78198 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 240 / Wednesday, December 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, excluding 

Federal holidays. 

Please see the direct final rule which 

is located in the Rules section of this 

Federal Register for detailed 

instructions on how to submit 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathleen D’Agostino, Environmental 

Engineer, Attainment Planning and 

Maintenance Section, Air Programs 

Branch (AR–18J), Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 

Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 

60604, (312) 886–1767, 

dagostino.kathleen@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

Final Rules section of this Federal 

Register, EPA is approving the 

attainment determinations as a direct 

final rule without prior proposal 

because the Agency views this as a 

noncontroversial action and anticipates 

no adverse comments. A detailed 

rationale for the approval is set forth in 

the direct final rule. If no adverse 

comments are received in response to 

this rule, no further activity is 

contemplated. If EPA receives adverse 

comments, with respect to either the 

Milwaukee-Racine or the Sheboygan 

area, the direct final rule will be 

withdrawn with regard to that area and 

all public comments received will be 

addressed in a subsequent final rule 

based on this proposed rule. EPA will 

not institute a second comment period. 

Any parties interested in commenting 

on this action should do so at this time. 

Please note that if EPA receives adverse 

comment on an amendment, paragraph, 

or section of this rule and if that 

provision may be severed from the 

remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 

as final those provisions of the rule that 

are not the subject of an adverse 

comment. For additional information, 

see the direct final rule which is located 

in the Rules section of this Federal 

Register. 

Dated: November 24, 2010. 

Susan Hedman, 

Regional Administrator, Region 5. 

[FR Doc. 2010–31341 Filed 12–14–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Chapter I 

[EPA–HQ–OA–2010–0992 FRL–9239–4] 

Proposed Final Policy on Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribes 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of document for public 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is announcing a 60-day 

public comment period for the proposed 

Final EPA Policy on Consultation and 

Coordination with Indian Tribes 

(Policy). The Policy complies with the 

Presidential Memorandum on Tribal 

Consultation issued November 5, 2009, 

directing agencies to develop a plan to 

implement fully Executive Order 13175 

(Executive Order). The Executive Order 

specifies that each Agency must have a 

process that is accountable to establish 

regular and meaningful consultation 

and coordination with tribal officials in 

the development of policies that have 

tribal implications. 

The goals of the Policy are to: 

Establish clear EPA standards for the 

consultation process, including defining 

the what, when, and how of 

consultation; designate specific EPA 

personnel responsible for serving as 

consultation points of contact in order 

to promote consistency in, and 

coordination of, the consultation 

process; and establish a management 

oversight and reporting structure that 

will ensure accountability and 

transparency. The proposed final Policy 

sets a broad standard for when EPA 

should consider consulting with 

federally-recognized tribal governments. 

Notably, the scope of EPA’s proposed 

consultation policy is intended to be 

broader than that found in Executive 

Order 13175. 

The Policy reflects the principles 

expressed in the 1984 EPA Policy for 

the Administration of Environmental 

Programs on Indian Reservations (1984 

Policy) for interacting with tribes. The 

1984 Policy remains the cornerstone for 

EPA’s Indian program and assure[s] that 

tribal concerns and interests are 

considered whenever EPA’s actions 

and/or decisions may affect tribes. 

EPA is requesting comment on the 

policy described in this document. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before February 16, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. [EPA–HQ– 

OA–2010–0992], by one of the following 

methods: 

• http://www.regulations.gov: Follow 

the on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: EPA’s Proposed Final Policy 

on Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribes, Environmental Protection 

Agency, Mailcode: 2822–1T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC 20460. 

• Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, 

EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC. Such deliveries are only accepted 

during the Docket’s normal hours of 

operation, and special arrangements 

should be made for deliveries of boxed 

information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OA–2010– 

0992. EPA’s policy is that all comments 

received will be included in the public 

docket without change and may be 

made available online at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the comment includes information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through http:// 

www.regulations.gov (or e-mail). The 

http://www.regulations.gov website is 

an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an e-mail comment directly 

to EPA without going through http:// 

www.regulations.gov your e-mail 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the Internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at http:// 

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the http:// 

www.regulations.gov index. Although 

listed in the index, some information is 

not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

will be publicly available only in hard 

copy. Publicly available docket 

materials are available either 

electronically in http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the HQ EPA Docket Center. EPA’s 

Proposed Final Policy on Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribes 

Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 

1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC. The Public Reading 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 240 / Wednesday, December 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules 78199 

1EPA’s definition of reservation encompasses 

both formal reservations and informal reservations, 

i.e., trust lands set aside for Indian tribes. See for 

example Oklahoma Tax Comm’n v. Sac and Fox 

Nation, 508 U.S. 114, 123 (1993); 56 FR 64876, Dec. 

