Descriptions of types of comments:
Comment letter: A submission that contains comments: deliverable by email, mail, fax, web form, ect.
Comment: A point made in a letter. Letters can contain many comments.
Unique letter: Being the only one of its kind; unlike any other letter received.
Petition: Cover letter with signatures- We consider a petition any letter that then has a set of signatures attached (not multiple signatures on the letter, but actually attached to the letter).
Names and/or contact information will not be entered into the CARA database for each person signed onto the letter in the attachment. A response (if warranted) would only be provided to the individual that signed (or sponsored) the letter and it is their responsibility to disseminate that information to those on the petition. Examples of this are cover letters expressing/supporting an opinion with a spreadsheet attached with names, contact information (not required) and a comment in agreement with the overall comments in the cover letter.
Form Letter (duplicate letter): A form letter is any letter type (email, attachment, excel, hard copy) that contains the exact same information as another letter, except for the commenter’s name (who it is from).
To ensure each form letter is coded correctly into the database, it is advised that they are entered individually (not as large batch attachments). When form letters are attached in batches to one entry they may not be numbered in the way the submitters have anticipated.
The stereotypical form letter is from a special interest group that creates a letter and their followers all submit that letter, or post cards with pre-written text that is duplicate of other post cards.
Form Plus: A form plus letter is any letter type (email, attachment, excel, hard copy) that contains the exact same information as another letter, except for the commenter’s name (who it is from) and a few sentence that disqualify the letter for sorting as a Form Letter.
To ensure each form plus letter is coded correctly into the database, it is advised that they are entered individually (not as large batch attachments). When form letters are attached in batches to one entry they may not be numbered in the way the submitters have anticipated.
The stereotypical form plus letter is from a special interest group that creates a letter or post card and their followers all submit that letter and the submitter has added a statement such as “thank you for taking the time to work on this project”.
Substantive formal comment is defined as “within the scope of the proposal, have a direct relationship to the proposal, and include supporting reasons for the responsible official to consider” (36 CFR 219.62).
