[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62718-62719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23990]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary


Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; Renewal of the Public 
Advisory Committee Charter

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice is published in accordance with 41 CFR Part 102-3, 
Subpart B, How Are Advisory Committees Established, Renewed, 
Reestablished, and Terminated. Following the recommendation and 
approval of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, the Secretary 
of the Interior hereby renews the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public 
Advisory Committee Charter to continue for approximately 2 years, to 
September 30, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Mutter, Department of the 
Interior, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance, 1689 ``C'' 
Street, Room 119, Anchorage, Alaska, (907) 271-5011.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 24, 1989, the T/V Exxon Valdez ran 
aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound in Alaska spilling 
approximately 11 million gallons of North Slope crude oil. Oil moved 
into the Gulf of Alaska, along the Kenai coast to Kodiak Island and the 
Alaska Peninsula--some 600 miles from Bligh Reef. Massive clean-up and 
containment efforts were initiated and continued to 1992. On October 8, 
1991, an agreement was approved by the United States District Court for 
the District of Alaska that settled claims of the United States and the 
State of Alaska against the Exxon Corporation and the Exxon Shipping 
Company for various criminal and civil violations. Under the civil 
settlement, Exxon agreed to pay to the governments $900

[[Page 62719]]

million over a period of 10 years. An additional 5-year period was 
established to possibly make additional claims.
    The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council was established to 
manage the funds obtained from the civil settlement of the Exxon Valdez 
Oil Spill. The Trustee Council is composed of three State of Alaska 
trustees (Attorney General; Commissioner, Department of Environmental 
Conservation; and Commissioner, Department of Fish and Game) and three 
Federal representatives appointed by the Federal Trustees (Secretary, 
U.S. Department of Agriculture; the Administrator of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the Secretary, U.S. 
Department of the Interior).
    The Public Advisory Committee was created pursuant to Paragraph 
V.A.4 of the Memorandum of Agreement and Consent Decree entered into by 
the United States of America and the State of Alaska on August 27, 1991 
and approved by the United States District Court for the District of 
Alaska in settlement of United States of America v. State of Alaska, 
Civil Action No. A91-081 CV. The Public Advisory Committee was 
originally chartered as the Public Advisory Group by the Secretary of 
the Interior on October 23, 1992, and functions solely as an advisory 
body, and in compliance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.).
    The Public Advisory Committee was established to advise the Trustee 
Council, and began functioning in October 1992. The Public Advisory 
Committee consists of 20 members representing the following principal 
interests: sport hunting and fishing, conservation and environmental, 
public-at-large, recreation users, commercial tourism, local 
government, science/technical, subsistence, commercial fishing, 
aquaculture and mariculture, marine transportation, regional monitoring 
programs, tribal government, and Native landowners. Members are 
appointed to serve a 2-year term.
    To carry out its advisory role, the Public Advisory Committee makes 
recommendations to, and advises, the Trustee Council in Alaska on the 
following matters:
    All decisions related to injury assessment, restoration activities, 
or other use of natural resource damage recovery monies obtained by the 
governments, including all decisions regarding:
    a. Planning, evaluation and allocation of available funds;
    b. Planning, evaluation and conduct of injury assessment and 
restoration activities;
    c. Planning, evaluation and conduct of long-term monitoring and 
research activities; and
    d. Coordination of a, b, and c.
    Trustee Council intentions regarding the importance of obtaining a 
diversity of viewpoints is stated in the Public Advisory Committee 
Background and Guidelines: ``The Trustee Council intends that the 
Public Advisory Committee be established as an important component of 
the Council's public involvement process.'' The Council continues, 
stating their desire that ``* * * a wide spectrum of views and interest 
are available for the Council to consider as it evaluates, develops, 
and implements restoration activities. It is the Council's intent that 
the diversity of interests and views held by the Public Advisory 
Committee members contribute to wide ranging discussions that will be 
of benefit to the Trustee Council.''
    In order to ensure that a broad range of public viewpoints 
continues to be available to the Trustee Council, and in keeping with 
the settlement agreement, the continuation of the Public Advisory 
Committee for another two-year period is recommended.

Certification

    I hereby certify that the renewal of the Charter of the Public 
Advisory Committee, an advisory committee to make recommendations to 
and advise the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council mandated by the 
settlement of United States of America v. State of Alaska, No. A91-081 
CV, and is in accordance with the comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended and supplemented.

    Dated: October 12, 2004.
Gale A. Norton,
Secretary of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 04-23990 Filed 10-26-04; 8:45 am]
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