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2 



CFR 215 that addresses appeals of project-level decisions. I 

 will also touch briefly on the appeals processes for forest plan 

 decisions and for appeals of permits and authorizations. These 

 procedures are found in sections 217 and 251, respectively, of 

 Chapter 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 



Project -level Appeals 



Just over a year ago- -March 8, 1995, to be exact--! testified 

 before the Subcoinmittee on Forests and Public Land Management of 

 the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on the 

 Forest Service administrative appeals process. That hearing was 

 prompted by the changes to the appeals process brought about by 

 language in the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act 

 (P.L. 102-381, Section 322). The final regulation implementing 

 these changes became effective on January 4, 1994 (58 Fed Reg 

 58904) . Having operated under the new procedure for a little 

 more than a year, I was happy to report that "We believe that the 

 process is working smoothly and with good results." Today, I can 

 again say that the revised appeals process is working. 



The legislated appeals process contained in the 1993 

 Appropriations Act attempted to accomplish a number of policy 

 objectives. These were: 1) encouraging public involvement in 

 Forest Service decisionmaking before decisions are made; 2) 

 streamlining the procedures for project appeals once a decision 

 is made; 3) establishing time frames in law to assure timely 



