[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 36, Volume 2]
[Revised as of July 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 36CFR215.17]

[Page 39]
 
              TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
          CHAPTER II--FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 215_NOTICE, COMMENT, AND APPEAL PROCEDURES FOR NATIONAL FOREST 
SYSTEM PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  215.17  Informal disposition.

    (a) Offer to meet. When an appeal is received, the Responsible 
Official, or designee, must contact the appellant and offer to meet and 
discuss resolution of the issues raised in the appeal. This contact 
shall be made as soon as practicable after the Appeal Deciding Officer 
receives the appeal and the Responsible Official is notified. In the 
case of multiple names or organizations, it is the responsibility of the 
lead appellant (Sec.  215.2) to contact any other persons named in their 
appeal who may desire to participate in the informal disposition 
meeting. If the appellant(s) decline to meet, the Responsible Official 
shall so advise the Appeal Deciding Officer.
    (b) Time and location of meeting. When an appellant agrees to meet, 
the initial meeting shall take place within 15 days after the closing 
date for filing an appeal (Sec.  215.15). The location of the meeting 
shall be in the vicinity of the lands affected by the decision. When the 
District Ranger is the Responsible Official, meetings will generally be 
located on or near that Ranger District. When the Forest Supervisor, 
Regional Forester, or the Chief is the Responsible Official, meetings 
will generally take place at a location within or near the National 
Forest.
    (c) Meeting structure. Generally, the appellant(s) should be 
physically present at informal disposition meetings. If the appellant 
cannot attend a meeting in person because of schedule conflicts or 
travel distances, alternative types of meetings (such as telephone 
conferences or video conferences) may be arranged. All meetings are open 
to the public.
    (d) Outcome. After the informal disposition meeting, the Responsible 
Official shall notify the Appeal Deciding Officer in writing of the 
meeting participants and which of the following three outcomes occurred.
    (1) An appellant and the Responsible Official reach agreement on 
disposition of all or a portion of an appeal. The appellant shall 
withdraw all or the agreed upon portion of the appeal by letter to the 
Appeal Deciding Officer within 15 days of the agreement. When the 
appellant does not withdraw the appeal in writing, formal review and 
disposition of the appeal shall continue.
    (2) As a result of the agreement reached at the informal disposition 
meeting, new information is received or changes to the original decision 
or environmental analysis are proposed. The Responsible Official must 
follow the correction, supplementation, or revision of environmental 
documentation and reconsideration of decisions to take action guidance 
in FSH 1909.15, Chapter 10, section 18, and Sec.   Sec.  215.3 and 215.4.
    (3) An appeal is not entirely resolved through informal disposition. 
Formal review and disposition of the unresolved portion of the appeal 
shall continue (Sec.  215.18).