How does the LEARN process differ from public comments on a federal plan (EIS or EA)?
All federal environmental laws require public comment on their plans, environmental impact statements or environmental assessments. The federal agencies can, and often do ignore these comments. However, these same laws also require federal agencies to accept local governments as cooperating agencies, which gives the local government joint standing with the federal agencies in the scoping process. This involves joint decisions on what research is needed, joint decisions on what options to include and how they are worded, and joint public hearings. In some cases, the local government can be involved in making the final decision of which EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) or EA (Environmental Assessment) option to include in the plan.
How does the LEARN process differ from public comments on a federal plan (EIS or EA)?