Consultation, coordination, and public involvement were undertaken by the BLM
throughout the development and preparation of the RMP-EIS through public and
informal meetings, individual contacts, bulletins, news releases, and Federal
Register notices. Public participation in the RMP-FEIS process includes a
variety of efforts to identify and address public concerns and needs. The
public involvement process assists the agencies in broadening the information
base for decisionmaking, informing the public about the RMP-EIS and the
potential impacts associated with various management decisions, and ensuring
that public needs and viewpoints are understood by the agency.
The BLM provided the public with 90 days from the date of publication of BLM’s
Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Alabama and Mississippi Draft RMP-EIS to
review and submit comments. The EPA filed the NOA in the Federal Register on
August 31, 2007. The 90-day public comment period officially ended on
November 29, 2007. Three public meetings were held in October 2007 to provide
an opportunity to comment on the Alabama and Mississippi Draft RMP-EIS. During
the three meetings, nine people registered their attendance.
The BLM received comments on the Draft RMP-EIS from members of the public;
Federal, State, and local agencies; and private and public organizations.
These comments were sent by mail, e-mail, or submitted at the public meetings.
From the 24 letters received, 97 unique comments were identified, of which 32
were considered non-substantive and 65 were considered substantive.
The Proposed RMP and Final EIS was developed with consideration of the
comments received.
Pursuant to BLM’s planning regulations at 43 CFR 1610.5-2, any person who
participated in the planning process for the Proposed RMP and has an interest
which is or may be adversely affected by the planning decisions may protest
approval of the planning decisions within 30 days from date the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. For further information on filing a protest, please see the Dear Reader letter that prefaces the Proposed RMP and Final EIS.
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