Notice2026-19933
Reestablishment of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 29, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior Department
Abstract
The U.S. Department of the Interior is reestablishing the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee (Committee). The Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with the General Services Administration, is reestablishing the Committee charter for 2 years. The Committee provides advice related, and not limited to, commercial fishing, tourism, general season and subsistence hunting, outdoor recreation, wildlife conservation, and native land issues.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 187 (Tuesday, September 29, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 29, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61434-61436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19933]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
[XXXD5198NI DS61100000 DNINR0000.000000 DX61104]
Reestablishment of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory
Committee
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of reestablishment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior is reestablishing the
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee (Committee). The
Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with the General Services
Administration, is reestablishing the Committee charter for 2 years.
The Committee provides advice related, and not limited to, commercial
fishing, tourism, general season and subsistence hunting, outdoor
recreation, wildlife conservation, and native land issues.
DATES: Comments regarding the reestablishment of the Committee must be
submitted no later than October 6, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#462a2f35271920293e062f29356822292f68212930"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="670b0e14063801081f270e08144903080e49000811">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Fox, U.S. Department of the
Interior, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance, 3801
Centerpoint Dr., Anchorage, Alaska 99503, (907) 227-3783, or by email
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8be7e2f8ead4ede4f3cbe2e4f8a5efe4e2a5ece4fd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1b7772687a447d74635b727468357f7472357c746d">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals in the United States who are deaf,
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711
(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services
offered within their country to make international calls to the point-
of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Memorandum of Agreement and Consent
Decree (settlement of United States v. State of Alaska, No. A91-081 CV,
Section V.A.4.) (1991) (Consent Decree) establishing the Exxon Valdez
Oil Spill Trustee Council (Trustee Council), also required the creation
of a public advisory group to advise the Trustee Council. Consequently,
the Committee was established and began functioning in October 1992.
The Committee consists of 10 members representing the following
principal interests: aquaculture/mariculture, commercial fishing,
commercial tourism, conservation/environmental, native land ownership,
recreation, sport hunting/fishing, subsistence, science/technology, and
public-at-large. In order to ensure that a broad range of public
viewpoints continues to be available to the Trustee Council, and in
keeping with the settlement agreement, the continuation of the
Committee is recommended.
In accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act, as amended (5 U.S.C., Ch. 10), and in consultation with the
General Services Administration, the Secretary of the Interior hereby
reestablishes the charter for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public
Advisory Committee.
Public Disclosure of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Public Interest Determination
Pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 102-3.60(a) to establish, renew, reestablish,
or merge a discretionary (agency discretion) advisory committee, an
agency must first consult with the General Services Administration's
Committee Management Secretariat (Secretariat)
[[Page 61435]]
and, as part of the consultation, provide a written public interest
determination approved by the head of the agency to the Secretariat
with a copy to the Office of Management and Budget. In addition,
pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 102-3.35, an agency shall follow the same
consultation process and document in writing the same determination of
need before creating a subcommittee under a discretionary committee
that is not made up entirely of members of a parent advisory committee.
Information on the following factors for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Public Advisory Committee (Committee) is provided to the Secretariat to
demonstrate that establishing the Committee is in the public interest:
1. Annual budget.
Up to $25,337. All costs are paid by the Exxon Valdez settlement
fund.
a. Federal personnel on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis: 0.05
FTEs.
b. Other Federal internal costs: Approximately $5,343.
c. Proposed payments to members: $0.
d. Proposed number of members: 10.
e. Reimbursable costs: Approximately $19,994.
2. If applicable, the total dollar value of grants expected to be
recommended during the fiscal year.
N/A.
3. Criteria for selecting members to ensure the committee has the
necessary expertise and fairly balanced membership.
Committee membership, balance, including individual/industry
perspectives and expertise are primarily dictated by the Committee
Charter. To obtain members in support of Committee Charter requirements
for balanced perspective for ten seats, the Department of the Interior
announces a 30-day open call for nominations period in the Federal
Register and the Designated Federal Officer solicits candidate names
from the Federal and State agencies. The call for nominations is also
announced on the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council website and the
Trustee Council advertises vacancies on social media sites. Members
will be selected from among all sources described above, as well as the
interest groups listed in the Committee Charter. This membership model
for the Committee assures a range of perspectives and expertise
reflecting the breadth of its responsibilities as identified in the
Committee Charter.
