[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 4]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR651.47]

[Page 424-425]
 
                       TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
              CHAPTER V--DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 651--ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF ARMY ACTIONS (AR 200-2)--Table of Contents
 
          Subpart G--Public Involvement and the Scoping Process
 
Sec. 651.47  Public involvement.


    (a) As a matter of Army policy, public involvement is required for 
all EISs, and is strongly encouraged for all Army actions, including 
EAs. The requirement (40 CFR 1506.6) for public involvement recognizes 
that all potentially interested or affected parties will be involved, 
when practicable, whenever analyzing environmental considerations. This 
requirement can be met at the very beginning of the process by 
developing a plan to include all affected parties and implementing the 
plan with appropriate adjustments as it proceeds (AR 360-5). The plan 
will include the following:
    (1) Information dissemination to local and installation communities 
through such means as news releases to local media, announcements to 
local citizens groups, and Commander's letters at each phase or 
milestone (more frequently if needed) of the project. The dissemination 
of this information will be based on the needs and desires of the local 
communities.
    (2) Each phase or milestone (more frequently if needed) of the 
project will be coordinated with representatives of local, state, 
tribal, and federal government agencies.
    (3) Public comments will be invited and two-way communication 
channels will be kept open through various means as stated above. These 
two-way channels will be dynamic in nature,

[[Page 425]]

and should be updated regularly to reflect the needs of the local 
community.
    (4) Public affairs officers at all levels will be kept informed.
    (b) When an EIS is being prepared, public involvement is a requisite 
element of the scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7(a)(1)).
    (c) Proponents will invite public involvement in the review and 
comment of EAs and draft FNSIs (40 CFR 1506.6).
    (d) Persons and agencies to be consulted include the following:
    (1) Municipal, township, and county elected and appointed officials.
    (2) Tribal, state, county, and local government officials and 
administrative personnel whose official duties include responsibility 
for activities or components of the affected environment related to the 
proposed Army action.
    (3) Local and regional administrators of other federal agencies or 
commissions that may either control resources potentially affected by 
the proposed action (for example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service); 
or who may be aware of other actions by different federal agencies whose 
effects must be considered with the proposed Army action (for example, 
the GSA).
    (4) Members of existing citizen advisory groups, such as Restoration 
Advisory Boards and Citizen Advisory Commissions.
    (5) Members of identifiable population segments within the 
potentially affected environments, whether or not they have clearly 
identifiable leaders or an established organization, such as farmers and 
ranchers, homeowners, small business owners, minority communities and 
disadvantaged communities, and tribal governments in accordance with 
White House Memorandum on Government to Government Relations with Native 
American Tribal Governments (April 29, 1994).
    (6) Members and officials of those identifiable interest groups of 
local or national scope that may have interest in the environmental 
effects of the proposed action or activity (for example, hunters and 
fishermen, Izaak Walton League, Sierra Club, and the Audubon Society).
    (7) Any person or group that has specifically requested involvement 
in the specific action or similar actions.
    (e) The public involvement processes and procedures through which 
participation may be solicited include the following:
    (1) Direct individual contact. Such interaction can identify persons 
and their opinions and initial positions, affecting the scope of issues 
that the EIS must address. Such limited contact may satisfy public 
involvement requirements when the expected significance and controversy 
of environmental effects is very limited.
    (2) Small workshops or discussion groups.
    (3) Larger public gatherings that are held after some formulation of 
the potential issues. The public is invited to express its views on the 
proposed courses of action. Public suggestions or alternative courses of 
action not already identified may be expressed at these gatherings that 
need not be formal public hearings.
    (4) Identifying and applying other processes and procedures to 
accomplish the appropriate level of public involvement.
    (f) The meetings described in paragraph (e) of this section should 
not be public hearings in the early stages of evaluating a proposed 
action. Public hearings do not substitute for the full range of public 
involvement procedures under the purposes and intent, as described in 
paragraph (e) of this section.
    (g) Public surveys or polls may be performed to identify public 
opinion of a proposed action, as appropriate (AR 335-15).