§ 202.10 - RAB adjournment and dissolution.

§ 202.10 RAB adjournment and dissolution.

(a) RAB adjournment -

(1) Requirements for RAB adjournment. An Installation Commander may adjourn a RAB with input from the community when there is no longer a need for a RAB or when community interest in the RAB no longer exists. An Installation Commander may consider adjourning the RAB in the following situations:

(i) A record of decision has been signed for all DERP sites on the installation,

(ii) An installation has achieved response complete at all sites and no further environmental restoration decisions are required,

(iii) An installation has all remedies in place,

(iv) The RAB has achieved the desired end goal as defined in the RAB Operating Procedures,

(v) There is no longer sufficient, sustained community interest, as documented by the installation with RAB community members and community-at-large input, to sustain the RAB. The installation shall continue to monitor for any changes in community interest that could warrant reactivating or reestablishing the RAB, or

(vi) The installation has been transferred out of DoD control and day-to-day responsibility for making restoration response decisions has been assumed by the transferee.

(2) Adjournment procedures. If the Installation Commander is considering adjourning the RAB, the Installation Commander shall:

(i) Consult with EPA, state, tribes, RAB members, and the local community, as appropriate, regarding adjourning the RAB and consider all responses before making a final decision.

(ii) Document the rationale for adjournment in a memorandum in a memorandum for inclusion in the Administrative Record, notify the public of the decision through written notice to the RAB members and through publication of a notice in a local newspaper of general circulation, and describe other ongoing public involvement opportunities that are available if the Installation Commander decides to adjourn the RAB.

(b) RAB dissolution -

(1) Requirements for RAB dissolution. An Installation Commander may recommend dissolution of a RAB when a RAB is no longer fulfilling the intended purpose of advising and providing community input to an Installation Commander and decision makers on environmental restoration projects as described in § 202.1(b).

(2) Dissolution procedures. If the Installation Commander is considering dissolving the RAB, the Installation Commander shall:

(i) Consult with EPA, state, tribal and local government representatives, as appropriate, regarding dissolving the RAB.

(ii) Notify the RAB community co-chair and members in writing of the intent to dissolve the RAB and the reasons for doing so and provide the RAB members 30 days to respond in writing. The Installation Commander shall consider RAB member responses, and in consultation with EPA, state, tribal and local government representatives, as appropriate, determine the appropriate actions.

(iii) Notify the public of the proposal to dissolve the RAB and provide a 30-day public comment period on the proposal, if the Installation Commander decides to proceed with dissolution. At the conclusion of the public comment period, the Installation Commander will review the public comments, consult with EPA, state, tribal and local government representatives, as appropriate, and, if the Installation Commander still believes dissolution is appropriate, render a recommendation to that effect.

(iv) Send the recommendation, responsiveness summary, and all supporting documentation via the chain-of-command to the Military Component's Environmental Deputy Assistant Secretary (or equivalent) for approval or disapproval. The Military Component's Environmental Deputy Assistant Secretary (or equivalent) shall notify the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations & Environment) (or equivalent) of the decision to approve or disapprove the request to dissolve the RAB and the rationale for that decision.

(v) Document the recommendation, responsiveness summary, and the rationale for dissolution in a memorandum for inclusion in the Administrative Record, notify the public of the decision through written notice to the RAB members and through publication of a notice in a local newspaper of general circulation and describe other ongoing public involvement opportunities that are available, once the Military Component's Environmental Deputy Assistant Secretary (or equivalent) makes a final decision.

(c) Reestablishing an adjourned or dissolved RAB. An Installation Commander may reestablish an adjourned or dissolved RAB if there is sufficient and sustained community interest in doing so, and there are environmental restoration activities still ongoing at the installation or that may start up again. Where a RAB is adjourned or dissolved and environmental restoration activities continue, the Installation Commander should reassess community interest at least every 24 months. When all environmental restoration decisions have been made and required remedies are in place and are properly operating at an installation, reassessment of the community interest for reestablishing the RAB is not necessary. When additional environmental restoration decisions have to be made resulting from subsequent actions, such as long-term management and five-year reviews, the installation will reassess community interest for reestablishing the RAB. Where the reassessment finds sufficient and sustained community interest at previously adjourned or dissolved RABs, the Installation Commander should reestablish a RAB. Where the reassessment does not find sufficient and sustained community interest in reestablishing the RAB, the Installation Commander shall document in a memorandum for the record the procedures followed in the reassessment and the findings of the reassessment. This document shall be included in the Administrative Record for the installation. If there is interest in reestablishment at a previously dissolved RAB, but the Installation Commander determines that the same conditions exist that required the original dissolution, he or she will request, through the chain-of-command to the Military Component's Deputy Assistant Secretary, an exception to reestablishing the RAB. If those conditions no longer exist at a previously dissolved RAB, and there is sufficient and sustained interest in reestablishment, the Installation Commander should recommend to the Deputy Assistant Secretary that the RAB be reestablished. The Deputy Assistant Secretary will take the Installation Commander's recommendation under advisement and may approve that RAB for reestablishment.

(d) Public comment. If the Installation Commander intends to recommend dissolution of a RAB or reestablish a dissolved RAB, the Installation Commander shall notify the public of the proposal to dissolve or reestablish the RAB and provide a 30-day public comment period on the proposal. At the conclusion of the public comment period, the Installation Commander shall review public comments; consult with EPA and state, tribal, or local government representatives, as appropriate; prepare a responsiveness summary; and render a recommendation. The recommendation, responsiveness summary, and all supporting documentation should be sent via the chain-of-command to the Military Component's Environmental Deputy Assistant Secretary (or equivalent) for approval or disapproval. The Installation Commander shall notify the public of the decision.