2014 Hat Creek Fire Restoration Project

2014 Hat Creek Fire Restoration Project

Lassen National Forest

Hat Creek Ranger District

Shasta County, California

Notice for Opportunity to Object

Draft Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact

As the Responsible Official, Forest Supervisor Deb Bumpus has prepared a draft Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact (DN/FONSI) for the 2014 Hat Creek Fire Restoration Project Environmental Assessment. The EA and draft DN/FONSI are available for review at online at http://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/nepa_project_exp.php?project=57170.

The proposed decision is subject to the objection process pursuant to 36 CFR 218, subparts A and B. A written objection must be submitted to the reviewing officer within 45 calendar days following publication of the legal notice of the objection period in the Lassen County Times, which is the newspaper of record. It is the responsibility of objectors to ensure their objections are received in a timely manner (36 CFR 218.9(a)). The publication date in the newspaper of record is the exclusive means for calculating the time to file an objection. Objectors should not rely upon time requirements provided by any other source.

Objections will only be accepted from those who have previously submitted specific, written comments regarding the project during the scoping and opportunity for comment periods in accordance with §218.5(a). 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 the designated comment opportunities.

The objection must contain the minimum content requirements specified in §218.8(d) and incorporation of documents by reference is permitted only as provided in §218.8(b). It is the objector’s responsibility to ensure timely filing of a written objection with the reviewing officer pursuant to §218.9. All objections are available for public inspection during and after the objection process.

The following address must be used for objections sent by regular mail, private carrier, or hand delivery: Objection Reviewing Officer, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region at 1323 Club Drive, Vallejo, CA 94592. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding federal holidays. Objections can be faxed to the Objection Reviewing Officer at (707) 562-9229. The fax coversheet must include a subject line with “2014 Hat Creek Fire Restoration Project Objection” and should specify the number of pages being submitted. Electronic objections must be submitted to the Objection Reviewing Officer via an email to [email protected] with “2014 Hat Creek Fire Restoration Project Objection” in the subject line. Electronic objections must be submitted in a format that is readable with optical character recognition software (e.g. Word, PDF, Rich Text) and be searchable.

The objection must meet the content requirements of 36 CFR 218.8(d), and include the following information: 1) The objector’s name and address, with a telephone number or email address, if available; 2) A signature or other verification of authorship upon request (a scanned signature for email may be filed with the objection); 3) When multiple names are listed on an objection, identification of the lead objector as defined in 36 CFR 218.2 (verification of the identity of the lead objector shall be provided upon request); 4) The name of the project being objected to, the name and title of the responsible official, and the name of the national forest on which the project will be implemented; 5) A description of those aspects of the project addressed by the objection, including specific issues related to the project and, if applicable, how the objector believes the environmental analysis or draft decision specifically violates law, regulation, or policy; suggested remedies that would resolve the objection; and supporting reasons for the reviewing officer to consider; and, 6) A statement that demonstrates the connection between prior specific written comments on the particular project or activity and the content of the objection, unless the objection concerns an issue that arose after the designated opportunity for formal comment. With certain exceptions (36 CFR 218.8(b)), all documents referenced in the objection must be included with the objection. Incomplete responses to these requirements make review of an objection difficult and are conditions under which the reviewing officer may set aside an objection pursuant to 36 CFR 218.10.

For additional information, please contact Frank Heide, District Silviculturist, at [email protected] or by phone at (530) 336-5521.