Get Involved and Schedule

Public involvement and input are essential to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. There are designated phases of the EIS process when you can provide comments. Concurrent with the NEPA process, the Air Force is conducting required public involvement for National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 consultation for the potential effects on historic properties.

In January 2022, the Air Force initiated scoping by publishing a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. The Public Scoping Period was the first of two opportunities for public input in the EIS process. The Air Force hosted several in-person open-house style public meetings during the public scoping period to provide information to interested parties. Materials made available at those meetings can be found on the documents page of this website. A virtual presentation was also available during the scoping phase and is available on the documents page. The public’s input during scoping was considered in the development of the Draft EIS.

A Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS published in the Federal Register starts the public review and comment period. The Draft EIS Public Review and Comment Period is the second opportunity for public input during the NEPA process. The Draft EIS is posted on this website and available at local libraries. Public hearings will be held throughout the region and virtually to solicit comments on the analyses presented in the Draft EIS (see schedule below). After this comment period the Final EIS will be made available on the project website and in local libraries, initiating the 30-day waiting period. After the waiting period, the Record of Decision will be published and available on this website.

The Air Force is hosting two virtual public hearings and several in-person public hearings during the Draft EIS public review and comment period to provide information to interested parties and to receive written and oral comments on the Draft EIS.

Each In-Person Hearing will begin at 5:00 p.m. with an Open House poster session staffed with Air Force representatives. The formal hearing will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a video presentation. Following the video, an Air Force Judge will receive verbal comments from attendees that wish to speak. A court reporter will record all comments for the record. Commenters will be limited to 2 minutes so that everyone has an opportunity to speak. Longer comments can be submitted in writing on the comment page or at the hearing. All materials on display at the hearings and the video are available on the documents page.

Click here for information on submitting comments.

Note: *A venue in Superior, AZ was not available during the public hearing schedule. The hearing in Gold Canyon, AZ is the replacement for that location.