FACA

Related Activities

Activities Summary

FINAL REPORT TO SUBMITTED TO DEPUTY SECRETARY LYNN SCARLETT:
At a ceremony held at US DOI on Wednesday, October 24, 2007, the NRDAR Advisory Committee Final Report and Recommendations were presented to and accepted by Interior Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett.

INDUSTRY-INTERNAL:
The Group facilitated all-industry conference calls before and after each Advisory Committee meeting in an effort to inform the broad industrial community about the Committee’s activities and to encourage input from the broad industrial community to the Committee. The Group will continue to monitor and interface with US DOI, as appropriate, as US DOI seeks to implement the Committee's recommendations.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
At the first NRDAR FACA meeting, held on November 30 - December 1, 2005 (see November 31 - December 1, 2005 Meeting Agenda), four subcommittees were established and assigned questions (see below). Each subcommittee was asked to propose the steps they would take to answer their question and associated time line. Each subcommittee was also asked to consider whether resources outside of the full Committee would be needed to answer the questions (see FACA_Subcommittees).

What are the best available procedures for quantifying natural resource injury on a population, habitat or ecosystem level?

Should DOI's Regulations provide additional guidance for determining whether direct restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, or acquisition of equivalent resources is the best strategy for addressing natural resource injuries?

Should DOI revise the CERCLA NRD Regulations to encourage compensating for interim losses with additional restoration projects (in lieu of monetary damages)? How should project-based interim loss compensation claims be calculated?

What additional measures should DOI consider to expedite planning and implementation of restoration projects and to ensure effective and efficient restoration after awards or settlements are secured?

At the second NRDAR FACA meeting, held on March 2, 2006, each subcommittee presented reports to address the above questions. See Meeting Agenda.

The third US DOI NRDAR Advisory Committee meeting was held on July 26 and 27, 2006 in Denver, CO. See: Official Federal Register Notice and Meeting Agenda. Meeting materials are available at the US DOI Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Advisory Committee Webpage.

The fourth US DOI NRDAR Advisory Committee meeting was held on November 29-30, 2006 in Washington, DC. See Federal Register Notice and Meeting Agenda.

The fifth and final US DOI NRDAR Advisory Committee meeting was held on May 1, 2007, in Denver, CO to conclude discussions on its (consensus) report to the Secretary of the Interior. See Federal Register Notice and Meeting Agenda.