69840 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 226 / Monday, November 24, 2014 / Notices 

meeting. The Designated Federal Officer 

will review all timely submitted written 

statements and provide copies to all the 

committee members before the meeting 

that is the subject of this notice. Please 

note that since the RFPB operates under 

the provisions of the FACA, all 

submitted comments and public 

presentations will be treated as public 

documents and will be made available 

for public inspection, including, but not 

limited to, being posted on the RFPB’s 

Web site. 

Dated: November 19, 2014. 

Aaron Siegel, 

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison 

Officer, Department of Defense. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27736 Filed 11–21–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Army Corps 

of Engineers 

Notice of Solicitation of Applications 

for Stakeholder Representative 

Members of the Missouri River 

Recovery Implementation Committee 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Commander of the 

Northwestern Division of the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (Corps) is soliciting 

applications to fill vacant stakeholder 

representative member positions on the 

Missouri River Recovery 

Implementation Committee (MRRIC). 

Members are sought to fill vacancies on 

a committee to represent various 

categories of interests within the 

Missouri River basin. The MRRIC was 

formed to advise the Corps on a study 

of the Missouri River and its tributaries 

and to provide guidance to the Corps 

with respect to the Missouri River 

recovery and mitigation activities 

currently underway. The Corps 

established the MRRIC as required by 

the U.S. Congress through the Water 

Resources Development Act of 2007 

(WRDA), Section 5018. 

DATES: The agency must receive 

completed applications and 

endorsement letters no later than 

December 29, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Mail completed 

applications and endorsement letters to 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha 

District (Attn: MRRIC), 1616 Capitol 

Avenue, Omaha, NE 68102–4901 or 

email completed applications to info@

mrric.org. Please put ‘‘MRRIC’’ in the 

subject line. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa 

Rabbe, 816–389–3837. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

operation of the MRRIC is in the public 

interest and provides support to the 

Corps in performing its duties and 

responsibilities under the Endangered 

Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; Sec. 

601(a) of the Water Resources 

Development Act (WRDA) of 1986, 

Public Law 99–662; Sec. 334(a) of 

WRDA 1999, Public Law 106–53, and 

Sec. 5018 of WRDA 2007, Public Law 

110–114. The Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2, does 

not apply to the MRRIC. 

A Charter for the MRRIC has been 

developed and should be reviewed prior 

to applying for a stakeholder 

representative membership position on 

the Committee. The Charter, operating 

procedures, and stakeholder application 

forms are available electronically at 

www.MRRIC.org. 

Purpose and Scope of the Committee 

1. The primary purpose of the MRRIC 

is to provide guidance to the Corps and 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with 

respect to the Missouri River recovery 

and mitigation plan currently in 

existence, including recommendations 

relating to changes to the 

implementation strategy from the use of 

adaptive management; coordination of 

the development of consistent policies, 

strategies, plans, programs, projects, 

activities, and priorities for the Missouri 

River recovery and mitigation plan. 

Information about the Missouri River 

Recovery Program is available at 

www.MoRiverRecovery.org. 

2. Other duties of MRRIC include 

exchange of information regarding 

programs, projects, and activities of the 

agencies and entities represented on the 

Committee to promote the goals of the 

Missouri River recovery and mitigation 

plan; establishment of such working 

groups as the Committee determines to 

be necessary to assist in carrying out the 

duties of the Committee, including 

duties relating to public policy and 

scientific issues; facilitating the 

resolution of interagency and 

intergovernmental conflicts between 

entities represented on the Committee 

associated with the Missouri River 

recovery and mitigation plan; 

coordination of scientific and other 

research associated with the Missouri 

River recovery and mitigation plan; and 

annual preparation of a work plan and 

associated budget requests. 

Administrative Support. To the extent 

authorized by law and subject to the 

availability of appropriations, the Corps 

provides funding and administrative 

support for the Committee. 

Committee Membership. Federal 

agencies with programs affecting the 

Missouri River may be members of the 

MRRIC through a separate process with 

the Corps. States and Federally 

recognized Native American Indian 

tribes, as described in the Charter, are 

eligible for Committee membership 

through an appointment process. 

