NEPA Comment Letter (August 2019)

The Forest Service is proposing revisions to its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. While all aspects of the proposal deserve careful consideration, our comments are limited to two specific elements: the reduction of scoping and the creation and modification of Categorical Exclusions (CEs).View the RVCC comment letter and our recommendations. Public comment period ended Aug 26th, 2019.

Secretarial Letter on cooperative agreements (April 2019)

In response to the recent Secretarial Memorandum 1076-027, “Improving Accountability Over the Use of Cooperative Agreements and Similar Arrangements…”, RVCC submitted a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue expressing our concerns about the immediate impacts of the memo.

Environmental Analysis and Decision Making (EADM) Comment Letter (Feb 2018, June 2018)

On June 12th 2019, the Forest Service released a draft rule to revise procedures for how the agency complies with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The most significant change is the proposed creation of new Categorical Exclusions (CEs).

The Forest Service also proposed a different approach to public comment on NEPA analysis, reserving the scoping process for Environmental Impact Statements. Public comment for CEs and Environmental Assessments could still be conducted, but at the discretion of the responsible official.

RVCC commented during the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR), an outcome of the agency’s Environmental Analysis and Decision Making (EADM) effort regarding National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance.