Q. How do I write a helpful SEPA comment letter?
A. DNR, as lead agency responsible for SEPA, shares information with the public and other agencies about the environmental impacts of a proposal. Later, once the SEPA environmental review is completed, our agency will use the SEPA environmental information along with other considerations to make a final ageny decision to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the proposal. For that reason, during the SEPA process we focus on gathering comments that will help us understand the adverse environmental impacts of the proposal.
Comments in the following areas are particularly valuable:
- Any inaccuracies in the environmental checklist, EIS, or other documentation.
- Areas of potential environmental impact that have not been identified.
- Adverse environmental impacts that have not been adequately discussed.
- Possible mitigation measures that could or should be added to the proposal.
- Reasonable alternatives to the proposal (if commenting on an EIS).
- The need for additional study(ies).
- The merits of the alternatives (if an EIS) and mitigation measures considered in the document.
- Reasons that a determination of nonsignificance is not appropriate and why an environmental impact statement (EIS) should be prepared (if commenting on a Determination of Nonsignificance or Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance).
You can read more about SEPA and your role as a citizen at:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/sepa/citizensguide/citizensguide.htm
See the full PDF of SEPA Frequently Asked Questions.