Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers March 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.