This subpart establishes a pre-decisional administrative review (hereinafter referred to as objection) process for plans, plan amendments, or plan revisions. This process gives an individual or entity an opportunity for an independent Forest Service review and resolution of issues before the approval of a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision. This subpart identifies who may file objections to a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision; the responsibilities of the participants in an objection; and the procedures that apply to the review of the objection.

(a) A plan, plan amendment, or plan revision is not subject to objection when the responsible official receives no substantive formal comments (§ 219.62) on that proposal during the opportunities for public comment (§ 219.53(a)).

(b) Plans, plan amendments, or plan revisions proposed by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment are not subject to the procedures set forth in this section. A decision by the Secretary or Under Secretary constitutes the final administrative determination of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(c) A plan, plan amendment, or plan revision is not subject to objection under this subpart if another administrative review process is used consistent with § 219.59.

(d) When a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision is not subject to objection under this subpart, the responsible official shall include an explanation with the signed decision document.

(a) The responsible official shall disclose during the NEPA scoping process and in the appropriate NEPA documents that the proposed plan, plan amendment, or plan revision is subject to the objection procedures in this subpart. This disclosure is in addition to the public notice that begins the objection filing period, as required at § 219.16. When a responsible official chooses to use the objection process of this subpart for a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision process initiated before the effective date of this rule, notice that the objection process will be used must be given prior to an opportunity to provide substantive formal comment on a proposed plan, plan amendment, or revision and associated environmental analysis.

(b) The responsible official shall make available the public notice for the beginning of the objection period for a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision (§ 219.16(a)(3)) to those who have requested the environmental documents or are eligible to file an objection consistent with § 219.53.

(c) The content of the public notice for the beginning of the objection period for a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision before approval (§ 219.16(a)(3)) must:

(1) Inform the public of the availability of the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision, the appropriate final environmental documents, the draft plan decision document, and any relevant assessment or monitoring evaluation report; the commencement of the objection filing period under 36 CFR part 219 Subpart B; and the process for objecting. The documents in this paragraph will be made available online at the time of public notice.

(2) Include the name of the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision, the name and title of the responsible official, and instructions on how to obtain a copy of the appropriate final environmental documents; the draft plan decision document; and the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision.

(3) Include the 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 office business hours for those filing hand-delivered objections.

(4) Include a statement that objections will be accepted only from those who have previously submitted substantive formal comments specific to the proposed plan, plan amendment, or plan revision during any opportunity for public comment as provided in subpart A.

(5) Include a statement that the publication date of the public notice in the applicable newspaper of record (or the Federal Register, if the responsible official is the Chief) is the exclusive means for calculating the time to file an objection (§ 219.56).

(6) Include a statement that an objection, including attachments, must be filed with the appropriate reviewing officer (§ 219.62) within 60 days, if an environmental impact statement has been prepared, otherwise within 45 days of the date of publication of the public notice for the objection process.

(7) Include a statement describing the minimum content requirements of an objection (§ 219.54(c)).

(a) Individuals and entities who have submitted substantive formal comments related to a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision during the opportunities for public comment as provided in subpart A during the planning process for that decision may file an objection. Objections must be based on previously submitted substantive formal comments attributed to the objector unless the objection concerns an issue that arose after the opportunities for formal comment. The burden is on the objector to demonstrate compliance with requirements for objection. Objections that do not meet the requirements of this paragraph may not be accepted; however, objections not accepted must be documented in the planning record.

(b) Formal comments received from an authorized representative(s) of an entity are considered those of the entity only. Individual members of that entity do not meet objection eligibility requirements solely based on membership in an entity. A member or an individual must submit substantive formal comments independently to be eligible to file an objection in an individual capacity.

(c) When an objection lists multiple individuals or entities, each individual or entity must meet the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section. Individuals or entities listed on an objection that do not meet eligibility requirements may not be considered objectors, although an objection must be accepted (if not otherwise set aside for review under § 219.55) if at least one listed individual or entity meets the eligibility requirements.

