(a) Opportunity to comment.
(1) Time period for submission of comments -
(i) Comments on a proposed project or activity to be documented in an environmental assessment shall be accepted for 30 days beginning on the first day after the date of publication of the legal notice.
(ii) Comments on a proposed project or activity to be documented in an environmental impact statement shall be accepted for a minimum of 45 days beginning on the first day after the date of publication in the Federal Register of the notice of availability of the draft EIS.
(iii) Comments. 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) of this section.
(iv) Extension. The time period for the opportunity to comment on a proposed project or activity to be documented with an environmental assessment 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. in the time zone of the receiving office for comments filed by electronic means such as email or facsimile).
(3) Requirements. To be eligible to submit an objection, individuals and entities must have provided the following during the comment period:
(i) Name and postal address. Email address in addition is recommended but not required.
(ii) Title of the proposed project or activity.
(iii) Specific written comments as defined in § 218.2 regarding the proposed project or activity, along with supporting reasons.
(iv) Signature or other verification of identity upon request and identification of the individual or entity who authored the comment(s). For comments listing multiple entities or multiple individuals, a signature or other means of verification must be provided for the individual authorized to represent each entity and for each individual in the case of multiple names. A scanned signature or other means of verifying the identity of the individual or entity representative may be used for electronically submitted comments.
(v) Individual members of an entity must submit their own comments to establish personal eligibility; comments received on behalf of an entity are considered as those of the entity only.
(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, emailed, faxed, or otherwise submitted (for example, express delivery service) by 11:59 p.m. in the time zone of the receiving office on the 30th calendar day following publication of the legal notice for proposed projects or activities 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 projects or activities 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 emailed 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 written comments submitted in compliance with paragraph (a) of this section.
(2) All written comments received by the responsible official shall be placed in the project file and shall become a matter of public record.