4. List of all other Federal advisory committees of the agency.
Acadia National Park Advisory Commission
Advisory Committee on Landslides
Alaska Resource Advisory Council
Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force
Arizona Resource Advisory Council
Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Advisory Committee
Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon
National Monument Advisory Committee
Bears Ears National Monument Advisory Committee
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Advisory Council
Bristol Bay Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
Bureau of Indian Affairs Advisory Board for Exceptional Children
California Desert District Advisory Council
Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park Advisory
Commission
Central California Resource Advisory Council
Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council
Committee for the Preservation of the White House
Eastern Interior Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
Eastern Washington Resource Advisory Council
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee
Geologic Mapping Advisory Committee
Gettysburg National Military Park Advisory Commission
Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area Advisory Committee
Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Advisory Committee
Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council
Idaho Resource Advisory Council
Jimmy Carter National Historic Site Advisory Commission
John Day-Snake Resource Advisory Council
Kalaupapa National Historical Park Advisory Commission
Kodiak/Aleutians Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site Advisory
Commission
McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area Advisory Council
Missouri Basin Resource Advisory Council
Mojave-Southern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council
National Geospatial Advisory Committee
National Park of American Samoa Advisory Board
National Park Service Subsistence Resource Commission-Aniakchak
National Monument
National Park Service Subsistence Resource Commission-Cape Krusenstern
National Monument
National Park Service Subsistence Resource Commission-Denali National
Park
National Park Service Subsistence Resource Commission-Gates of the
Arctic National Park
National Park Service Subsistence Resource Commission-Kobuk Valley
National Park
National Park Service Subsistence Resource Commission-Lake Clark
National Park
National Park Service Subsistence Resource Commission-Wrangell-St.
Elias National Park
National Volcano Early Warning System Advisory Committee
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee
North Slope Science Initiative Science Technical Advisory Panel
North Slope Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
Northern California District Resource Advisory Council
Northern New Mexico Resource Advisory Council
Northwest Arctic Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
Northwest Resource Advisory Council
Preservation Technology and Training Board
Rio Puerco Management Committee
Rocky Mountain Resource Advisory Council
San Rafael Swell Recreation Advisory Council
Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Advisory
Committee
Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee
Seward Peninsula Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
Sierra Front Northern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council
Southcentral Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
Southeast Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
Southeast Oregon Resource Advisory Council
Southern New Mexico Resource Advisory Council
Southwest Resource Advisory Council
Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council
Steens Mountain Advisory Council
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Advisory Committee
The Wyoming Resource Advisory Council
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Advisory Council
Utah Resource Advisory Council
Wekiva River System Advisory Management Committee
[[Page 61436]]
Western Interior Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
Western Montana Resource Advisory Council
Western Oregon Resource Advisory Council
Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board
Yukon/Kuskokwim Delta Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
5. Justification that the information or advice provided by the
Federal advisory committee or subcommittee is not available from
another Federal advisory committee, another Federal Government source,
or any other more cost-effective and less burdensome source.
The Committee provides unique and substantive input to the Trustee
Council based on the subject matter expertise, professional
affiliations, and professional and personal experiences of Committee
members. The Committee provides advice related, and not limited to,
commercial fishing, tourism, general season and subsistence hunting,
outdoor recreation, wildlife conservation, and native land issues.
Members of the Committee typically have years of professional
experience as business owners, managers, participants in the wildlife
conservation and recreation field, or as leaders on other regionally
based public boards, councils or interest groups. There is no
equivalent body of advisers empaneled to address the specific set of
issues the Committee is tasked with, or to assist the Trustee Council
with the specific subject matter by providing consensus, group advice.
The Department of the Interior is obligated by the Consent Decree to
solicit Committee members and facilitate meetings. Any costs incurred
by the Department of the Interior for these purposes are paid by Exxon
Valdez Oil Spill funds.
6. If the consultation is a committee renewal, a summary of the
previous accomplishments of the committee and the reasons it needs to
continue.
The Committee has been in existence since it was required by the
Consent Decree and subsequently established in October 1992. The
Committee has provided consistent expertise and consolidated advice to
the Trustee Council for over 30 years. Specifically, the Committee has
successfully advised the Trustee Council in decisions regarding
planning, evaluation and allocation of available funds; planning,
evaluation and conduct of injury assessments; restoration activities;
long term monitoring; and research activities.
7. Explanation of why the committee/subcommittee is essential to
the conduct of agency business.
The Trustee Council was established to manage the funds obtained
from the civil settlement of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. The Trustee
Council is composed of three Federal representatives (Secretary, U.S.
Department of Agriculture; Administrator, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration; and Secretary, U.S. Department of the
Interior) and three State of Alaska trustees (Attorney General;
Commissioner, Department of Environmental Conservation; and
Commissioner, Department of Fish and Game). The Committee is a
requirement of the Consent Decree, and the Committee Charter identifies
the Department of the Interior, Alaska, as the Designated Federal
Officer. Trustee Council administration of Exxon Valdez oil spill funds
dedicated to the recovery of resources injured by the oil spill, as
well as long term research and monitoring, are of tremendous public
benefit. The Committee serves the public interest as the sole advisory
body to the Trustee Council by providing expertise and professional
knowledge essential to the Trustee Council in decisions regarding
administration of these funds.
In conclusion, this public interest determination documents that
reestablishing the Committee is in the public interest, essential to
the conduct of agency business, and that the information to be obtained
is not already available through another advisory committee or source
within the Federal Government.
Certification Statement
I hereby certify that the reestablishment of the charter for the
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee is necessary and in
the public interest in connection with the performance of duties
mandated by the settlement of United States v. State of Alaska, No.
A91-081 CV, and is in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended and
supplemented.
(Authority: 5 U.S.C. Ch. 10)
Doug Burgum,
Secretary of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2026-19933 Filed 9-28-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4334-63-P
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