(a) A formal review of a proposed project begins with the receipt from the Secretary of Transportation by the Clearinghouse of a proper application filed with the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 44718.

(1) The Clearinghouse will convey the application as received to those DoD Components it believes may have an interest in reviewing the application.

(2) The DoD Components that receive the application shall provide their comments and recommendations on the application to the Clearinghouse no later than 20 days after they receive the application.

(3) Not later than 30 days after receiving the application from the Secretary of Transportation, the Clearinghouse shall evaluate all comments and recommendations received and take one of three actions:

(i) Determine that the proposed project will not have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness, in which case it shall notify the Secretary of Transportation of such determination.

(ii) Determine that the proposed project will have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness but that the adverse impact involved is sufficiently attenuated that it does not require mitigation. When the Clearinghouse makes such a determination, it shall notify the Secretary of Transportation of such determination.

(iii) Determine that the proposed project may have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness. When the Clearinghouse makes such a determination it shall immediately—

(A) Notify the applicant of the determination of the Clearinghouse and offer to discuss mitigation with the applicant to reduce the adverse impact;

(B) Designate one or more DoD Components to engage in discussions with the applicant to attempt to mitigate the adverse impact;

(C) Notify the Secretary of Transportation that the Department of Defense has determined that the proposed project may have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness, and, if the cause of the adverse impact is due to the proposed project exceeding an obstruction standard set forth in subpart C of part 77 of title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, identify the specific standard and how it would be exceeded; and

(D) Notify the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security that the Clearinghouse has offered to engage in mitigation discussions with the applicant.

(4) The applicant must provide to the Clearinghouse its agreement to discuss the possibility of mitigation within five days of receipt of the notification from the Clearinghouse.

(b) If the applicant agrees to enter into discussions with the DoD to seek to mitigate an adverse impact, the designated DoD Components shall engage in discussions with the applicant to attempt to reach agreement on measures that would mitigate the adverse impact of the proposed project on military operations and readiness. The Clearinghouse shall invite the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Secretary of Homeland Security to participate in such discussions. The Clearinghouse may also invite other Federal agencies to participate in such discussions.

(1) Such discussions shall not extend more than 90 days beyond the initial notification to the applicant, unless both the designated DoD Components and the applicant agree, in writing, to an extension of a specific period of time.

(i) If agreement between the applicant and the designated DoD Components has not been reached on mitigation measures by that time and no extension has been mutually agreed to, the designated DoD Components shall notify the Clearinghouse of the results of the discussions and the analysis and recommendations of the Components with regard to the proposed project as it is proposed after discussions.

(ii) If agreement between the applicant and the designated DoD Components has been reached on mitigation measures that remove the adverse impact of the proposed project on military operations and readiness, the DoD Components shall notify the Clearinghouse of the agreement. If the mitigation measures entail modification to the proposed project, the applicant shall notify the Secretary of Transportation of such agreement and amend its application accordingly.

(2) If the applicant and the designated DoD Components are unable to reach agreement on mitigation, the Clearinghouse shall review the analysis and recommendations of the DoD Components and determine if the proposed project as it may have been modified by the applicant after discussions would result in an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.

(i) If the Clearinghouse determines that the proposed project as it may have been modified by the applicant after discussions would result in an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States, it shall make a recommendation to the senior official to that effect. If the Clearinghouse determines, contrary to the recommendations of the DoD Components, that the proposed project as it may have been modified by the applicant after discussions would not result in an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States, it shall make a recommendation to the senior official to that effect.

(ii) If the senior official concurs with the recommendation of the Clearinghouse, the senior official shall make a recommendation to the senior officer that is consistent with the recommendation of the Clearinghouse. If the senior official does not agree with the recommendation of the Clearinghouse, the senior official may make a recommendation to the senior officer to that effect.

(iii) The senior officer shall consider the recommendation of the senior official, and, after giving full consideration to mitigation actions available to the DoD and those agreed to by the applicant, determine whether the proposed project as it may have been modified by the applicant would result in an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States. If the senior officer makes such a determination, the senior officer shall convey that determination to the Secretary of Transportation, identifying which of the three criteria in §211.3 creates the unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.

(iv) Any mitigation discussions engaged in by the Department of Defense pursuant to this part shall not be binding upon any other Federal agency, nor waive required compliance with any other law or regulation.

(c) If the applicant does not agree to enter into discussions with the DoD to seek to mitigate an adverse impact, the Clearinghouse shall review the analysis and recommendations of the designated DoD Components and determine if the proposed project would result in an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.

(1) If the Clearinghouse determines that the proposed project would result in an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States, it shall make a recommendation to the senior official to that effect. If the Clearinghouse determines, contrary to the recommendations of the DoD Components, that the proposed project would not result in an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States, it shall make a recommendation to the senior official to that effect.

(2) If the senior official concurs with the recommendation of the Clearinghouse, the senior official shall make a recommendation to the senior officer that is consistent with the recommendation of the Clearinghouse. If the senior official does not agree with the recommendation of the Clearinghouse, the senior official may make a recommendation to the senior officer to that effect.

(3) The senior officer shall consider the recommendation of the senior official, and, after giving full consideration to mitigation actions available to the DoD and those agreed to by the applicant, determine whether the proposed project would result in an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States. If the senior officer makes such a determination, the senior officer shall convey that determination to the Secretary of Transportation, identifying which of the three criteria in §211.3 creates the unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.

(d) The Clearinghouse may, on behalf of itself, the senior official, or the senior officer, seek an extension of time from the Secretary of Transportation for consideration of the application.