§ 215.13 - Who may appeal.

(a) Individuals and organizations who submit substantive written or oral comments during the 30-day comment period for an environmental assessment, or 45-day comment period for a draft environmental impact statement (§215.6, 40 CFR 1506.10; FSH 1909.15, Chapter 20), except as provided for in paragraph (c) of this section, may file an appeal. Comments received from an authorized representative(s) of an organization are considered those of the organization only; individual members of that organization do not meet appeal eligibility solely on the basis of membership in an organization; the member(s) must submit substantive comments as an individual in order to meet appeal eligibility.

(b) When an appeal lists multiple individuals or organizations, each shall meet the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section. Individuals or organizations that do not meet the requirements of paragraph (a) shall not be accepted as appellants.

(c) Federal agencies may not appeal.

(d) Federal employees, who otherwise meet the requirements of this part for filing appeals in a non-official capacity, shall comply with Federal conflict of interest statutes at 18 U.S.C. 202-209 and with employee ethics requirements at 5 CFR part 2635. Specifically, employees shall not be on official duty nor use government property or equipment in the preparation or filing of an appeal. Further, employees shall not incorporate information unavailable to the public, i.e. Federal agency documents that are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552 (b)).