Other Fields
Agency Scheme: 
USDAPRJT0018
ADJUDICATION STRUCTURE
Hearing Level: Basic Structure
Name of Hearing Office (local name): 
Regional Foresters
Name of Hearing Office (global name): 
Department of Agriculture: Regional Foresters
Sub-Agency/Bureau/Division:: 
Forest Service
Hearing Officer #1 (Title): 
Appeal Deciding Officer
Are administrative appeals permitted from final decisions at the hearing-level stage?: 
No
Comments/Notes on Adjudication Structure: 

Informal adjudication process that provides eligible parties -- that is, any person/entity filing a substantive comment during the comment period -- with the opportunity for administrative (post-decisional) review of written Forest Service (FS) decisions involving projects or activities implementing a land and resource management plan (LRMP) for a unit of the National Forest System. (36 CFR Part 215). Cases must fall into one of the appeal categories listed in 36 CFR 215.11 to be reviewable, and generally involve projects/activities with an environmental component.

The hearing-level official is termed the "Appeal Deciding Officer;" he/she is the FS official who is one organizational level above the FS official (referred to as the "Responsible Official") who issued the challenged decision. The Appeal Deciding Officer may thus be any one of several FS officials (i.e., Forest Supervisor, Regional Forester; Forest Service Chief, Secretary of Agriculture) in any given case.

PROCESS & PROCEDURE - General Information
Are private parties permitted to have representation at hearings?: 
No
Is the agency permitted to have representation at hearings?: 
No
Regulations/rules of practice for hearings (please include CFR citations): 
36 CFR pt. 215
PROCESS & PROCEDURE - Pre-Hearing Procedure
Is discovery permitted by either party at the hearing-level stage?: 
No
Does the hearing officer have subpoena authority?: 
No
Are ex parte contacts prohibited?: 
No
Are parties provided notice of hearing?: 
Yes (All Types of Cases)
PROCESS & PROCEDURE - Hearing Procedure
What types of hearings are permitted at the hearing-level stage?: 
Written (Document-Only) Hearing
Please provide the approximate percentage of each type of hearing relative to the total number of hearings (FY2013)
Written (Document-Only) Hearing: 
100%
How is the type of hearing selected: 
Required by Rule
How many hearing officers preside at each hearing?: 
One
Is witness testimony permitted at hearings?: 
No
Can parties cross-examine witnesses?: 
No
Can third-parties submit amicus briefs and/or evidence?: 
No
Are hearings recorded and/or transcribed?: 
No
Are hearings open to the public?: 
N/A (Document-Only Hearing)
PROCESS & PROCEDURE - Post-Hearing Procedure
Who has authority to issue final decisions?: 
Adjudication Officer
If "Other," please specify: 
The Appeal Deciding Officer (ADO) conducts a "paper" hearing and issues the final decision. In making this decision, the ADO is aided by the written recommendation from an Appeal Reviewing Officer (ARO), who, in turn, is an "impartial" FS or USDA official that has reviewed the appeal record. (See 36 CFR 215.19). The Appeal Reviewing Officer is either (a) an FS line officer at least at same level as the agency official who made the initial decision and has not been involved in the matter; or (b) a designee of the Secretary, if the initial decision was issued by the Forest Service Chief. The ARO's recommendation is only made public upon issuance of the ADO's final decision.
Do agency regulations or guidance provide time limits for issuance of final decisions?: 
Yes (All Types of Cases)
If "Yes," please specify these time limit(s): 
Appeal Deciding Officers are required to issue their decisions within 45 days of the closing of the appeal period. (36 CFR 215.18(b)(1)).
Is judicial review available after issuance of a final decision?: 
Yes (All Types of Cases)
PROCESS & PROCEDURE - Case Management
Does the agency permit web-based electronic filing of hearing-related briefs or other documents?: 
No
Do agency regulations/rules of practice specify the contents of the administrative record at the hearing-level stage?: 
Yes (All Types of Cases)
If "Yes," please provide citation(s): 
36 CFR 215.2 (specifying contents of "appeal record"), 215.18
Do agency regulations/rules of practice provide for closure of the record at the hearing-level stage (subject to applicable exce: 
Yes (All Types of Cases)
If "Yes," please provide citation(s): 
Regulations indirectly provide for closure of the record at the end of the appeal process. Rules do not expressly close the record; but, since hearing on appeal is written-record review only and the Appeal Deciding Officer is only permitted to consider the appeal record and recommended decision by the Appeal Reviewing Officer, the Part 215 Appeal rules implicitly close the record. (See 36 CFR 215.2, 215.17(a)).
PROCESS & PROCEDURE - Comments
Comments/Notes on Hearing-Level Process & Procedures (Optional): 
*Appellant "Standing" Requirement: Under the Part 215 Appeal Rule, only "eligible" appellants may file appeals challenging covered written decisions by FS officials affecting land and resource management plans issued. Legal notice of proposed, covered projects/activities are posted in newspapers and/or the Federal Register. Interested parties have 30 days to file substantive oral or written comments, and only those who file such such comments are "eligible" to appeal the "Responsible Official's" notice of decision. Appeal is record review only. In USDA's view, judicial review is premature until an appellant has exhausted these appeal procedures. (Note: The Forest Service issued a new final rule for Part 214 in June 2013. These new rules significantly update and modify Part 214, as well as related provisions in Part 215. See Final Rule - Postdecisional Administrative Review Process for Occupancy or Use of National Forest System Lands and Resources, 78 Fed. Reg. 33705 (June 5, 2013). * Unique Role of Appeal Reviewing Officer: The ADO is aided by the written recommendation from an Appeal Reviewing Officer (ARO), who, in turn, is an "impartial" FS or USDA official that has reviewed the appeal record. (See 36 CFR 215.19). The ARO's recommendation is only made public upon issuance of the ADO's final decision.
ADR: General Information
Is ADR available at one or more points during the hearing process?: 
Yes
If "Yes," when is ADR available?: 
Pre-Hearing
Is ADR a mandatory or voluntary process?: 
Voluntary
What type(s) of ADR are available?: 
Other
If "Other," please specify:: 
By rule, the Responsible Official (i.e, the FS officer who made the initial decision) must offer to meet with the appellant(s) and to discuss resolution of issues raised in appeal. If appellant agrees, this "informal disposition meeting" must take place within 15 days of the closing date for appeals. Appellants are encouraged to participate in person, though the RO has the authority to conduct telephone or video conferences if warranted. (36 CFR 215.17). All meetings are open to the general public.
Who conducts the ADR?: 
Agency Program Official
Regulations/rules of practice governing ADR process (please include CFR citations): 
36 CFR 215.17
Comments/Notes on ADR Process (Optional): 
The Responsible Official, at the conclusion of an informal disposition meeting, the RO notifies the Appeal Deciding Official whether: (i) the appellant and RO reached an agreement on all issues and the appeal will be withdrawn; (ii) an agreement resulted in receipt of new information, or changes to the initial decision or environmental analysis are proposed, in which case the RO must appropriate FS rules and procedures for correcting, supplementing, or revising decisions or documentation (see, e.g., 36 CFR 215.3 - 215.5; FS Handbook 1909.15); or (iii) the entire appeal was not resolved by informal disposition, and formal appeal review and disposition should continue. (See 36 CFR 215.17(d))
Verified by Agency: 
Not verified