[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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