[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 144 (Thursday, July 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45304-45306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16103]
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COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Carbon Dioxide Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS)
Federal Lands and Outer Continental Shelf Permitting Task Force
AGENCY: Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
ACTION: Request for nominations.
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SUMMARY: As required by the Utilizing Significant Emissions with
Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act, the Council on Environmental
Quality (CEQ) is seeking member nominations from a diverse range of
qualified candidates to serve on the ``Carbon Dioxide Capture,
Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) Federal Lands and Outer
Continental Shelf Permitting Task Force'' (Federal and OCS Task Force).
Vacancies are
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anticipated to be filled by December 31, 2022.
DATES: CEQ must receive nominations by September 26, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit nominations, identified by ``CEQ CCUS Federal
Lands and OCS Permitting Task Force,'' by email to
[email protected].
Instructions: All nominations must include a resume; a short
biography providing an adequate description of the nominee's
qualifications (including information that will enable CEQ to make a
determination as to whether the nominee meets the membership
requirements of the Federal and OCS Task Force); and contact
information for the nominee. Interested candidates may self-nominate.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deirdre F. Donahue, Senior Counsel,
730 Jackson Place NW, Washington, DC 20503, (202) 395-5750 or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USE IT Act, Div. S, sec. 102(d)(2)(D),
Public Law 116-260, 134 Stat. 1182, directs the establishment of no
less than two regionally based task forces to: (1) identify challenges
and successes that permitting authorities, project developers, and
operators face to permit CCUS projects in an efficient, orderly, and
responsible manner; and (2) provide recommendations to improve the
performance of the permitting process and regional coordination for the
purpose of promoting the efficient, orderly, and responsible
development of CCUS projects and carbon dioxide pipelines. The
regulatory authorities and permitting frameworks differ on Federal
lands and the Outer Continental Shelf, and non-Federal lands;
therefore, one task force will address permitting and other challenges
for CCUS projects on Federal lands and the Outer Continental Shelf, and
the other task force will address permitting and other challenges for
CCUS projects on non-Federal lands.
The purpose of this notice is to request nominations for membership
on the Federal and OCS Task Force, one of the two task forces that will
be established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as
amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 2, and its implementing regulations at 41 CFR
parts 101-6 and 102-3. A separate Federal Register notice seeking
member nominations for the Carbon Dioxide Capture, Utilization and
Sequestration (CCUS) Non-Federal Lands Permitting Task Force has been
issued simultaneously with this notice.
Members will be selected by the Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) Chair pursuant to the USE IT Act. As required by FACA, the
Federal and OCS Task Force membership will be fairly balanced in terms
of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed by
the Federal Lands and OCS Task Force. Members of the Federal and OCS
Task Force will serve without compensation. However, each member may be
reimbursed for authorized travel and per diem expenses incurred while
attending Federal and OCS Task Force meetings in accordance with
Federal Travel Regulations. The Federal and OCS Task Force shall meet
not less than twice each year. To the maximum extent practicable, all
task forces established under this provision of the USE IT Act shall
meet collectively not less than once each year.
Responsibilities of the Federal and OCS Task Force
As provided by the USE IT Act, the duties of the Federal and OCS
Task Force will be to:
Inventory existing or potential Federal and state
approaches to facilitate reviews associated with the deployment of CCUS
projects and carbon dioxide pipelines, including best practices that
avoid duplicative reviews to the extent permitted by law; engage
stakeholders early in the permitting process; and make the permitting
process efficient, orderly, and responsible;
Develop common models for state-level carbon dioxide
pipeline regulation and oversight guidelines that can be shared with
states in the geographical area covered by the Federal and OCS Task
Force;
Provide technical assistance to states in implementing
regulatory requirements and models developed by the Federal and OCS
Task Force;
Inventory current or emerging activities that transform
captured carbon dioxide into a product of commercial value, or as an
input to products of commercial value;
Identify any priority carbon dioxide pipelines needed to
enable efficient, orderly, and responsible development of CCUS projects
at increased scale;
Identify gaps in the current Federal and state regulatory
framework and in existing data for the deployment of CCUS projects and
carbon dioxide pipelines;
Identify Federal and state financing mechanisms available
to project developers; and
Develop recommendations for relevant Federal agencies on
how to develop and research technologies that can capture carbon
dioxide and would be able to be deployed within the region covered by
the Federal and OCS Task Force including any projects that have
received technical or financial assistance for research under section
103(g)(6) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7403(g)).
Vacancies To Fill
The Federal and OCS Task Force must include no less than one
representative in each of the following categories as specified in the
USE IT Act. Div. S, sec. 102(d)(2)(D)(ii)(II), Public Law 116-260, 134
Stat.1182. Nominations are sought to fill at least one position in each
category:
Any state that requests participation in the geographical
area covered by the Federal and OCS Task Force;
Developers or operators of CCUS projects or carbon dioxide
pipelines;
Nongovernmental membership organizations, the primary
mission of which concerns protection of the environment;
The USE IT Act also requires one expert in each of the following
fields:
Health and environmental effects, including exposure
evaluation; and
Pipeline safety.
In addition, members may also include not less than one
representative in each of the following categories at the request of a
Tribal or local government:
A local government in the geographical area covered by the
Federal and OCS Task Force; and
A Tribal government in the geographical area covered by
the Federal and OCS Task Force.
To ensure that recommendations of the Federal and OCS Task Force
have considered the needs of diverse groups served by the Federal
Government, opportunities will be sought to increase diversity, equity,
inclusion, and accessibility for the membership of the Federal and OCS
Task Force. Please note that federally registered lobbyists serving in
an ``individual capacity'' are ineligible for appointment or
reappointment.
In selecting members, CEQ will consider technical expertise,
coverage of broad stakeholder perspectives, diversity, and the duties
of the Federal and OCS Task Force as outlined in the USE IT Act. CEQ
will use the following criteria to evaluate nominees:
Background and experiences that help members contribute to
the diversity of perspectives on the Federal and OCS Task Force;
Experience working for a state, Tribal, or local
government on regulatory and permitting issues associated with CCUS
projects and CO2 pipelines;
CCUS and pipeline project development experience, or
expertise
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and experience in closely related fields from a project developer,
private sector perspective;
Experience working for environmental nongovernmental
organizations;
Experience working on environmental justice issues at the
national, state, or local level;
Expertise in health and environmental effects of carbon
dioxide, including exposure evaluation;
Expertise in Federal and state financing mechanisms
available to project developers;
Expertise in the regulation, siting, and safety of carbon
dioxide pipelines;
Experience or expertise in emerging activities to
transform CO2 into a product of commercial value;
Demonstrated experience working on environmental, public
health, and climate change issues;
Experience and/or responsibilities associated with Federal
and state regulations and permitting requirements associated with CCUS
projects and carbon dioxide pipelines, including but not limited to
experience obtaining and/or issuing permits/rights of way/leases and
knowledge regarding state legal requirements, processes, timeframes,
costs, barriers, public engagement requirements, state environmental
requirements as well as opportunities to improve/enhance all of the
above;
Executive management-level experience;
Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication
and consensus-building skills; and
Ability to volunteer time to attend meetings and to
contribute to the duties assigned to the Federal and OCS Task Force.
Matthew Lee-Ashley,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2022-16103 Filed 7-27-22; 8:45 am]
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