(d) Federal agencies may not file objections.

(e) Federal employees who otherwise meet the requirements of this subpart for filing objections in a non-official capacity must 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 may not be on official duty nor use government property or equipment in the preparation or filing of an objection. Further, employees may not include information unavailable to the public, such as Federal agency documents that are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)).

(a) All objections must be filed, in writing, with the reviewing officer for the plan. All objections must be open to public inspection during the objection process.

(b) Including documents by reference is not allowed, except for the following list of items that may be referenced by including the name, date, page number (where applicable), and relevant section of the cited document. All other documents or Web links to those documents, or both must be included with the objection, if referenced in the objection.

(1) All or any part of a Federal law or regulation.

(2) Forest Service Directive System documents and land management plans or other published Forest Service documents.

(3) Documents referenced by the Forest Service in the planning documentation related to the proposal subject to objection.

(4) Formal comments previously provided to the Forest Service by the objector during the proposed plan, plan amendment, or plan revision comment period.

(c) At a minimum, an objection must include the following:

(1) The objector's name and address (§ 219.62), along with a telephone number or email address if available;

(2) Signature or other verification of authorship upon request (a scanned signature for electronic mail may be filed with the objection);

(3) Identification of the lead objector, when multiple names are listed on an objection (§ 219.62). Verification of the identity of the lead objector if requested;

(4) The name of the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision being objected to, and the name and title of the responsible official;

(5) A statement of the issues and/or the parts of the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision to which the objection applies;

(6) A concise statement explaining the objection and suggesting how the proposed plan decision may be improved. If applicable, the objector should identify how the objector believes that the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision is inconsistent with law, regulation, or policy; and

(7) A statement that demonstrates the link between prior substantive formal comments attributed to the objector and the content of the objection, unless the objection concerns an issue that arose after the opportunities for formal comment (§ 219.53(a)).

(a) The reviewing officer shall set aside and not review an objection when one or more of the following applies:

(1) Objections are not filed in a timely manner (§ 219.56);

(2) The proposed plan, plan amendment, or plan revision is not subject to the objection procedures of this subpart pursuant to §§ 219.51 and 219.59;

(3) The individual or entity did not submit substantive formal comments (§ 219.53) during opportunities for public comment on the proposed decision (§ 219.16(a)(1) and (a)(2));

(4) None of the issues included in the objection is based on previously submitted substantive formal comments unless one or more of those issues arose after the opportunities for formal comment;

(5) The objection does not provide sufficient information as required by § 219.54(c);

(6) The objector withdraws the objection in writing;

(7) The objector's identity is not provided or cannot be determined from the signature (written or electronically scanned), and a reasonable means of contact is not provided (§ 219.54(c)); or

(8) The objection is illegible for any reason and a legible copy cannot easily be obtained.

(b) When an objection includes an issue that is not based on previously submitted substantive formal comments and did not arise after the opportunities for formal comment, that issue will be set aside and not reviewed. Other issues raised in the objection that meet the requirements of this subpart will be reviewed.

(c) The reviewing officer shall give written notice to the objector and the responsible official when an objection or part of an objection is set aside from review and shall state the reasons for not reviewing the objection in whole or part. If the objection is set aside from review for reasons of illegibility or lack of a means of contact, the reasons must be documented in the planning record.

(a) Time to file an objection. For a new plan, plan amendment, or plan revision for which an environmental impact statement (EIS) is prepared, written objections, including any attachments, must be filed within 60 days following the publication date of the public notice for a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision before approval (§§ 219.16 and 219.52). For an amendment for which an EIS is not prepared, the time to file an objection is within 45 days. It is the responsibility of the objector to ensure that the reviewing officer receives the objection in a timely manner.

(b) Computation of time periods. (1) All time periods are computed using calendar days, including Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays in the time zone of the reviewing officer. However, when the time period expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday, the time is extended to the end of the next Federal working day (11:59 p.m. for objections filed by electronic means such as email or facsimile machine).

