[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 40 (Friday, February 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12009-12010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04097]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Docket No. DOI-2020-0001; 201D0102DM, DS6CS00000, DLSN00000.000000, 
DX6CS25]


Implementation of Executive Order 13891: Guidance Documents

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: We, the Department of the Interior (DOI), announce the 
availability of a single, searchable, indexed website that contains all 
of DOI's guidance documents. This action is required by the Executive 
Order (E.O.) titled, ``Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved 
Agency Guidance Documents'' in order to make guidance documents readily 
available to the public. This website is found at the Electronic 
Library of the Interior's Policies (ELIPS) at www.doi.gov/elips/browse.

DATES: This website is available on February 28, 2020.

ADDRESSES: The notice is available for public inspection at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. DOI-2020-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bivan Patnaik, Deputy Director of 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of the Executive Secretariat and Regulatory 
Affairs, by phone at 202-208-3181 or via the Federal Relay Service at 
800-877-8339, or via email at: [email protected]].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background Information

    A central principle of E.O. 13891 is that guidance should only 
clarify existing obligations and should not implement new, binding 
requirements on the public. Guidance is defined in the E.O. as ``an 
agency statement of general applicability, intended to have future 
effect on the behavior of regulated parties, that sets forth a policy 
on statutory, regulatory, or technical issue, or an interpretation of a 
statute or regulation.'' Therefore, DOI is establishing on its website 
a single, searchable, indexed database that links to all guidance 
documents in effect from each bureau and office within the Department.
    The purpose of this notice is to announce that DOI's website for 
agency guidance documents subject to posting on the website under the 
E.O. will be the Electronic Library of the Interior Policies (ELIPS), 
https://www.doi.gov/elips/browse. When the public enters this website, 
click the Departmental Guidance Documents and Portals folder, which 
will expand to provide a ``drop-down'' list of the bureaus and offices 
within DOI that have issued guidance documents for use by the public. 
From this list, the public will be able to click on the specific bureau 
or office, and will further be able to search for a specific document 
by using such search parameters as title, subject, region, etc.

[[Page 12010]]

The website will contain instructions for searching for guidance 
documents.
    The website will contain all Departmental, bureau, service, or 
office guidance documents. Each guidance document that DOI publishes on 
its guidance website will include the following information:
    A concise name for the guidance document.
    The date on which the guidance document was issued.
    The date on which the guidance document was posted to the website.
    An agency unique identifier.
    A hyperlink to the guidance document.
    The general topic addressed by the guidance document.
    One or two sentences summarizing the guidance document's content.
    In addition to the information associated with each guidance 
document, the website will include a clearly visible note stating that: 
(1) Guidance documents lack the force and effect of law, unless 
expressly authorized by statute or incorporated into a contract; and 
(2) the DOI and its component bureaus and offices may not cite, use, or 
rely on any guidance that is not posted on the website existing under 
the E.O., except to establish historical facts.

Next Steps

    E.O. 13891 also requires agencies to finalize new or amend existing 
regulations that set forth a process for issuing guidance documents, 
which DOI is currently preparing.

Authority

    DOI publishes this notice in accordance with E.O. 13891 and the 
Administrative Procedure Act, codified in sections of chapters 5 and 7 
of title 5, United States Code, that govern procedures for agency 
rulemaking and adjudication and provides for judicial review of final 
agency actions.

Richard T. Cardinale,
Director, Office of the Executive Secretariat and Regulatory Affairs, 
U.S. Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2020-04097 Filed 2-27-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4334-63-P