[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 145 (Friday, July 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44263-44264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18432]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. ONRR-2012-0003]


Establishment of the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency 
Initiative Advisory Committee and Request for Nominees

AGENCY: Office of Natural Resources Revenue, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior is establishing and 
seeking nominations for the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency 
Initiative (USEITI) Advisory Committee. The Committee is being 
established to advise the Department on the implementation the 
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which requires 
governments to publicly disclose their revenues from oil, gas, and 
mining assets and for companies to make parallel disclosures regarding 
payments. The Committee will serve as the initial Multi-Stakeholder 
Group and its duties will include consideration and fulfillment of the 
tasks required to achieve candidate and compliant status in the EITI.

DATES: Submit nominations to the Committee by August 27, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit nominations to the Committee by any of the 
following methods.
     Mail or hand-carry nominations to Ms. Shirley Conway; 
Department of the Interior; Office of Natural Resources Revenue; 1801 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite 400; Washington, DC 20006.
     Email nominations to [email protected] or 
[email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shirley Conway, Office of Natural 
Resources Revenue; telephone (202) 254-5554; fax (202) 254-5589; email 
[email protected]. Mailing address: Department of the Interior; 
Office of Natural Resources Revenue; 1801 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 
Suite 400; Washington, DC 20006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Department of the Interior, announce 
the establishment of the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency 
Initiative (USEITI) Advisory Committee. We are establishing the 
committee in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA), as amended (5 U.S.C. App. 2), and with the 
concurrence of the General Services Administration.
    The Committee will:
     Serve as the initial Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) to 
oversee the U.S. implementation of the Extractive Industries 
Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global standard for governments to 
publicly disclose revenues received from oil, gas, and mining assets 
belonging to the government, with parallel public disclosure by 
companies of payments to the government (e.g. royalties, rents, 
bonuses, taxes, or other payments).
     Develop and recommend to the Secretary a fully-costed work 
plan, containing measurable targets and a timetable for implementation, 
and incorporating an assessement of capacity contraints. This plan 
shall be developed in consultation with key EITI stakeholders and 
published upon completion.
     Provide opportunities for collaboration and consultation 
among stakeholders.
     Advise the Secretary and post for consideration by other 
stakeholders proposals for conducting long-term oversight and other 
activities necessary to achieve EITI candidate and compliant status.
    We are seeking nominations for individuals to be considered as 
Committee members. Nominations should include a resume providing an 
adequate description of the nominee's qualifications, including 
information that would enable the Department of the Interior to make an 
informed decision regarding meeting the membership requirements of the 
Committee and permit the Department of the Interior to contact a 
potential member. We strongly encourage that parties work with and 
within stakeholder sectors (including industry, civil society, and 
government sectors, as the EITI process defines) to jointly consider 
and submit nominations that reflect the diversity and breadth of their 
sector.
    Members of the Committee will include non-Federal representatives 
from the extractive industry, including oil, gas, and mining companies 
and industry-related trade associations; civil society, including 
organizations with interest in the extractive industry, transparency, 
and government oversight

[[Page 44264]]

