How will a project be affected if an applicant begins work on the project site prior to the completion of NEPA review?
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires Federal agencies to consider the potential environmental impacts of their proposed actions. NEPA review must be completed before a loan guarantee can be issued.The NEPA review process begins after the project has been accepted into the due diligence phase. The applicant should consult with DOE before doing any work on the project site (beyond preliminary design activities) so that the NEPA review and issuance of the loan guarantee is not put at risk. This is because such work might cause an adverse environmental impact or limit the choice of reasonable alternatives, which can put at risk the NEPA review and thus the issuance of the loan guarantee. While DOE cannot control what an applicant does with its own funds, the fact that an applicant has started work does not create any obligation on the part of DOE to issue a loan guarantee.
