[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 55 (Friday, March 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15733-15734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06175]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Notice of Public Comment Period for the Missouri River Recovery
Implementation Committee's Proposed Charter Amendments, Missouri River,
United States
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee, referred
to as MRRIC or the Committee, is seeking comments to its proposed
Charter amendments on or before April 19, 2014. MRRIC has reached
tentative consensus on three (3) proposed amendments to its Charter,
originally approved on July 1, 2008. Prior to seeking final consensus
and recommending the amendments to the Secretary for final adoption,
the Corps of Engineers, on behalf of the Committee, seeks public
comments on the following tentative recommendations:
(1) Charter amendment 1: Section V, ``Membership and Representation
of Interests,'' should be amended to specifically add the ``Osage
Nation'' to the list of subsection (d) Tribes, as eligible for
membership in the Committee.
Background: On August 9, 2013 the MRRIC Chair received a letter
from Principal Chief Red Eagle of the Osage Nation requesting the Osage
Nation become a member of MRRIC. MRRIC discussed this request and
reached tentative consensus in November 2013 on a recommendation to
revise the MRRIC Charter to include the Osage Nation as a member of the
Committee. The Osage Nation is a federally-recognized Tribe with land
near the basin and historical ties to the Missouri River.
(2) Charter amendment 2: Section V, ``Membership and Representation
of Interests,'' subsection (e)(i) should be amended to indicate that
there will be a maximum of twenty-nine (29) stakeholder members (rather
than 28).
Background: The Committee discussed the original intention to
invite an equal number of stakeholder members and Tribal members to
serve on the Committee. To maintain this balance when adding the Osage
Nation to MRRIC, the Committee reached tentative consensus in November
2013 on a recommendation to increase the number of stakeholder members
from 28 to 29.
(3) Charter amendment 3: Section VII, ``Roles, Responsibilities and
Leadership'' subsection (a)(iv) should be amended, striking the phrase
``for no more than three (3) additional terms of one (1) year each''
such that the amended language reads as:
iv. The Chair and Vice Chair will serve or be removed with the
consensus of the Committee. The term of office of the Chair and Vice
Chair will be one (1) year, with the opportunity for reappointment.
Should a Committee member believe the Chair and/or Vice Chair are not
performing in a fair and balanced manner, it is the responsibility of
the member to raise his/her concerns to the Chair or to the full
Committee for consideration.
Background: The Committee discussed the need for term limits on
leadership and concluded that the ability to remove the Chair and Vice
Chair with consensus of MRRIC is sufficient. The Committee also
concluded that it was important to have a Chair with knowledge and
familiarity of the Committee and its operations and consequently it may
be difficult to find many individuals who best match the needs of
MRRIC. The Chair's performance will continue to be evaluated by MRRIC
annually. The Committee reached tentative consensus on this recommended
amendment in February 2014.
DATES: All comments to this public notice should be submitted on or
before April 19, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: Mary
[[Page 15734]]
Roth, MRRIC Project Manager, 1616 Capitol Ave. Ste. 900, Omaha, NE
68102.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information about this
public notice may be obtained by contacting Mary Roth, MRRIC Project
Manager, (402) 995-2919 or via email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary of the Army (Secretary)
established the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee in
2008, as authorized by Section 5018 of the 2007 Water Resources
Development Act (WRDA), to make recommendations and provide guidance on
a study of the Missouri River and its tributaries and on the existing
Missouri River recovery and mitigation plan. Note: Work on the
referenced Missouri River and tributaries study is currently suspended
in accordance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 (Sect.
114) signed by the President January 3, 2014. The Committee provides a
collaborative forum for the basin to come together and develop a shared
vision and comprehensive plan for Missouri River recovery. The
Committee helps guide the prioritization, implementation, monitoring,
evaluation and adaption of recovery actions. The Committee includes
broad stakeholder representation to ensure a comprehensive approach to
Missouri River recovery implementation while providing for
congressionally-authorized Missouri River project purposes and to
ensure that public values are incorporated into the study and the
recovery and mitigation plans.
Comments: This notice is provided to outline details of the above-
described activity so this Committee may consider all pertinent public
comments prior to final consensus and recommendation of the Charter
amendments to the Secretary for final adoption. Any interested party is
invited to submit written comments on any or all of the contemplated
amendments on or before the public notice expiration date, April 19,
2014. Comments about the proposed amendments, both favorable and
unfavorable, will be accepted and made part of the record and will
receive consideration by the Committee in determining whether to amend
its Charter. Comments should be provided to the individual listed in
this public notice under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Reference: Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee
Charter, July 1, 2008; http://moriverrecovery.usace.army.mil/mrrp/mrrp_pub_dev.download_documentation?p_file=425.
For more information about the Missouri River Recovery
Implementation Committee, visit: www.MRRIC.org.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-06175 Filed 3-20-14; 8:45 am]
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