§ 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 (§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.

(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 (§215.5) and place them in the project file.