Template
Write a public comment
A comment is a record. It goes in a file that decision-makers, reporters, and lawyers can all read later.
What a public comment does
It creates a record. Who reads it depends on which body is taking comment. That could be a planning commission, a county commission, a city council, a state permitting agency, or a utility regulator.
A few practical things to know before you write one.
- A comment is not a vote. Volume gets noticed, but a hundred identical form letters and one specific question aren’t doing the same work.
- Questions can be answered on the record. A general statement usually can’t. Ask “what is the projected decibel level at the nearest property line at night,” and somebody has to answer it or visibly not answer it.
- Send it to the right body. Different questions land in different files. A water permit question usually goes to the state environmental agency. A rate question goes to the state utility regulator. A land-use question goes to whichever local body is deciding, if there is one. Confirm the address with the clerk, planning office, or agency running the permit before you send. We’re not listing addresses here because they change and a wrong one wastes your letter.
- Put your address on it. Bodies weigh comments from people in the affected area differently than comments from anywhere.
The template below is written to print clean on one page. Use your browser’s print command, and it’ll drop the site navigation and this introduction automatically.
The template
This works whether you support the project, oppose it, or haven’t decided. Fill in the blanks, keep the questions that apply to you, delete the rest, and add your own. Nothing in it takes a side.
Comment letter template
[Your name]
[Street address]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Email or phone]
[Date]
[Name of body: planning commission, county board, city council, utility commission, or agency]
[Address, confirmed with that office]
Re: [Project name, and the case or docket number if there is one]
Dear [Chair, Mayor, Commissioners, Council Members, or Permit Writer],
I live at the address above, about [distance] from the proposed site. I’m writing about [project name].
[Optional, one sentence: your position. “I support this project.” “I oppose it.” “I haven’t decided and I’m trying to understand it.” Any of the three is fine, and you can leave this line out entirely.]
I’d like the following questions answered on the record before a decision is made.
- Noise. What sound level is predicted at the nearest residential property line at night, at full load? Who produced that model, and is there a written, enforceable limit? [Add your own detail: how close your house is, whether you sleep with windows open, what road you’re on.]
- Water. Where does the cooling water come from? How many gallons per day at full build-out, and on a peak summer day? Where does the discharge go? If the design is closed loop, how much makeup water does it need?
- Traffic. Is there a traffic impact study, and is it public? What’s the peak daily truck count, and is the haul route written into a binding document? Who enforces it? [Name the specific road or intersection you use.]
- Tax terms. What state and local tax treatment is this project receiving or applying for, and for how many years? What does the school district receive, and in which year? Are the projected revenue and job figures independent or produced for the developer?
- Decommissioning. If the facility closes or is never completed, who removes the buildings and equipment? Is that obligation backed by a bond, and does it survive a sale of the property?
- Enforcement. For each commitment above, what happens if it’s violated? Name the penalty and the office responsible for enforcing it.
- [Your own question. The specific thing about your street, your well, your farm, your business, or your commute that nobody else is going to raise.]
[Optional closing sentence: what you’d like to see happen. A condition added, a study done, a hearing scheduled, more time, or approval as proposed.]
Please enter this letter into the record for [project name]. I’d appreciate a written response to these questions.
Sincerely,
[Signature]
[Printed name]
Where the questions came from
Each numbered item points at something a source on this site actually raises. The noise and water questions come from the noise and water explainers. The traffic question comes from what happened around a large build in Louisiana.[1] The tax question follows from the basic distinction between a statewide incentive announcement and a site-specific agreement. The enforcement and decommissioning questions test whether a promise is written into an approval or merely described in a presentation.
If you want to check the numbers before you cite any of them, they’re all on the sources page.
Not sure where to send it? Use the nationwide who to call and how to participate guide first.