Interested State and Tribal government 

representatives should contact the Corps 

for information about the appointment 

process. 

This Notice is for individuals 

interested in serving as a stakeholder 

member on the Committee. Members 

and alternates must be able to 

demonstrate that they meet the 

definition of ‘‘stakeholder’’ found in the 

Charter of the MRRIC. Applications are 

currently being accepted to select two 

representatives from the stakeholder 

interest categories listed below: 

a. Conservation Districts; 

b. Hydropower; 

c. Irrigation; 

d. Recreation; 

e. Thermal Power 

Terms of stakeholder representative 

members of the MRRIC are three years. 

There is no limit to the number of terms 

a member may serve. Incumbent 

Committee members seeking 

reappointment do not need to re-submit 

an application. However, they must 

submit a renewal letter and related 

materials as outlined in the 

‘‘Streamlined Process for Existing 

Members’’ portion of the document 

Process for Filling MRRIC Stakeholder 

Vacancies (www.MRRIC.org). 

Members and alternates of the 

Committee will not receive any 

compensation from the federal 

government for carrying out the duties 

of the MRRIC. Travel expenses incurred 

by members of the Committee are not 

currently reimbursed by the federal 

government. 

Application for Stakeholder 

Membership. Persons who believe that 

they are or will be affected by the 

Missouri River recovery and mitigation 

activities may apply for stakeholder 

membership on the MRRIC. Committee 

members are obligated to avoid and 

disclose any individual ethical, legal, 

financial, or other conflicts of interest 

they may have involving MRRIC. 

Applicants must disclose on their 

application if they are directly 

employed by a government agency or 

program (the term ‘‘government’’ 

encompasses state, tribal, and federal 

agencies and/or programs). 

Applications for stakeholder 

membership may be obtained 

electronically at www.MRRIC.org. 

Applications may be emailed or mailed 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 226 / Monday, November 24, 2014 / Notices 69841 

to the location listed (see ADDRESSES). In 

order to be considered, each application 

must include: 

1. The name of the applicant and the 

primary stakeholder interest category 

that person is qualified to represent; 

2. A written statement describing the 

applicant’s area of expertise and why 

the applicant believes he or she should 

be appointed to represent that area of 

expertise on the MRRIC; 

3. A written statement describing how 

the applicant’s participation as a 

Stakeholder Representative will fulfill 

the roles and responsibilities of MRRIC; 

4. A written description of the 

applicant’s past experience(s) working 

collaboratively with a group of 

individuals representing varied interests 

towards achieving a mutual goal, and 

the outcome of the effort(s); 

5. A written description of the 

communication network that the 

applicant plans to use to inform his or 

her constituents and to gather their 

feedback, and 

6. A written endorsement letter from 

an organization, local government body, 

or formal constituency, which 

demonstrates that the applicant 

represents an interest group(s) in the 

Missouri River basin. 

To be considered, the application 

must be complete and received by the 

close of business on December 29, 2014, 

at the location indicated (see 

ADDRESSES). Applications must include 

an endorsement letter to be considered 

complete. Full consideration will be 

given to all complete applications 

received by the specified due date. 

Application Review Process. 

Committee stakeholder applications will 

be forwarded to the current members of 

the MRRIC. The MRRIC will provide 

membership recommendations to the 

Corps as described in Attachment A of 

the Process for Filling MRRIC 

Stakeholder Vacancies document 

(www.MRRIC.org). The Corps is 

responsible for appointing stakeholder 

members. The Corps will consider 

applications using the following criteria: 

• Ability to commit the time required. 

• Commitment to make a good faith 

(as defined in the Charter) effort to seek 

balanced solutions that address multiple 

interests and concerns. 

• Agreement to support and adhere to 

the approved MRRIC Charter and 

Operating Procedures. 

• Demonstration of a formal 

designation or endorsement by an 

organization, local government, or 

constituency as its preferred 

representative. 

• Demonstration of an established 

communication network to keep 

constituents informed and efficiently 

seek their input when needed. 

• Agreement to participate in 

collaboration training as a condition of 

membership. 

