[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: 36CFR219.13]

[Page 56-57]
 
              TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
          CHAPTER II--FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 219_PLANNING--Table of Contents
 
 Subpart A_National Forest System Land and Resource Management Planning
 
Sec.  219.13  Objections to plans, plan amendments, or plan revisions.

    (a) Opportunities to object. Before approving a plan, plan 
amendment, or plan revision, the Responsible Official must provide the 
public 30 calendar days for pre-decisional review and the opportunity to 
object. Federal agencies may not object under this subpart. During the 
30-day review period, any person or organization, other than a Federal 
agency, who participated in the planning process through the submission 
of written comments, may object to a plan, plan amendment, or plan 
revision according to the procedures in this section, except in the 
following circumstances:
    (1) When a plan amendment is approved contemporaneously with a 
project or activity decision and the plan amendment applies only to the 
project or activity, in which case the administrative review process of 
36 CFR part 215 or part 218, subpart A, applies instead of the objection 
process established in this section; or

[[Page 57]]

    (2) When the Responsible Official is an official in the Department 
of Agriculture at a level higher than the Chief of the Forest Service, 
in which case there is no opportunity for administrative review.
    (b) Submitting objections. The objection must be in writing and must 
be filed with the Reviewing Officer within 30 days following the 
publication date of the legal notice in the newspaper of record of the 
availability of the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision. Specific 
details will be included in the Forest Service Directive System. An 
objection must contain:
    (1) The name, mailing address, and telephone number of the person or 
entity filing the objection. Where a single objection is filed by more 
than one person, the objection must indicate the lead objector to 
contact. The Reviewing Officer may appoint the first name listed as the 
lead objector to act on behalf of all parties to the single objection 
when the single objection does not specify a lead objector. The 
Reviewing Officer may communicate directly with the lead objector and is 
not required to notify the other listed objectors of the objection 
response or any other written correspondence related to the single 
objection;
    (2) A statement of the issues, the parts of the plan, plan 
amendment, or plan revision to which the objection applies, and how the 
objecting party would be adversely affected; and
    (3) A concise statement explaining how the objector believes that 
the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision is inconsistent with law, 
regulation, or policy or how the objector disagrees with the decision 
and providing any recommendations for change.
    (c) Responding to objections. (1) The Reviewing Officer (Sec.  
219.16) has the authority to make all procedural determinations related 
to the objection not specifically explained in this subpart, including 
those procedures necessary to ensure compatibility, to the extent 
practicable, with the administrative review processes of other Federal 
agencies. The Reviewing Officer must promptly render a written response 
to the objection. The response must be sent to the objecting party by 
certified mail, return receipt requested.
    (2) The response of the Reviewing Officer shall be the final 
decision of the Department of Agriculture on the objection.
    (d) Use of other administrative review processes. Where the Forest 
Service is a participant in a multi-Federal agency effort that would 
otherwise be subject to objection under this subpart, the Reviewing 
Officer may waive the objection procedures of this subpart and instead 
adopt the administrative review procedure of another participating 
Federal agency. As a condition of such a waiver, the Responsible 
Official for the Forest Service must have agreement with the Responsible 
Official of the other agency or agencies that a joint agency response 
will be provided to those who file for administrative review of the 
multi-agency effort.
    (e) Compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The information 
collection requirements associated with submitting an objection have 
been approved by the Office of Management and Budget and assigned 
control number 0596-0158.