(1) The lead agency shall narrow the scope of every EIS to the probable significant adverse impacts and reasonable alternatives, including mitigation measures. For example, if there are only two or three significant impacts or alternatives, the EIS shall be focused on those.

(2) To ensure that every EIS is concise and addresses the significant environmental issues, the lead agency shall:

(a) Invite agency, affected tribes, and public comment on the DS (WAC 197-11-360).

(i) If the agency requires written comments, agencies, affected tribes and the public shall be allowed twenty-one days from the date of issuance of the DS in which to comment, unless expanded scoping is used.

(ii) If a GMA county/city issues the scoping notice with the notice of application under RCW 36.70B.110, the comment period shall be no less than fourteen days.

(iii) The date of issuance for a DS is the date it is sent to the department of ecology and other agencies with jurisdiction, and is publicly available.

(b) Identify reasonable alternatives and probable significant adverse environmental impacts.

(c) Eliminate from detailed study those impacts that are not significant.

(d) Work with other agencies to identify and integrate environmental studies required for other government approvals with the EIS, where feasible.

(3) Agencies, affected tribes, and the public should comment promptly and as specifically as permitted by the details available on the proposal.

(4) Meetings or scoping documents, including notices that the scope has been revised, may be used but are not required. The lead agency shall integrate the scoping process with its existing planning and decision-making process in order to avoid duplication and delay.

(5) The lead agency shall revise the scope of an EIS if substantial changes are made later in the proposal, or if significant new circumstances or information arise that bear on the proposal and its significant impacts.

(6) DEISs shall be prepared according to the scope decided upon by the lead agency in its scoping process.

(7) EIS preparation may begin during scoping.