All applicants will be notified in 

writing as to the final decision about 

their application. 

Certification. I hereby certify that the 

establishment of the MRRIC is necessary 

and in the public interest in connection 

with the performance of duties imposed 

on the Corps by the Endangered Species 

Act and other statutes. 

Dated: November 13, 2014. 

Brad Thompson, 

Chief of Planning, Omaha District. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27718 Filed 11–21–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Intent To Prepare a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay, TX, 

Coastal Storm Risk Management and 

Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility 

Study 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: The Sabine Pass to Galveston 

Bay, Texas, study area encompasses six 

coastal counties on the upper Texas 

Gulf coast—Orange, Jefferson, 

Chambers, Harris, Galveston and 

Brazoria. The Draft Integrated 

Feasibility Report and Environmental 

Impact Statement (DIFR–EIS) will 

evaluate structural and non-structural 

alternatives which address coastal storm 

risk management (CSRM) and ecosystem 

restoration (ER) impacts in the study 

area. The environmental impact study 

will focus on environmental and social 

conditions currently present and those 

likely to be affected by potential future 

impacts of storm surge and ecosystem 

restoration opportunities. Several major 

historical surge events have occurred in 

the study area in the past 120 years. The 

most notable is perhaps the 1900 Storm, 

which inundated most of the island city 

of Galveston, TX, and adjacent areas on 

the mainland. The storm was 

responsible for over eight thousand 

deaths and up to $30 million in 

property damage. Hurricane Rita in 

2005 resulted in storm surge of 9.2 feet 

in Port Arthur, TX, and just over 8 feet 

in Sabine Pass. Most recently, Hurricane 

Ike in 2008 produced storm surges of 14 

feet near Sabine Pass and 11 to 12 feet 

across Sabine Lake. The City of Port 

Arthur was spared from the impacts of 

storm surge thanks to its existing 14- to 

17-foot hurricane flood protection 

system. However, the remaining 

southern half of Jefferson County was 

inundated, with estimated high water 

marks reaching 18 to19 feet to the south 

and east of High Island. The City of 

Galveston was protected from Hurricane 

Ike’s high energy surge impacts by the 

Galveston Seawall, but much of the City 

of Galveston was later flooded by about 

6 to 10 feet of surge coming from the 

bay. The City of Texas City was 

protected from Ike’s surge impacts by its 

existing hurricane flood protection 

system. At risk within the study area are 

approximately 2.26 million people 

living within the storm-surge 

inundation zone, three of the nine 

largest oil refineries in the world, 40 

percent of the nation’s petrochemical 

industry, 25 percent of the nation’s 

petroleum-refining capacity, and three 

of the ten largest U.S. seaports. 

DATES: Comments on proposed DIFR– 

EIS will be accepted through December 

24, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Galveston District, P.O. Box 

1229, Galveston, TX 77553–1229. 

Emails may be sent to Janelle.S.Stokes@

usace.army.mil. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Sheridan Willey, (409) 766–3917, 

Planning Lead, Plan Formulation 

Section, Regional Planning and 

Environmental Center; or Ms. Janelle 

Stokes, (409) 766–3039, Environmental 

Lead, NEPA/Cultural Resources Section, 

Regional Planning and Environmental 

Center. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

(1) Background. In 2011, the Corps of 

Engineers and non-Federal sponsor, the 

Texas General Land Office, agreed to 

rescope an earlier study to evaluate 

plans to develop CSRM and ER features 

over the entire six-county region 

covering the upper Texas coast. The 

study is authorized under Section 4091, 

Water Resources Development Act of 

2007 Public Law 110–114. 

(2) Alternatives. Structural 

alternatives that will be evaluated are: 

(1) A new surge protection system in 

Orange and Jefferson Counties, 

including small, navigable surge gates 

on Cow and Adams Bayous; (2) a large 

navigable surge gate in the Neches River 

near the Rainbow Bridge; and (3) 

reevaluation of the existing Port Arthur 

and Freeport Hurricane Flood 

Protection Systems. Non-structural 

measures such as targeted buy-outs, will 

also be evaluated. Structural and nonstructural alternatives to address storm 


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