Public Involvement

Several opportunities for public participation are required throughout the preparation of a PEIS, including scoping and the public comment review period. The FAA invites the public to submit comments on the scope of this PEIS. This website provides current information on the PEIS, including how to submit a comment, and other relevant links.

Note: Comments on the scope of the PEIS are due no later than May 19, 2006.

Scoping Comments

During scoping, the lead agency invites the participation of Federal, state, and local agencies, Native American tribes, environmental groups, organizations, citizens, and other interested parties to assist in determining the scope and significant issues to be evaluated in the PEIS. The scope consists of the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts to be considered in the PEIS (40 CFR 1508.25). Scoping is required for the preparation of a PEIS, and is a useful tool for discovering alternatives to a proposal, identifying significant impacts, eliminating insignificant issues, communicating information, consulting with agencies and organizations, and soliciting public comments.

Public scoping is conducted as part of the PEIS process to ensure that all interested government and private organizations, and the general public have an opportunity to express their concerns and identify topics that should be addressed in the Draft PEIS. The FAA intends to use this website to provide information to the public throughout the NEPA process.

Scoping began with the publication of the NOI in the Federal Register. Members of the public are encouraged to submit comments or information on any issues related to the project. Comments received during scoping will be reviewed and analyzed for consideration in the Draft PEIS. Once the Draft PEIS has been published, members of the public will have the opportunity to review and comment on the document.

Comment Submittal

Comments should be submitted no later than May 19, 2006. The options for submitting comments to the FAA are as follows

Comments may be submitted via email to Stacy M. Zee, FAA Environmental Specialist.
Comments may be submitted via fax at (703) 934-3951.
Comments submitted by mail should be addressed to:

Stacy M. Zee
FAA Environmental Specialist
PEIS Experimental Permits
c/o ICF Consulting
9300 Lee Highway
Fairfax, VA 22031

Public Comment Review Period

Once completed, the Draft PEIS will be available on this website for download and review. A Notice of Availability (NOA) will be published in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the Draft PEIS for public review and opening the public comment period. The NOA will contain all the relevant information on the process for submitting comments on the Draft PEIS. Information on submitting comments on the Draft PEIS will also be posted on this website. Hardcopies of the Executive Summary and CD-ROM copies of the Draft PEIS will be made available upon request.

Final PEIS

The FAA will revise the Draft PEIS as needed based on the comments received during the public comment review period and prepare a Final PEIS. Publication of a NOA in the Federal Register will announce the public release of the Final PEIS. There is a required 30-day wait after publication of the Final PEIS before the FAA can make a decision, which is done in the form of a Record of Decision, or ROD.

Record of Decision

The ROD is the conclusion of the NEPA process. The ROD will notify the public of the decision made on the proposed action and alternatives and the reasons for that decision. The decision takes into account the environmental analysis in the Final PEIS along with other factors such as technical feasibility, agency mission, and national objectives. The ROD will also describe any mitigations or monitoring decisions.