Getting Involved

Public input into the West-wide Energy Corridor Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) process is encouraged. The public comment period for the draft PEIS is closed.

Draft Programmatic EIS Comments

Public involvement is a key component of the PEIS process, and the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, and the U.S. Department of Defense (the Agencies) encourage all interested parties to participate in the West-wide Energy Corridor PEIS by submitting their questions concerning the PEIS, and reading PEIS publications and related materials. The public comment period for the draft PEIS is closed.

Public Hearings

Draft Programmatic EIS public hearings for the West-wide Energy Corridor Programmatic EIS were held on the dates and times indicated under Public Hearings.

Transcripts of the public hearings are available on the Documents page.

Schedule for Draft PEIS Comment Submittal

The public comment period opened November 10, 2007 and continued until Thursday, February 14, 2008. All comments received or postmarked by Thursday, February 14, 2008 will be considered. Comments received or postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent practicable. Written and electronic (i.e., by facsimile or Web) comments will be impartially considered and given equal weight by the Agencies.

Confidentiality of Public Comments

The Agencies' practice is to make comments, including names and addresses of respondents, available for public review, including publication on the Internet. Individual respondents may request that the Agencies withhold their address from the record, and such requests will be honored to the extent allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment, or by checking the appropriate box on the Web comment form. However, the Agencies will not consider anonymous comments. Except for proprietary information, the Agencies will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available to the public in their entirety.

Past Involvement Opportunities: Public Scoping Process

The Agencies invited interested parties to participate in the scoping process, both to refine the preliminary alternatives and environmental issues to be analyzed in depth, and to eliminate from detailed study those alternatives and environmental issues that are not feasible or pertinent. The scoping process was intended to involve all interested agencies (federal, state, county, and local), public interest groups, Native American tribes, businesses, and members of the public.

The public scoping period started with the publication of the Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register (September 28, 2005). The scoping comment period ended November 28, 2005.

Public Scoping Meetings

Public scoping meetings for the West-wide Energy Corridor PEIS were held in eleven western states in October and November 2005. Transcripts of the public scoping meetings are available for downloading and browsing.

Public Scoping Comments

Scoping Comments received by mail, facsimile, or the public comment form on this Web site are available for downloading and browsing. A report summarizing the comments received during public scoping is included as Appendix B in the final PEIS.

Preliminary Draft Corridor Map Comments

Subsequent to the public scoping period, the Agencies presented preliminary draft energy corridor maps to inform the public of their progress and to obtain public comment on the proposed corridor locations. The public comment period started with the publication of the preliminary draft corridor map (June 9, 2006) and ended July 10, 2006.

Preliminary Draft Corridor Map Comments received by mail, facsimile, or the public comment form on this Web site are available for downloading and browsing.

Future Public Involvement Opportunities

Scoping is the first phase of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis process. It is intended to give interested parties the chance to comment on a proposed action and to offer suggestions about the issues to be considered in the EIS analyses.

Commenting on the Draft Programmatic EIS is the second major phase of public involvement. Interested parties are given the chance to participate in the west-wide Energy Corridor PEIS by submitting their comments and questions concerning the draft PEIS, attending public hearings, and reading PEIS publications and related materials.

Future public involvement activities for the Programmatic EIS include public distribution of the Final Programmatic EIS and Record of Decision.

For More Information

For further information on the West-wide Energy Corridor Programmatic EIS, please contact:

LaVerne Kyriss, DOE
laverne.kyriss@wapa.gov
Phone: (720) 962-7170

Kathryn Winthrop
Bureau of Land Management
Kate_Winthrop@blm.gov
Phone: (202) 452-5051

Bob Cunningham
Forest Service
rcunningham@fs.fed.us
Phone: (202) 205-2494

For general information on the DOE NEPA process please contact:

Carol M. Borgstrom, Director
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-42)
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20585-0119
Phone: 202-586-4600; or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756;
Facsimile: 202-586-7031