[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: 36CFR215.6]

[Page 33-34]
 
              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.  215.6  Comments on proposed actions.

    (a) Opportunity to comment--(1) Time period for submission of 
comments. (i) Environmental Assessment. Comments on the proposed action 
shall be accepted for 30 days following the date of publication of the 
legal notice.
    (ii) Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Comments on the proposed 
action shall be accepted for 45 days following the date of publication 
in the Federal Register pursuant to 40 CFR parts 1500-1508.
    (iii) It is the responsibility of all individuals and organizations 
to ensure that their comments are received in a timely manner as 
provided for in paragraph (a)(4).
    (iv) The time period for the opportunity to comment on environmental 
assessments shall not be extended.
    (2) Computation of the comment period. The time period is computed 
using calendar days, including Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays. 
However, when the time period expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal 
holiday, comments shall be accepted until the end of the next Federal 
working day (11:59 p.m.).
    (i) Environmental Assessment (EA). The 30-day comment period for 
proposed actions to be analyzed and documented in an EA begins on the 
first day after publication of the legal notice.
    (ii) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The 45-day comment 
period for proposed actions that are analyzed and documented in a draft 
EIS begins on the first day after publication of the NOA in the Federal 
Register.
    (3) Requirements. Individuals and organizations wishing to be 
eligible to appeal must provide the following:
    (i) Name and address.
    (ii) Title of the proposed action.
    (iii) Specific substantive comments (Sec.  215.2) on the proposed 
action, along with supporting reasons that the Responsible Official 
should consider in reaching a decision.
    (iv) Signature or other verification of identity upon request; 
identification of the individual or organization who authored the 
comment(s) is necessary for appeal eligibility.
    (A) For appeals listing multiple organizations or multiple 
individuals, a signature or other means of verification must be provided 
for the individual authorized to represent each organization and for 
each individual in the case of multiple names, to meet appeal 
eligibility requirements.
    (B) Those using electronic means may submit a scanned signature. 
Otherwise another means of verifying the identity of the individual or 
organizational representative may be necessary for electronically 
submitted comments or comments received by telephone.

[[Page 34]]

    (v) Individual members of an organization must submit their own 
substantive comments to meet the requirements of appeal eligibility; 
comments received on behalf of an organization are considered as those 
of the organization only.
    (vi) Oral comments must be provided at the Responsible Official's 
office during normal business hours via telephone or in person, or if 
during non-business hours, must be at an official agency function (such 
as a public meeting) which is designed to elicit public comment.
    (4) Evidence of timely submission. When there is a question about 
timely submission of comments, timeliness shall be determined as 
follows:
    (i) Written comments must be postmarked by the Postal Service, e-
mailed, faxed, or otherwise submitted (for example, express delivery 
service) by 11:59 p.m. on the 30th calendar day following publication of 
the legal notice for proposed actions to be analyzed and documented in 
an EA or the 45th calendar day following publication of the NOA in the 
Federal Register for a draft EIS.
    (ii) Hand-delivered comments must be time and date imprinted at the 
correct Responsible Official's office by the close of business on the 
30th calendar day following publication of the legal notice for proposed 
actions to be analyzed and documented in an EA or the 45th calendar day 
following publication of the NOA in the Federal Register for a draft 
EIS.
    (iii) For electronically mailed comments, the sender should normally 
receive an automated electronic acknowledgment from the agency as 
confirmation of receipt. If the sender does not receive an automated 
acknowledgment of the receipt of the comments, it is the sender's 
responsibility to ensure timely receipt by other means.
    (b) Consideration of comments. (1) The Responsible Official shall 
consider all substantive written and oral comments submitted in 
compliance with paragraph (a).
    (2) All written comments received by the Responsible Official shall 
be placed in the project file and shall become a matter of public 
record.
    (3) The Responsible Official shall document and date all oral 
comments received in response to the legal notice (Sec.  215.5) and 
place them in the project file.