§ 79.9 How does the Secretary receive and respond to comments?

(a) The Secretary follows the procedure in § 79.10 if:

(1) A state office or official is designated to act as a single point of contact between a state process and all federal agencies, and

(2) That office or official transmits a State process recommendation, and identifies it as such, for a program selected under § 79.6.

(b)

(1) The single point of contact is not obligated to transmit comments from state, areawide, regional, or local officials and entities if there is no state process recommendation.

(2) If a state process recommendation is transmitted by a single point of contact, all comments from state, areawide, regional, and local officials and entities that differ from it must also be transmitted.

(c) If a state has not established a process, or is unable to submit a state process recommendation, state, areawide, regional, and local officials and entities may submit comments to the Department.

(d) If a program or activity is not selected for a state process, state, areawide, regional, and local officials and entities may submit comments to the Department. In addition, if a state process recommendation for a nonselected program or activity is transmitted to the Department by the single point of contact, the Secretary follows the procedures of § 79.10.

(e) The Secretary considers comments which do not constitute a state process recommendation submitted under these regulations and for which the Secretary is not required to apply the procedures of § 79.10 of this part, if those comments are provided by a single point of contact, or directly to the Department by a commenting party.

[48 FR 29166, June 24, 1983, as amended at 51 FR 20825, June 9, 1986]