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December 30, 2008
Next negotiated rulemaking committee meeting is Jan. 6-7
 The next meeting of the National Park Service’s negotiated rulemaking committee will be on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 6 and 7, at the Wright Brothers National Memorial Pavilion in Kill Devil Hills. A committee of 29 stakeholders has been negotiating a long-range off-road vehicle rule for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore since January. This will be the 10th meeting of the group, which is coming to the end of its work. Its task is to reach consensus on as many issues as possible on an ORV rule. Subcommittees are working on natural resource issues, areas and routes, village closures, permits and fees, and vehicle characteristics and operation. Consensus, the committee has decided, means that no member can vote against any part of a proposed rule, although members may abstain from voting. Thus far, there has been little consensus, especially on the most contentious issues of natural resources and routes and areas. The 11th meeting is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, Jan 21-22, at the Wright Brothers National Memorial Pavilion in Kill Devil Hills. If necessary, there will be one last meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 3, also at the Wright Brothers Pavilion. The meetings are open to the public and the public can make comments at noon on both days and at 5 p.m. on the first day. The November and December meetings were videotaped by Dare County. The videos are available on Charter Cable’s government access channel 20. For a schedule of the meetings on the cable, go to http://darenc.com/depts/PR/Ch20cal.pdf You can also view the videos on the county Web site at http://www.darenc.com. Click on videos of the negotiated rulemaking committee on the home page. There are also a number of committee and subcommittee documents on the Park Planning Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=358&projectId=10641&documentID=25276 Most people will find the subcommittee report on areas and routes the most interesting. The two advocacy groups on the subcommittee – ORV access groups and environmental groups – have reached some agreement on some areas. But the two sides are still at odds over access to the most popular beaches in the seashore, including Bodie Island spit, Cape Point, South Beach in Frisco, Hatteras Inlet spit, and South Point on Ocracoke. This report includes maps that designate routes that are proposed as pedestrian only year-round, ORV and pedestrian year-round, and areas that are pedestrian year-round and open to ORVs in the off season. The maps also designate areas that the two sides in the negotiation have not been able to agree on. The maps are only proposals at this point. You can click here to see the easily understandable maps from the subcommittee NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING COMMITTEE 10th Regulatory Negotiation Meeting Wright Brothers Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, NC January 6-7, 2008 Draft Final Agenda Objectives • Updates since last meeting • Clarify Committee role on natural resources and NPS expectations • Subcommittee and caucus meetings to refine proposals and narrow issues • Reach conditional consensus on as many issues as possible • Identify additional Subcommittee work during January • Provide opportunity for public comment • Other? Tuesday, January 6 8:00 Gathering and Coffee 8:30 Welcome to All and Opening of the Meeting, Mike Murray, NPS, Designated Federal Official (DFO) 8:35 Review Meeting Objectives and Agenda, Facilitators and Agenda Planning Subcommittee 8:40 Brief Updates Since the Last Meeting and Approval of Meeting Summaries 8:50 NPS clarifies Committee Role, Expectations, Deadline, NEPA, etc. 9:50 Break 10:05 Subcommittee Discussions • Permits, Passes, Fees • Natural Resources • Routes and Areas • Village Closures (Committee members and alternates who are not on a subcommittee are requested to observe and contribute through a subcommittee member) 12:00 Public Comment (Up to 4 minutes per person, with 5 minutes total at the end of the public session for a brief response from Committee members to the public comments) Specific comments are requested on the following -- • Routes and Areas proposals • Proposals discussed in Subcommittee meetings 12:45 Working Lunch in Caucuses (provided for principals and alternates) 1:30 Continue Subcommittee Meetings (Note: Permits, Passes, Fees is expected to complete its work in the AM) 3:30 Caucus Meetings 4:30 Check in to prepare for Day #2 4:50 Break 5:00 Additional Public Comment Session (if not completed before lunch) (up to 4 minutes per person, with 5 minutes total at the end of the public session for a brief response from Committee members to the public comments) Following Public Comment -- Adjourn for the Day 6:30 Key Subcommittee Members and Facilitators Prepare Write Ups for Day #2 Wednesday, January 7 8:00 Gathering and Coffee 8:30 Agenda Review 8:35 Reports from Subcommittees and Plenary Discussion • What’s promising • Consensus • Disagreements and reasons 10:45 Break 12:00 Public Comment (Up to 4 minutes per person, with 5 minutes total at the end of the public session for a brief response from Committee members to the public comments) Specific comments are requested on the following -- • What’s promising and why? • What should be changed and why? 12:45 Working Lunch in Caucuses (provided for principals and alternates) 1:15 Continue Committee Discussion 2:45 Subcommittee Meetings to identify issues and work and scheduling 3:45 Check-in and Planning for January 21-22 Meeting 4:00 Adjourn |
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