§ 7.5 Consultation with Committee Management Secretariat on establishment of advisory committees; advisory committee charters.
(a) Consultation with the Secretariat. To establish, renew, reestablish, or merge a discretionary advisory committee, the Commission shall first consult with the Secretariat and, as part of the consultation, provide a written public interest determination approved by the Commission to the Secretariat documenting that the establishment, renewal, reestablishment, or merger of the committee is essential to the conduct of NRC business and that the information to be obtained is not already available through another advisory committee or source within the Federal Government. At a minimum, the following factors should be addressed in the written public interest determination provided to the Secretariat (with a copy to OMB) to demonstrate that establishing the committee is in the public interest:
(1) Annual budget and expected costs broken into:
(i) Federal personnel (based on full-time equivalent (FTE) usage basis) and other Federal internal costs;
(ii) Proposed payments to members and number of members; and
(iii) Reimbursable costs;
(2) If applicable, the total dollar value of grants expected to be recommended during the fiscal year;
(3) Criteria for selecting members to ensure the committee has the necessary expertise and fairly balanced membership;
(4) List of all other Federal advisory committees of the NRC;
(5) Justification that the information or advice provided by the Federal advisory committee is not available from another Federal advisory committee, another Federal Government source or any other more cost-effective and less burdensome source; and
(6) If the justification relates to a renewal, a summary of the previous accomplishments of the committee and the reasons it needs to continue.
(b) Considerations for fairly balanced membership. To comply with the Act's requirement for fairly balanced membership, during the Federal advisory committee member recruitment process the NRC should consider the following:
(1) The points of view required. During the formation of the advisory committee membership and as membership vacancies occur, the NRC should ensure that it fully considers and understands the potential implications or anticipated impacts of the advisory committee's potential recommendations. This includes consideration of the groups and entities potentially affected or interested in such recommendations, as appropriate based on the nature and functions of the advisory committee, so that the NRC can make informed decisions on the areas of expertise or perspectives that would advance the work of the advisory committee. Advisory committees requiring technical expertise should include persons with demonstrated professional or personal qualifications and experience relevant to the functions and tasks to be performed by the committee.
(2) Outreach. Having identified the points of view that would promote a fairly balanced advisory committee membership, the NRC should conduct broad outreach.
(c) Advisory committee charters. An advisory committee charter is intended to provide a description of an advisory committee's mission, goals, and objectives. The Commission approves advisory committee charters for establishments, renewals, re-establishments, or mergers. The charter must contain the following information:
(1) The advisory committee's official designation (official name);
(2) The legal authority that permits the advisory committee to be established;
(3) The objectives and the scope of the advisory committee's activities;
(4) A description of the duties for which the advisory committee is responsible and specification of the authority for any non-advisory functions;
(5) The NRC official(s) to whom the advisory committee submits its recommendations;
(6) The NRC office responsible for providing the necessary support to the advisory committee;
(7) The estimated annual costs to operate the advisory committee in dollars and person years (FTE). The estimated costs should break down all costs into the three categories described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section;
(8) The estimated number and frequency of the advisory committee's meetings;
(9) The period of time necessary for the committee to carry out its purposes;
(10) The planned termination date, if less than two years from the date of establishment of the advisory committee;
(11) The estimated number of advisory committee members, the expertise or experience required, and the anticipated committee member designations;
(12) Whether subcommittees may be created and by whom; and
(13) The date the charter is filed in accordance with § 7.8.
(d) Subcommittees. In general, the requirements of the Act and the policies of this part do not apply to subcommittees of advisory committees as long as the subcommittee reports only to that parent advisory committee and not directly to a Federal officer or the NRC. However, before establishing a subcommittee under a discretionary committee that is not made up entirely of members of a parent advisory committee, the Commission shall follow the same consultation process and document in writing the same determination of need for the subcommittee as is required under paragraph (a) of this section.