12, 1991; or 63 FR 7254, Feb. 12, 1998. 

Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 

legal holidays. The telephone number 

for the Public Reading Room is (202) 

566–1744. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Guest, Office of International and 

Tribal Affairs (MC2690M), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: (202) 566–2872; fax number: 

(202) 564–0298; e-mail address: 

guest.david@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

This action is directed to the public 

in general, tribal governments, and 

tribal organizations. Since others also 

may be interested, the Agency has not 

attempted to describe all the specific 

entities that may be affected by this 

action. If you have any questions 

regarding the applicability of this action 

to a particular entity, consult the point 

of contact listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

What should I consider as I prepare my 

comments for EPA? 

Tips for Preparing Your Comments. 

When submitting comments, remember 

to: 

• Identify the rulemaking by docket 

number and other identifying 

information (subject heading, Federal 

Register date and page number). 

• Follow directions—The agency may 

ask you to respond to specific questions 

or organize comments by referencing a 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 

or section number. 

• Explain why you agree or disagree; 

suggest alternatives and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

• Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data that you used. 

• If you estimate potential costs or 

burdens, explain how you arrived at 

your estimate in sufficient detail to 

allow for it to be reproduced. 

• Provide specific examples to 

illustrate your concerns, and suggest 

alternatives. 

• Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

• Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified. 

Table of Contents 

I. Policy Statement 

II. Background 

III. Definitions 

IV. Guiding Principles 

V. Consultation 

A. The Consultation Process 

B. What Activities May Involve 

Consultation? 

C. When Consultation Occurs 

D. How Consultation Occurs 

VI. Managing the Consultation Process 

A. Roles and Responsibilities 

B. National Consultation Meeting 

C. Reporting 

D. EPA Senior Management Review 

I. Policy Statement 

EPA’s policy is to consult on a 

government-to-government basis with 

federally recognized tribal governments 

when EPA actions and decisions may 

affect tribal interests. Consultation is a 

process of meaningful communication 

and coordination between EPA and 

tribal officials prior to EPA taking 

actions or implementing decisions that 

may affect tribes. As a process, 

consultation includes several methods 

of interaction that may occur at different 

levels. The appropriate level of 

interaction is determined by past and 

current practices, adjustments made 

through this Policy, the continuing 

dialogue between EPA and tribal 

governments, and program and regional 

office consultation procedures and 

plans. 

This Policy establishes national 

guidelines and institutional controls for 

consultation across EPA. EPA program 

and regional offices have the primary 

responsibility for consulting with tribes. 

All program and regional office 

consultation plans and practices must 

be in accord with this Policy. This 

Policy seeks to strike a balance between 

providing sufficient guidance for 

purposes of achieving consistency and 

predictability and allowing for, and 

encouraging, the tailoring of 

consultation approaches to reflect the 

circumstances of each consultation 

situation and to accommodate the 

preferences of tribal governments. The 

consultation process is further detailed 

in Section V of this document. 

II. Background 

To put into effect the policy statement 

above, EPA has developed this proposed 

EPA Policy on Consultation and 

Coordination with Indian Tribes 

(Policy). The Policy complies with the 

Presidential Memorandum 

(Memorandum) issued November 5, 

2009, directing agencies to develop a 

plan to implement fully Executive Order 

13175 (Executive Order). The Executive 

Order specifies that each Agency must 

have an accountable process to ensure 

meaningful and timely input by tribal 

officials in the development of 

regulatory policies that have tribal 

implications. 

This Policy reflects the principles 

expressed in the 1984 EPA Policy for 

the Administration of Environmental 

Programs on Indian Reservations (1984 

Policy) for interacting with tribes. The 

1984 Policy remains the cornerstone for 

EPA’s Indian program and ‘‘assure[s] 

that tribal concerns and interests are 

considered whenever EPA’s actions 

and/or decisions may affect’’ tribes 

(1984 Policy, p. 3, principle no. 5). 

One of the primary goals of this Policy 

is to fully implement both the Executive 

Order and the 1984 Indian Policy, with 

the ultimate goal of strengthening the 

consultation, coordination, and 

partnership between tribal governments 

and EPA. 

The most basic result of this full 

implementation is that EPA takes an 

expansive view of the need for 

consultation in line with the 1984 

Policy’s directive to consider tribal 

interests whenever EPA takes an action 

that may affect tribal interests. 

The Policy is intended to be 

implemented using existing EPA 

structures to the extent possible. The 

use of current EPA business processes, 

such as the Action Development 

Process, National and Regional Tribal 

Operations Committees, and tribal 

partnership groups is purposeful so that 

consultation with tribal governments 

becomes a standard EPA practice and 

not an additional requirement. 

