(a) Purpose. The purpose of this part to establish regulations regarding the scope, characteristics, composition, funding, establishment, operation, adjournment, and dissolution of Restoration Advisory Boards (RABs).

(b) Purpose and scope of responsibilities of RABs. The purpose of a RAB is to provide:

(1) An opportunity for stakeholder involvement in the environmental restoration process at Department of Defense (DoD) installations. Stakeholders are those parties that may be affected by environmental restoration activities at the installation.

(2) A forum for the early discussion and continued exchange of environmental restoration program information between DoD installations, regulatory agencies, tribes, and the community.

(3) An opportunity for RAB members to review progress, participate in a dialogue with, and provide comments and advice to the installation's decision makers concerning environmental restoration matters. Installations shall give careful consideration to the comments provided by the RAB members.

(4) A forum for addressing issues associated with environmental restoration activities under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) at DoD installations, including activities conducted under the Military Munitions Response program (MMRP) to address unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, and the chemical constituents of munitions. Environmental groups or advisory boards that address issues other than environmental restoration activities are not governed by this regulation.

(c) Definitions. In this section:

(1) Community RAB member shall mean those individuals identified by community members and appointed by the Installation Commander to participate in a RAB who live and/or work in the affected community or are affected by the installation's environmental restoration program.

(2) Environmental restoration shall include the identification, investigation, research and development, and cleanup of contamination from hazardous substances, including munitions and explosives of concern, and pollutants and contaminants.

(3) Installation shall include active and closing DoD installations and formerly used defense sites (FUDS).

(4) Installation Commander shall include the Commanding Officer or the equivalent of a Commanding Officer at active installations; the Installation Commander or other Military Department officials who close the facility and are responsible for its disposal at Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) installations; or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Management District Commander at FUDS.

(5) Public participants shall include anyone else who may want to attend the RAB meetings, including those individuals that may not live and/or work in the affected community or may not be affected by the installation's environmental restoration program but would like to attend and provide comments to the RAB.

(6) Stakeholders are those parties that may be affected by environmental restoration activities at an installation, including family members of military personnel and civilian workers, local and state governments and EPA for NPL properties, tribal community members and indigenous people, and current landowners, as appropriate.

(7) Tribes shall mean any Federally-recognized American Indian and Alaska Native government as defined by the most current Department of Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs list of tribal entities published in the Federal Register pursuant to Section 104 of the Federally Recognized Tribe Act.

(8) RAB adjournment shall mean when an Installation Commander, in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state, tribes, RAB members, and the local community, as appropriate, close the RAB based on a determination that there is no longer a need for a RAB or when community interest in the RAB declines.

(9) RAB dissolution shall mean when an Installation Commander, with the appropriate Military Component's Environmental Deputy Assistant Secretary's approval, disbands a RAB that is no longer fulfilling the intended purpose of advising and providing community input to an Installation Commander and decision makers on environmental restoration projects. Installation Commanders are expected to make every reasonable effort to ensure that a RAB performs its role as effectively as possible and a concerted attempt is made to resolve issues that affect the RAB's effectiveness. There are circumstances, however, that may prevent a RAB from operating effectively or fulfilling its intended purpose.

(d) Other public involvement activities. A RAB should complement other community involvement efforts occurring at an installation; however, it does not replace other types of community outreach and participation activities required by applicable laws and regulations.

(e) Applicability of regulations to existing RABs. The regulations in this part apply to all RABs regardless of when the RAB was established.

(f) Guidance. The Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environment shall issue guidance regarding the scope, characteristics, composition, funding, establishment, operation, adjournment, and dissolution of RABs pursuant to this rule. The issuance of any such guidance shall not be a precondition to the establishment of RABs or the implementation of this part.

(a) Determining if sufficient interest warrants establishing a RAB. A RAB should be established when there is sufficient and sustained community interest, and any of the following criteria are met:

(1) The closure of an installation involves the transfer of property to the community,

(2) At least 50 local citizens petition the installation for creation of a RAB,

(3) Federal, state, tribal, or local government representatives request the formation of a RAB, or

(4) The installation determines the need for a RAB. To determine the need for establishing a RAB, an installation should:

(i) Review correspondence files,

(ii) Review media coverage,

(iii) Consult local community members,

(iv) Consult relevant government officials, and

(v) Evaluate responses to communication efforts, such as notices placed in local newspapers and, if applicable, announced on the installation's Web site.

(b) Responsibility for forming or operating a RAB. The installation shall have lead responsibility for forming and operating a RAB.

(c) Converting existing Technical Review Committees (TRCs) to RABs. In accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2705(d)(1), a RAB may fulfill the requirements of 10 U.S.C. 2705(c), which directs DoD to establish TRCs. DoD recommends that, where TRCs or similar advisory groups already exist, the TRC or similar advisory group be considered for conversion to a RAB, provided there is sufficient and sustained interest within the community.

Prior to establishing a RAB, an installation shall notify potential stakeholders of its intent to form a RAB. In announcing the formation of a RAB, the installation should describe the purpose of a RAB and discuss opportunities for membership.

(a) Membership. At a minimum, each RAB shall include representatives from DoD and the community. RAB community membership shall be well balanced and reflect the diverse interests within the local community.

(1) Government representation. The RAB may also include representatives from the EPA at the discretion of the Regional Administrator of the appropriate EPA Regional Office, and state, tribal, and local governments, as appropriate. At closing installations where BRAC Cleanup Teams (BCT) exist, representatives of the BCT may also serve as the government representative(s) of the RAB. The Department encourages individuals and agencies involved with BRAC to participate in RABs at closing installations.

(2) Community representation. Community RAB members should live and/or work in the affected community or be affected by the installation's environmental restoration program. While DoD encourages individual tribal members to participate on RABs, RABs in no way replace or serve as a substitute forum for the government-to-government relationship between DoD and Federally-recognized tribes.

(i) To support the objective selection of community RAB members, installations will use a selection panel comprised of community members to nominate community RAB members. The Installation Commander, in consultation with the state, tribal, and local governments and EPA, as appropriate, will identify community interests and solicit names of individuals who can represent these interests on the selection panel. The panel will establish the procedures for nominating community RAB members, the process for reviewing community interest, and criteria for selecting community RAB members. The panel will transmit the list of RAB nominees to the Installation Commander for appointment.

(ii) Following the panel nominations, the Installation Commander, in consultation with the state and EPA, as appropriate, will review the nominations to ensure the panel fairly represents the local community. The Installation Commander will accept or reject the entire list of RAB nominees for appointment.

(b) Chairmanship. Each RAB established shall have two co-chairs, one representing the DoD installation and the other the community. Co-chairs shall be responsible for directing and managing the RAB operations.

(c) Compensation for community members of the RAB. The community co-chair and community RAB members serve voluntarily. DoD will not compensate them for their participation.