43 CFR 11.44 – What does the authorized official do after the close of the comment period?
(a) The authorized official must carefully review all comments received on the Assessment Plan, provide substantive responses to all comments, and modify the Plan as appropriate. [See § 11.32(e)(2) to determine if the authorized official must provide for additional public review.]
Terms Used In 43 CFR 11.44
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(b) If, after reviewing the public comments, the authorized official decides to continue with the type A procedure, he or she must then perform a final application of the NRDAM/CME or NRDAM/GLE, using final data inputs and modifications based on § 11.41 and any reliable information received during the public review and comment period.
(c) After completing the final application of the NRDAM/CME or NRDAM/GLE, the authorized official must prepare a Report of Assessment. The Report of Assessment must include the printed output from the final application as well as the Preassessment Screen Determination and the Assessment Plan.
(d) If the authorized official is aware of reliable evidence that a private party has recovered damages for commercial harvests lost as a result of the release, the authorized official must eliminate from the claim any damages for such lost harvests that are included in the lost economic rent calculated by the NRDAM/CME or NRDAM/GLE.
(e) If the authorized official is aware of reliable evidence that the NRDAM/CME or NRDAM/GLE application covers resources beyond his or her trustee jurisdiction, the authorized official must either:
(1) Have the other authorized official(s) who do have trustee jurisdiction over those resources join in the type A assessment; or
(2) Eliminate any damages for those resources from the claim for damages.
(f) If the final application of the NRDAM/CME or NRDAM/GLE, adjusted as needed under paragraphs (d) and (e), calculates damages in excess of $100,000, then the authorized official must limit the portion of his or her claim calculated with the type A procedure to $100,000.
(g) After preparing the Report of Assessment, the authorized official must follow the steps described in subpart F.