§ 218.7 - Giving notice of objection process for proposed projects and activities subject to objection.

§ 218.7 Giving notice of objection process for proposed projects and activities subject to objection.

(a) In addition to the notification required in paragraph (c) of this section, the responsible official must disclose during scoping and in the EA or EIS that the proposed project or activity is:

(1) A hazardous fuel reduction project as defined by the HFRA, section 101(2), that is subject to subparts A and C of this part, or

(2) A project or activity implementing a land management plan and not authorized under the HFRA, that is subject to subparts A and B of this part.

(b) The responsible official must promptly make available the final EIS or the EA, and a draft Record of Decision (ROD) or draft Decision Notice (DN) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), to those who have requested the documents or are eligible to file an objection in accordance with § 218.5(a).

(c) Upon distribution, legal notice of the opportunity to object to a proposed project or activity must be published in the applicable newspaper of record identified as defined in § 218.2 for the National Forest System unit. When the Chief is the responsible official, notice must be published in the Federal Register. The legal notice or Federal Register notice must:

(1) Include the name of the proposed project or activity, a concise description of the draft decision and any proposed land management plan amendments, name and title of the responsible official, name of the forest and/or district on which the proposed project or activity will occur, instructions for obtaining a copy of the final EIS or EA and draft ROD or DN as defined in § 218.2, and instructions on how to obtain additional information on the proposed project or activity.

(2) State that the proposed project or activity is subject to the objection process pursuant to 36 CFR part 218; identify whether the special procedures of subpart B or subpart C of this part are applicable; and include the following:

(i) Name and address of the reviewing officer with whom an objection is to be filed. The notice must specify a street, postal, fax, and email address, the acceptable format(s) for objections filed electronically, and the reviewing officer's business hours for those filing hand-delivered objections.

(ii) A statement that objections will be accepted only from those who have previously submitted specific written comments regarding the proposed project during scoping or other designated opportunity for public comment in accordance with § 218.5(a). The statement must also specify that issues raised in objections must be based on previously submitted timely, specific written comments regarding the proposed project unless based on new information arising after designated opportunities.

(iii) A statement that the publication date of the legal notice in the newspaper of record or Federal Register notice is the exclusive means for calculating the time to file an objection (see §§ 218.26(a) and 218.32(a)), and that those wishing to object should not rely upon dates or timeframe information provided by any other source. A specific date must not be included in the notice.

(iv) A statement that an objection, including attachments, must be filed (regular mail, fax, email, hand-delivery, express delivery, or messenger service) with the appropriate reviewing officer (see §§ 218.3 and 218.8) within 30 days of the date of publication of the legal notice for the objection process if the proposal is an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project, or within 45 days if the proposal is otherwise a project or activity implementing a land management plan. The statement must also describe the evidence of timely filing in § 218.9.

(v) A statement describing the minimum content requirements of an objection (see § 218.8(d)) and identify that incorporation of documents by reference is permitted only as provided for at § 218.8(b).

(d) Within 4 calendar days of the date of publication of the legal notice in the newspaper of record or, when applicable, the Federal Register, a digital image of the legal notice or Federal Register publication, or the exact text of the notice, must be made available on the Web. Such postings must clearly indicate the date the notice was published in the newspaper of record or Federal Register, and the name of the publication.

(e) Through notice published annually in the Federal Register, each regional forester must advise the public of the newspaper(s) of record utilized for publishing legal notice required by this part.