218.5—Giving notice of proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects subject to objection.
(a)
In addition to the notification required in paragraph (c) of this section, the responsible official should disclose during scoping and in the EA or EIS that the project is authorized under the HFRA and will therefore be subject to the objection procedure at 36 CFR 218, in lieu of the appeal procedure at 36 CFR 215.
(b)
The responsible official must promptly distribute the final EIS or the EA to those who have requested the document or are eligible to file an objection in accordance with § 218.7(a).
(c)
Upon completion and distribution mailing of the final EIS or EA, legal notice of the opportunity to object to a proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction project must be published in the applicable newspaper of record identified (218.2) for each 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 authorized hazardous fuel reduction project, a concise description of the preferred alternative 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 authorized hazardous fuel reduction project will occur, instructions for obtaining a copy of the final EIS or EA, and instructions on how to obtain additional information on the proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction project.
(2)
State that the proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction project is subject to the objection process pursuant to 36 CFR part 218, subpart A, 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 e-mail address, the acceptable format(s) for objections filed electronically, and the reviewing officer's office business hours for those filing hand-delivered objections.
(ii)
A statement that objections will be accepted only from those who have previously submitted written comments specific to the proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction project during scoping or other opportunity for public comment in accordance with § 218.7(a).
(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 ( § 218.10(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, e-mail, hand-delivery, express delivery, or messenger service) with the appropriate reviewing officer ( § 218.8) within 30 days of the date of publication of the legal notice for the objection process. It should also be stated that incorporation of documents by reference is permitted only as provided for at § 218.8(b).
(vi)
A statement that the proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction project is not subject to the notice, comment, and appeal procedures found at part 215 of this chapter ( § 218.3 ).
(d) Publication.
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 subpart.