The issuance of this Policy supports 

and guides the development and use of 

program and regional office consultation 

plans and practices consistent with this 

Policy. 

III. Definitions 

A. Indian tribe or tribe means an 

Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, 

nation, pueblo, village, or community 

that the Secretary of the Interior 

acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe 

pursuant to the Federally Recognized 

Indian Tribe List Act of 1944, 25 U.S.C. 

479a. 

B. Tribal official means an elected, 

appointed, or designated official or 

employee of a tribe. 

C. Indian country means: 

1. All land within limits of any Indian 

reservation 1 under the jurisdiction of 

the United States government, 

notwithstanding the issuance of any 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

78200 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 240 / Wednesday, December 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

2Legislative comments are a special case where, 

due to short legislative timeframes, consultation in 

advance of comment submission may not always be 

possible. Nevertheless, EPA will strive to inform 

tribes when it submits legislative comments on 

activities that may affect Indian country or other 

tribal governmental interests. 

3Primary guidance on civil enforcement matters 

involving tribes can be found in ‘‘Guidance on the 

Enforcement Priorities Outlined in the 1984 Indian 

Policy,’’ and ‘‘Questions and Answers on the Tribal 

Enforcement Process.’’ This guidance is intended to 

work with the Tribal Consultation Policy in a 

complementary fashion to ensure appropriate 

consultation with tribes on civil enforcement 

patent, and, including rights-of-way 

running through the reservation; 

2. All dependent Indian communities 

within the borders of the United States 

whether within the original or 

subsequently acquired territory thereof, 

and whether within or without the 

limits of a state; and 

3. All Indian allotments, the Indian 

titles to which have not been 

extinguished, including rights-of-way 

running through the same. 

IV. Guiding Principles 

To understand both the purpose and 

scope of the Policy as well as the 

integration of the Policy, Memorandum, 

and Executive Order, it is helpful to list 

principles found in EPA’s January 2010 

Plan to Develop a Tribal Consultation 

and Coordination Policy Implementing 

Executive Order 13175: 

EPA’s fundamental objective in 

carrying out its responsibilities in 

Indian country is to protect human 

health and the environment. 

EPA recognizes and works directly 

with federally recognized tribes as 

sovereign entities with primary 

authority and responsibility for each 

tribe’s land and membership, and not as 

political subdivisions of states or other 

governmental units. 

EPA recognizes the federal 

government’s trust responsibility, which 

derives from the historical relationship 

between the federal government and 

Indian tribes as expressed in certain 

treaties and federal Indian law. 

EPA ensures the close involvement of 

tribal governments and gives special 

consideration to their interests 

whenever EPA’s actions may affect 

Indian country or other tribal interests. 

When EPA issues involve other 

federal agencies, EPA carries out its 

consultation responsibilities jointly 

with those other agencies, where 

appropriate. 

In addition, it is helpful to note the 

distinction between this Policy, federal 

environmental laws pertaining to public 

involvement, and Executive Order 

12898, Federal Actions to Address 

Environmental Justice in Minority 

Populations and Low-Income 

Populations. Under this Policy, EPA 

consults with federally recognized tribal 

governments when Agency actions and 

decisions may affect tribal interests. 

EPA also recognizes its obligations to 

involve the public as required by federal 

environmental laws. Finally, EPA 

recognizes the need to be responsive to 

the environmental justice concerns of 

non-federally recognized tribes, 

individual tribal members, tribal 

community-based/grassroots 

organizations and other indigenous 

stakeholders. 

V. Consultation 

A. The Consultation Process 

To the fullest extent possible, EPA 

plans to use existing EPA business 

operations to put this Policy into effect. 

Tribal officials may request 

consultation in addition to EPA’s ability 

to determine what requires consultation. 

EPA attempts to honor the tribal 

government’s request with 

consideration of the nature of the 

activity, past consultation efforts, 

available resources, timing 

considerations, and all other relevant 

factors. 

Consultation at EPA consists of four 

phases: Identification, Notification, 

Input, and Follow-up: 

1. Identification Phase: EPA identifies 

activities that may be appropriate for 

consultation, using the mechanisms 

described in section B.2, below. The 

identification phase should include a 

determination of the complexity of the 

activity, its potential implications for 

tribes, and any time and/or resource 

constraints relevant to the consultation 

process. This phase should also include 

an initial identification of the 

potentially affected tribe(s). 

2. Notification Phase: EPA notifies the 

tribes of activities that may be 

appropriate for consultation. 