and members of the public; State and local governments; and Tribal 
governments and individual Indian mineral owners. Federal members of 
the Committee will include representatives of the Office of Natural 
Resources Revenue, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of the 
Treasury, the Department of State, and the Department of Energy. The 
Committee will consist of approximately 21--but no more than 27--
members to represent a range of interests concerned with implementation 
of EITI. In addition to honoring the EITI principle of self-selection 
within stakeholder sectors (industry, civil society, and government), 
the following criteria will be considered in making final selections:
    (1) Understanding of and commitment to the EITI process.
    (2) Ability to collaborate and operate in a multi-stakeholder 
setting.
    (3) Access to and support from a relevant stakeholder constituency 
and authority to make decisions on its behalf.
    (4) Basic understanding of the extractive industry and/or revenue 
collection or willingness to be educated on such matters.
    (5) Ability to represent U.S.-based constituents, organizations, 
and institutions, or companies with significant operations in the U.S.
    No individual who is currently registered as a Federal lobbyist is 
eligible to serve as a member of the Committee.
    The Committee will meet quarterly or at the request of the 
Designated Federal Officer. Members of the Committee will serve without 
compensation. However, we may pay the travel and per diem expenses of 
Non-Federal Committee members, if appropriate, under the Federal Travel 
Regulations.
    Background: In September 2011, President Barack Obama announced the 
United States' commitment to participate in the Extractive Industries 
Transparency Initiative. EITI is a signature initiative of the U.S. 
National Action Plan for the international Open Government Partnership 
and offers a voluntary framework for governments and companies to 
publicly disclose, in parallel, the revenues paid and received for 
extraction of oil, gas, and minerals that belong to the government.
    Each framework is country-specific, and is the result of a multi-
year, consensus-based process by a multi-stakeholder group comprised of 
government, industry, and civil society representatives. On October 25, 
2011, President Obama named Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar as 
the U.S. Senior Official responsible for implementing USEITI. In 
response, Secretary Salazar posted an entry on a White House blog that 
same day committing to work with industry and civil society to 
implement USEITI. To ensure the best possible job of stakeholder 
outreach, we retained an independent facilitator, the Consensus 
Building Institute (CBI), to conduct a stakeholder assessment as part 
of the USEITI implementation process.
    On February 24, 2012 (74 FR 11151), we published a notice in the 
Federal Register seeking public comment on formation of a multi-
stakeholder group to implement USEITI. In that notice, we committed to 
a series of public listening sessions to provide additional 
opportunities for public comment. In March 2012, we conducted listening 
sessions in St. Louis, Missouri; Denver, Colorado; Houston, Texas; and 
Washington, DC. CBI analyzed the input from these four public listening 
sessions, interviews with potential stakeholders, and written comments 
submitted to Interior. The input formed the basis of CBI's draft 
stakeholder assessment and findings regarding options for establishing 
the United States' multi-stakeholder group.
    On May 3, 2012 (77 FR 26315), we published a notice in the Federal 
Register announcing a second public comment period, from May 18 through 
June 29, 2012, seeking feedback on CBI's draft stakeholder assessment 
and the recommended options for establishing the United States' multi-
stakeholder group, which was published on May 18, 2012. As part of the 
second comment period, we held three public listening sessions in 
Anchorage, Alaska; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and New Orleans, 
Louisiana; a public webinar; and a USEITI public workshop on June 22, 
2012, in Washington, DC.
    CBI analyzed the input from these public listening sessions, 
written comments submitted to Interior, and comments and issues raised 
by stakeholders at the June 22, 2012, USEITI public workshop. This 
input formed the basis of CBI's final stakeholder assessment and 
findings regarding establishment of the United States' multi-
stakeholder group.
    On July 11, 2012 (77 FR 40893), we published a notice in the 
Federal Register announcing publication of CBI's final assessment 
regarding options for forming a United States' multi-stakeholder group 
that will be responsible for determining the implementation of USEITI. 
The assessment stated that the two viable and preferred options for 
standing up the MSG were a non-federal entity or a new federal advisory 
committee. Based on the results of the assessment and input received at 
the June 22, 2012 USEITI public workshop, Interior decided to form a 
new federal advisory committee to serve as the initial form of the MSG. 
A new federal advisory committee would have the benefit of following a 
frequently-used procedure within the U.S. government's legal framework, 
and would allow the U.S. government to satisfy its convening 
responsibilities, while providing a forum for the MSG to serve its role 
in overseeing USEITI implementation.
    Certification Statement: I hereby certify that the U.S. Extractive 
Industries Transparency Initiative (USEITI) Advisory Committee is 
necessary, is in the public interest, and is established under the 
authority of the Secretary of the Interior, in support of the Open 
Government Partnership and the commitment in the United States' 
National Action Plan to implement the Extractive Industries 
Transparency Initiative.

    Dated: July 24, 2012.
Ken Salazar,
Secretary, Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2012-18432 Filed 7-26-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P