(a) The Secretary follows the procedures in §17.10 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 for a program selected under §17.6.

(b)

(1) The single point of contact is not obligated to transmit comments from state, areawide, regional or local officials and entities where 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 either to the applicant or 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 either to the applicant or 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 §17.10 of this part.

(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 §17.10 of this part, when such comments are provided by a single point of contact, by the applicant, or directly to the Department by a commenting party.