Notification can occur in a number of 

ways depending on the nature of the 

activity and the number of tribes 

potentially affected. For example, EPA 

may send out a mass mailing to all 

tribes, may contact the tribal 

governments by telephone, or provide 

notice through other agreed upon 

means. EPA normally honors tribal 

preferences regarding the specific mode 

of contact. 

Notification includes sufficient 

information for tribal officials to make 

an informed decision about the desire to 

continue with consultation and 

sufficient information to understand 

how to provide informed input. 

Notification should occur sufficiently 

early in the process to allow for 

meaningful input by the tribe(s). 

3. Input Phase: Tribes provide input 

to EPA on the consultation matter. This 

phase may include a range of 

interactions including written and oral 

communications including exchanges of 

information, phone calls, meetings, and 

other appropriate interactions 

depending upon the specific 

circumstances involved. EPA 

coordinates with tribal officials during 

this phase to be responsive to their 

needs for information and to provide 

opportunities to provide, receive, and 

discuss input. During this phase, EPA 

considers the input regarding the 

activity in question. EPA may need to 

undertake subsequent rounds of 

consultation if there are significant 

changes in the originally-proposed 

activity or as new issues arise. 

4. Follow-up Phase: EPA provides 

feedback to the tribes(s) involved in the 

consultation to explain how their input 

was considered in the final action. This 

feedback should be a formal, written 

communication from a senior EPA 

official involved to the most senior 

tribal official involved in the 

consultation. 

B. What activities may involve 

consultation? 

1. General Categories of Activities 

Appropriate for Consultation: The broad 

scope of consultation contemplated by 

this Policy creates a large number of 

actions that may be appropriate for 

consultation. 

The following list of EPA activity 

categories provides a general framework 

from which to begin the determination 

of whether any particular action or 

decision is appropriate for consultation. 

The final decision on consultation is 

normally made after examining the 

complexity of the activity, its 

implications for tribes, time and/or 

resource constraints, an initial 

identification of the potentially affected 

tribe(s), application of the mechanisms 

for identifying matters for consultation, 

described below, and interaction with 

tribal partnership groups and tribal 

governments. 

The following, non-exclusive list of 

EPA activity categories are normally 

appropriate for consultation if they may 

affect a tribe(s): 

a. Regulations or rules 

b. Policies, guidance documents, 

directives 

c. Budget and priority planning 

development 

d. Legislative comments 2

e. Permits 

f. Civil enforcement and compliance 

monitoring actions 3

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 240 / Wednesday, December 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules 78201 

matters. EPA generally does not consult on criminal 

investigations and enforcement actions. 

4The term response as defined under the 

Comprehensive Environmental Response, 

Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) 

includes removals and remedial actions. 5Report is filed by August 3rd. 

g. Response actions and emergency 

preparedness 4

h. State or tribal authorizations or 

delegations 

i. International Treaties and Agreements 

2. EPA’s Mechanisms for Identifying 

Matters for Consultation: The 

mechanisms EPA uses for identifying 

matters appropriate for consultation are 

as follows: 

a. Tribal Government-Requested 

Consultation. Tribal officials may 

request consultation in addition to 

EPA’s ability to determine what requires 

consultation. EPA attempts to honor the 

tribal government’s request with 

consideration of the nature of the 

activity, past consultation efforts, 

available resources, timing 

considerations, and all other relevant 

factors. 

b. Regulatory Steering Committee 

(RSC). This committee oversees EPA’s 

Action Development Process (ADP), 

which covers all EPA regulations and 

non-regulatory actions of national 

significance. The RSC identifies matters 

appropriate for consultation on the 

Comprehensive Regulatory Data Form. 

These forms are available to tribes in the 

semiannual Regulatory Agenda as well 

as in the subset of rules on the 

Regulatory Gateway accessed through 

the EPA website. 

This Policy is not intended to subject 

additional Agency actions to the ADP 

process for the sole purpose of a 

consultation analysis. Non-ADP actions 

are subject to consultation analysis 

through other mechanisms identified 

within the Policy. 

c. National Program Offices and 

Regional Offices. For those actions and 

decisions not in the ADP process, 

program and regional offices also 

determine if consultation is appropriate 

under this Policy. EPA’s Tribal 

Consultation Advisors, described below, 

provide assistance with that 

determination. Such determination 

includes coordination with national 

and/or regional tribal partnership 

groups. 

d. National and Regional Tribal 

Partnership Groups. EPA meets 

regularly with a number of national and 

regional tribal partnership groups. 

These groups assist in the identification 

of matters that may be appropriate for 

consultation. 

