Skip to main content

Public Involvement for the PEIS

An overview of public involvement in the West-wide Energy Corridor Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) process.

Past Public Involvement Opportunities for the PEIS

Scoping was the first phase of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis process for the PEIS. It gave interested parties the chance to comment on the proposed action and to offer suggestions about the issues to be considered in the PEIS analyses.

Commenting on the Draft PEIS was the second major phase of public involvement. Interested parties were given the chance to participate in the PEIS by submitting their comments and questions concerning the Draft PEIS, attending public hearings, and reading PEIS publications and related materials.

Approval of the land use plan amendments were documented in agency-specific Records of Decisions in January 2009 after a 30-day waiting period that began with the publication of official notice of the availability of the Final PEIS in the Federal Register. The records of decision were published in the Federal Register and are available for downloading and browsing on the Documents page of this website.

Draft PEIS Comments

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 were considered. Comments received or postmarked after that date were considered to the extent practicable. Written and electronic (i.e., by facsimile or Web) comments were impartially considered and given equal weight by the Agencies. There were an extensive number of comments received on the Draft PEIS.

Public comments on the Draft PEIS were considered by the Agencies in preparation of the Final PEIS, and the Final PEIS included many changes and revisions based on comments received. The Agencies responded to comments by one or more of the means listed below, stating their response in the Final PEIS. Responses to comments included:

  • Modification of proposed corridor locations and/or characteristics;
  • Supplementation, improvement, or modification of text, figures, and analyses in the PEIS;
  • Making factual corrections to the PEIS.

Public Hearings

Public hearings for the Draft PEIS were held in January and February 2008 in each of the eleven Western States and Washington, DC.

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

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 were 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 PEIS were held in eleven Western States in October and November 2005. Transcripts of the public scoping meetings are available for downloading and browsing on the PEIS Documents page.

Public Scoping Comments

Scoping Comments 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 are available for downloading and browsing.

For More Information

For further information on the PEIS, please contact:

Erica Pionke
Bureau of Land Management
(202) 570-2624
[email protected]

Reggie Woodruff
U.S. Forest Service
(202) 205-1196
[email protected]