(2) The day after publication of the public notice for a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision before approval (§§ 219.16 and 219.52), is the first day of the objection filing period.

(3) The publication date of the public notice for a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision before approval (§§ 219.16 and 219.52), is the exclusive means for calculating the time to file an objection. Objectors may not rely on dates or timeframe information provided by any other source.

(c) Evidence of timely filing. The objector is responsible for filing the objection in a timely manner. Timeliness must be determined by one of the following indicators:

(1) The date of the U.S. Postal Service postmark for an objection received before the close of the fifth business day after the objection filing date;

(2) The electronically generated posted date and time for email and facsimiles;

(3) The shipping date for delivery by private carrier for an objection received before the close of the fifth business day after the objection filing date; or

(4) The official agency date stamp showing receipt of hand delivery.

(d) Extensions. Time extensions for filing are not permitted except as provided at paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

(e) Reviewing officer role and responsibilities. The reviewing officer is the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or Forest Service official having the delegated authority and responsibility to review an objection filed under this subpart. The reviewing officer is a line officer at the next higher administrative level above the responsible official; except that:

(1) For a plan amendment, that next higher-level line officer may delegate the reviewing officer authority and responsibility to a line officer at the same administrative level as the responsible official. Any plan amendment delegation of reviewing officer responsibilities must be made prior to the public notification of an objection filing period (§ 219.52).

(2) For an objection or part of an objection specific to the identification of species of conservation concern, the regional forester who identified the species of conservation concern for the plan area may not be the reviewing officer. The Chief may choose to act as the reviewing officer or may delegate the reviewing officer authority to a line officer at the same administrative level as the regional forester. The reviewing officer for the plan will convey any such objections or parts thereof to the appropriate line officer.

(f) Notice of objections filed. Within 10 days after the close of the objection period, the responsible official shall publish a notice of all objections in the applicable newspaper of record and post the notice online.

(g) Response to objections. The reviewing officer must issue a written response to the objector(s) concerning their objection(s) within 90 days of the end of the objection-filing period. The reviewing officer has the discretion to extend the time when it is determined to be necessary to provide adequate response to objections or to participate in discussions with the parties. The reviewing officer must notify all parties (lead objectors and interested persons) in writing of any extensions.

(a) Meetings. Prior to the issuance of the reviewing officer's written response, either the reviewing officer or the objector may request to meet to discuss issues raised in the objection and potential resolution. The reviewing officer must allow other interested persons to participate in such meetings. An interested person must file a request to participate in an objection within 10 days after publication of the notice of objection by the responsible official (§ 219.56(f)). The responsible official shall be a participant in all meetings involving the reviewing officer, objectors, and interested persons. During meetings with objectors and interested persons, the reviewing officer may choose to use alternative dispute resolution methods to resolve objections. All meetings are open to observation by the public.

(b) Response to objections. (1) The reviewing officer must render a written response to the objection(s) within 90 days of the close of the objection-filing period, unless the allowable time is extended as provided at § 219.56(g). A written response must set forth the reasons for the response but need not be a point-by-point response, and may contain instructions to the responsible official. In cases involving more than one objection to a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision, the reviewing officer may consolidate objections and issue one or more responses. The response must be sent to the objecting party(ies) by certified mail, return receipt requested, and posted online.

(2) The reviewing officer's review of and response to the objection(s) is limited to only those issues and concerns submitted in the objection(s).

(3) The response of the reviewing officer will be the final decision of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the objection.

(a) The responsible official may not issue a decision document concerning a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision subject to the provisions of this subpart until the reviewing officer has responded in writing to all objections.

(b) A decision by the responsible official approving a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision must be consistent with the reviewing officer's response to objections.

(c) When no objection is filed within the allotted filing period, the reviewing officer must notify the responsible official. The responsible official's approval of the plan, plan amendment, or plan revision in a plan decision document consistent with § 219.14, may occur on, but not before, the fifth business day following the end of the objection-filing period.

(a) Where the Forest Service is a participant in a multi-federal agency effort that would otherwise be subject to objection under this subpart, the responsible official 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. When such an agreement is reached, the responsible official for the Forest Service shall ensure public notice required in § 219.52 sets forth which administrative review procedure is to be used.

(b) When a plan amendment is approved in a decision document approving a project or activity and the amendment applies only to the project or activity, the administrative review process of 36 CFR part 215 or part 218, subpart A, applies instead of the objection process established in this subpart. When a plan amendment applies to all future projects or activities, the objection process established in this subpart applies only to the plan amendment decision; the review process of 36 CFR part 215 or part 218 would apply to the project or activity part of the decision.

Nothing in this subpart restricts the Secretary of Agriculture from exercising any statutory authority regarding the protection, management, or administration of NFS lands.

This subpart specifies the information that objectors must give in an objection to a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision (§ 219.54(c)). As such, this subpart contains information collection requirements as defined in 5 CFR part 1320 and have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget and assigned control number 0596-0158.

Definitions of the special terms used in this subpart are set out as follows.

Address. An individual's or entity's current mailing address used for postal service or other delivery services. An email address is not sufficient.

Decision memo. A concise written record of the responsible official's decision to implement an action that is categorically excluded from further analysis and documentation in an environmental impact statement (EIS) or environmental assessment (EA), where the action is one of a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment, and does not give rise to extraordinary circumstances in which a normally excluded action may have a significant environmental effect.

Environmental assessment (EA). A public document that provides sufficient evidence and analysis for determining whether to prepare an EIS or a finding of no significant impact, aids an agency's compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when no EIS is necessary, and facilitates preparation of a statement when one is necessary (40 CFR 1508.9; FSH 1909.15, Chapter 40).

Environmental impact statement (EIS). A detailed written statement as required by section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (40 CFR 1508.11; 36 CFR 220).

Formal comments. See substantive formal comments.

Lead objector. For an objection submitted with multiple individuals, multiple entities, or combination of individuals and entities listed, the individual or entity identified to represent all other objectors for the purposes of communication, written or otherwise, regarding the objection.

Line officer. A Forest Service official who serves in a direct line of command from the Chief.

Name. The first and last name of an individual or the name of an entity. An electronic username is insufficient for identification of an individual or entity.

National Forest System. The National Forest System includes national forests, national grasslands, and the National Tallgrass Prairie.

Newspaper(s) of record. The newspaper(s) of record is (are) the principal newspaper(s) of general circulation annually identified and published in the Federal Register by each regional forester to be used for publishing notices as required by 36 CFR 215.5. The newspaper(s) of record for projects in a plan area is (are) the newspaper(s) of record for notices related to planning.

Objection. The written document filed with a reviewing officer by an individual or entity seeking pre-decisional administrative review of a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision.

Objection period. The allotted filing period following publication of a public notice in the applicable newspaper of record (or the Federal Register, if the responsible official is the Chief) of the availability of the appropriate environmental documents and draft decision document, including a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision during which an objection may be filed with the reviewing officer.

Objection process. Those procedures established for pre-decisional administrative review of a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision.

Objector. An individual or entity who meets the requirements of § 219.53, and files an objection that meets the requirements of §§ 219.54 and 219.56.

Online. Refers to the appropriate Forest Service Web site or future electronic equivalent.

Responsible official. The official with the authority and responsibility to oversee the planning process and to approve a plan, plan amendment, and plan revision.

Reviewing officer. The USDA or Forest Service official having the delegated authority and responsibility to review an objection filed under this subpart.

Substantive formal comments. Written comments submitted to, or oral comments recorded by, the responsible official or his designee during an opportunity for public participation provided during the planning process (§§ 219.4 and 219.16), and attributed to the individual or entity providing them. Comments are considered substantive when they are within the scope of the proposal, are specific to the proposal, have a direct relationship to the proposal, and include supporting reasons for the responsible official to consider.