C. When Consultation Occurs 

Consultation should occur early 

enough to allow tribes the opportunity 

to provide meaningful input that can be 

considered prior to EPA deciding 

whether, how, or when to act on the 

matter under consideration. As 

proposals and options are developed, 

consultation and coordination should be 

continued, to ensure that the overall 

range of options and decisions is shared 

and deliberated by all concerned 

parties, including additions or 

amendments that occur later in the 

process. 

D. How Consultation Occurs 

There is no single formula for what 

constitutes appropriate consultation, 

and the analysis, planning, and 

implementation of consultation should 

consider all aspects of the action under 

consideration. In the case of national 

rulemaking, a series of meetings in 

geographically diverse areas may be 

appropriate. For more routine 

operational matters, a less formal 

process may be sufficient. 

VI. Managing the Consultation Process 

A. Roles and Responsibilities 

The following roles and 

responsibilities have been defined to 

allow EPA to effectively implement this 

Policy. These roles and responsibilities 

reflect the fact that, while oversight and 

coordination of consultation occurs at 

EPA headquarters, as a practical matter, 

much of the actual consultation activity 

occurs in EPA’s program and regional 

offices. The responsibility for initially 

analyzing the need for consultation and 

then subsequently carrying it out, 

resides with these offices. 

Designated Consultation Official—In 

addition to being the EPA’s National 

Program Manager for the EPA Tribal 

Program, EPA’s Assistant Administrator 

for the Office of International and Tribal 

Affairs (OITA) is the EPA-Designated 

Consultation Official under the 

Executive Order. 

These responsibilities include 

coordination and implementation of 

tribal consultation in accordance with 

this Policy and Agency compliance with 

the 1984 Indian Policy. 

The Designated Consultation Official 

has the authority for: Defining EPA 

actions appropriate for consultation, 

evaluating the adequacy of that 

consultation, and ensuring that EPA 

program and regional office consultation 

practices are consistent with this Policy. 

Per the Memorandum, the Designated 

Consultation Official reports annually to 

OMB on the implementation of the 

Executive Order.5 Further, the 

Designated Consultation Official 

certifies compliance with the Executive 

Order for applicable EPA activities. The 

American Indian Environmental Office 

(AIEO) is located within OITA and 

coordinates the operational details of 

the Policy and compiles consultationrelated information for the Designated 

Consultation Official. 

2. Assistant Administrators— 

Assistant Administrators oversee the 

consultation process in their respective 

offices including analysis for potential 

consultation and the consultation 

process. Each program office is directed 

to prepare a semi-annual agenda of 

matters appropriate for consultation and 

a brief summary of consultation that has 

occurred. The program offices provide 

this information to AIEO for reporting to 

OMB. Each office is directed to 

designate a Tribal Consultation Advisor. 

3. Regional Administrators—Regional 

Administrators oversee the consultation 

process in their respective offices 

including analysis for potential 

consultation and the consultation 

process. Each region is directed to 

prepare a semi-annual agenda of matters 

appropriate for consultation and a brief 

summary of consultation that has 

occurred. The regions provide this 

information to AIEO for reporting to 

OMB. Each region is directed to 

designate a Tribal Consultation Advisor. 

4. Tribal Consultation Advisors— 

Tribal Consultation Advisors (TCAs) 

assist in identifying matters appropriate 

for consultation and prepare summary 

information on consultation activities 

and provide it to AIEO. TCAs receive 

and provide advice within their 

respective program offices and regions 

on what actions may be appropriate for 

consultation. TCAs also serve as a pointof-contact for EPA staff, tribal 

governments, and other parties 

interested in the consultation process. 

TCAs are the in-office subject matter 

experts to assist staff and management 

in the implementation of the Policy. 

B. National Consultation Meeting 

OITA/AIEO may convene a periodic 

National Consultation Meeting to be 

chaired by the Designated Consultation 

Official to review the consultation 

process across the Agency. 

C. Reporting 

Pursuant to the Memorandum, EPA 

submits annual progress reports to OMB 

on the status of the consultation process 

and actions and provides any updates to 

this Policy. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

78202 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 240 / Wednesday, December 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

D. EPA Senior Management Review 

The Designated Consultation Official 

communicates regularly with the 

Assistant and Regional Administrators 

to review the consultation system, to 

consider any matters requiring senior 

management attention, and to make 

adjustments necessary to improve the 

Policy or its implementation. 

EPA plans to receive ongoing 

feedback on the Policy from all parties 

to assess its effectiveness and 

implement improvements. 

Dated: December 8, 2010. 

Michael Stahl, 

Acting Director American Indian 

Environmental Office. 

[FR Doc. 2010–31332 Filed 12–14–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS