[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 212 (Monday, November 2, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69323-69324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24197]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Inland Waterways Users Board; Request for Nominations

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of request for nominations.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army is publishing this notice to 
request nominations to serve as representatives on the Inland Waterways 
Users Board, sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Section 302 
of Public Law 99-662 established the Inland Waterways Users Board. The 
Board is an independent Federal advisory committee. The Secretary of 
the Army appoints its 11 (eleven) representative organizations. This 
notice is to solicit nominations for five (5) appointments for terms 
that will begin by May 28, 2021. For additional information about the 
Board, please visit the committee's website at http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Inland-Waterways-Users-Board/.

ADDRESSES: Institute for Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
ATTN: Mr. Mark R. Pointon, Designated Federal Officer (DFO) for the 
Inland Waterways Users Board, CEIWR-GN, 7701 Telegraph Road, Casey 
Building, Alexandria, Virginia 22315-3868; by telephone at 703-428-
6438; and by email at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alternatively, contact Mr. Steven D. 
Riley, the Alternate Designated Federal Officer (ADFO), in writing at 
the Institute for Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: 
CEIWR-GW, 7701 Telegraph Road, Casey Building, Alexandria, VA 22315-
3868; by telephone at 703-659-3097; and by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The selection, service, and appointment of 
representative organizations to the Board are covered by provisions of 
Section 302 of Public Law 99-662. The substance of those provisions is 
as follows:
    a. Selection. Representative organizations are to be selected from 
the spectrum of commercial carriers and shippers using the inland and 
intracoastal waterways, to represent geographical regions, and to be 
representative of waterborne commerce as determined by commodity ton-
miles and tonnage statistics.

[[Page 69324]]

    b. Service. The Board is required to meet at least semi-annually to 
develop and make recommendations to the Secretary of the Army on 
waterways construction and major rehabilitation priorities and spending 
levels for commercial navigation improvements, and report its 
recommendations annually to the Secretary and Congress.
    c. Appointment. The operation of the Board and appointment of 
representative organizations are subject to the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix, as amended) and departmental 
implementing regulations. Representative organizations serve without 
compensation but their expenses due to Board activities are 
reimbursable. The considerations specified in Section 302 for the 
selection of representative organizations to the Board, and certain 
terms used therein, have been interpreted, supplemented, or otherwise 
clarified as follows:
    (1) Carriers and Shippers. The law uses the terms ``primary users 
and shippers.'' Primary users have been interpreted to mean the 
providers of transportation services on inland waterways such as barge 
or towboat operators. Shippers have been interpreted to mean the 
purchasers of such services for the movement of commodities they own or 
control. Representative companies are appointed to the Board, and they 
must be either a carrier or shipper or both. For that purpose a trade 
or regional association is neither a shipper nor primary user.
    (2) Geographical Representation. The law specifies ``various'' 
regions. For the purposes of the Board, the waterways subjected to fuel 
taxes and described in Public Law 95-502, as amended, have been 
aggregated into six regions. They are (1) the Upper Mississippi River 
and its tributaries above the mouth of the Ohio; (2) the Lower 
Mississippi River and its tributaries below the mouth of the Ohio and 
above Baton Rouge; (3) the Ohio River and its tributaries; (4) the Gulf 
Intracoastal Waterway in Louisiana and Texas; (5) the Gulf Intracoastal 
Waterway east of New Orleans and associated fuel-taxed waterways 
including the Tennessee-Tombigbee, plus the Atlantic Intracoastal 
Waterway below Norfolk; and (6) the Columbia-Snake Rivers System and 
Upper Willamette. The intent is that each region shall be represented 
by at least one representative organization, with that representation 
determined by the regional concentration of the firm's traffic on the 
waterways.
    (3) Commodity Representation. Waterway commerce has been aggregated 
into six commodity categories based on ``inland'' ton-miles shown in 
Waterborne Commerce of the United States. These categories are (1) Farm 
and Food Products; (2) Coal and Coke; (3) Petroleum, Crude and 
Products; (4) Minerals, Ores, and Primary Metals and Mineral Products; 
(5) Chemicals and Allied Products; and (6) All Other. A consideration 
in the selection of representative organizations to the Board will be 
that the commodities carried or shipped by those firms will be 
reasonably representative of the above commodity categories.
    d. Nomination. Reflecting preceding selection criteria, the current 
representation by the five (5) organizations whose terms expire 
includes Regions 1, 3 and 4, representation of two carriers, two 
shippers and one of both, and commodity representation of Coal and 
Coke; Petroleum, Crude and Products; Chemicals and Allied Products; and 
Other.
    Individuals, firms or associations may nominate representative 
organizations to serve on the Board. Nominations will:
    (1) Include the commercial operations of the carrier and/or shipper 
representative organization being nominated. This commercial operations 
information will show the actual or estimated ton-miles of each 
commodity carried or shipped on the inland waterways system in the most 
recent year (or years), using the waterway regions and commodity 
categories previously listed.
    (2) State the region(s) to be represented.
    (3) State whether the nominated representative organization is a 
carrier, shipper or both.
    (4) Provide the name of an individual to be the principle person 
representing the organization and information pertaining to their 
personal qualifications, to include a current biography or resume.
    Previous nominations received in response to notices published in 
the Federal Register in prior years will not be retained for 
consideration. Re-nomination of representative organizations is 
required.
    e. Deadline for Nominations. All nominations must be received at 
the address shown above no later than December 1, 2020.

Thomas P. Smith,
Chief, Operations and Regulatory Division, Directorate of Civil Works, 
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.
[FR Doc. 2020-24197 Filed 10-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P