled 15 days later (no sooner).

6. Final EIS must be prepared within 45 calendar days after the close of any PHs or 60 calendar days after filing the DEIS. LA is held responsible for the FEIS regardless of who prepares it. The final EIS must consist of: DEIS along with any necessary revisions and supplements, copies or summary of substantive comments received and their sources, and the LA’s response to the comments. The Notice of Completion of the Final EIS, including posting of the FEIS on a public website, must be prepared, filed, distributed, and published per 617.12.

7. Each IA must prepare its own written SEQR findings statement after a FEIS has been filed. This must be done before a decision is made. A positive findings statement indicates that the action is approvable, whereas a negative findings statement indicates the action is not approvable. Findings statements can happen 10 days following the FEIS and NOC filing, and for actions involving an applicant, LA's findings must be made within 30 days of the filing date.

CEQR follows the Technical Manual. Here is the PDF version and the Web version.

Here is a screengrab of the CEQR flowchart.

Scoping procedure

EIS procedure