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PROPOSED CONSENSUS REVIEW PROCESS
ADTI METAL MINING SECTOR
Draft 1, September 20, 1998
Draft 2, June 15, 1999
Draft 3, August 24, 1999
Charles H. Bucknam
Consensus Review Coordinator
INTRODUCTION
The development of the consensus review process for
documents shall be performed by the Review Committee. The
activities of the Acid Drainage Technology Initiative Metal Mining
Sector shall be based on voluntary consensus standardization
principles as outlined in the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Circular A-118, published in the Federal Register,
February 19, 1998, Vol. 63, No. 33, pp. 8546-8558. The key
components of such a consensus process are:
1. Openness.
2. Balance of interest.
3. Due process.
4. An appeals process.
5. Consensus, which is defined as general agreement, but not
necessarily unanimity, and also includes a process for attempting
to resolve objections by interested parties, as long as all
comments have been fairly considered.
PROCEDURE
1. Originating Committee Balloting - A proposed document shall
be electronically distributed for ballot to the originating committee
by the chairperson, for approval/disapproval and comment by
each member, within a 30 day voting period . All disapproving
votes shall be accompanied by a written explanation including:
voter's name, letter ballot identification and item, an explanation
clearly indicating the part of the item causing the disapproval or
comment, a concise statement of reasons for disapproval or
comment and recommendations for changes. Ballots may be
posted on the Internet, at the discretion of the chairperson of the
originating committee.
2. Responses shall be tallied by the chairperson of the originating
committee and any disapproval items shall be discussed with the
disapproving voter by the chairperson of the originating
committee to see if the disapproval can be withdrawn after a
minor editorial change, without making a change to the technical
content of the item. If a 60% ballot return is not achieved on the
ballot closing date, the chair of the committee shall contact
members until a 60% return is achieved, or withdraw the item from
balloting.
3. Comments and disapproval items requiring changes to the
technical content of the document may be approved by the
chairperson of the originating committee or by majority vote of the
originating committee and the revised document balloted from
step 1 by the originating committee.
4. Any disapproval items which are not accepted by the
chairperson of the originating committee shall be discussed at a
meeting of the originating committee and the originating
committee shall vote whether or not to accept the disapproval,
which will be decided by the majority of the vote of the members
at the meeting. The reasons that any disapproval was denied
and the tally of the voting shall also be documented in the
minutes of the meeting.
5. The chairperson of the originating committee shall contact the
voter that had their disapproval denied and shall provide the
voter with the documentation of the reasons for the denial, the
tally of the voting and the appeals procedure.
6. ADTI Metal Mining Sector Ballot - After approval of the
document by the originating committee and resolution of all
disapprovals, the document and the originating committee vote
tally form shall be sent to all ADTI Metal Mining Sector members
for balloting in the same manner. Ballots will also be sent to all
ADTI members and other interested parties identified by the
chairperson of the originating committee and Linkage
Coordinator, for comment. Comments and disapproval items
shall be handled in the same manner as for originating committee
ballots.
7. Ballot returns shall be tallied by the chairperson of the
originating committee and all comments and disapprovals
received shall be considered by the originating committee. If a
60% ballot return is not achieved on the ballot closing date, the
chairperson of the originating committee will contact members
until a 60% return is achieved or withdraw the item from ballot.
8. Upon approval of the document by the ADTI Metal Mining
Sector members, resolution of all disapprovals and appeals, the
originating committee chairperson will forward the approved
document to the Editorial Coordinator for final editorial review
and distribution.
9. Appeals - Any disapproving voter shall have the right of
appeal to the Review Committee by sending a letter explaining
the reasons for the appeal to the chairperson of the originating
committee or to any Metal Mining Sector Steering Committee
member, who will forward the appeal to the Appeals Coordinator.
The Appeals Coordinator shall notify the Metal Mining Sector
Steering Committee Chairperson of the appeal. The Metal Mining
Sector Chairperson shall request that the balloting process
documentation to be provided to the Appeals Coordinator by the
chairperson of the originating committee, before the next meeting
of the Review Committee. The appeal will be put on the agenda
for discussion at the next meeting of the Review Committee.
10. The Metal Mining Sector Steering Committee Chairperson
shall request that each chairperson of an ADTI Metal Mining
Sector Committee assign a representative to attend any Review
Committee meetings that will consider appeals from the balloting
process. The Review Committee and assigned representatives
shall review the balloting documentation concerned with the
appeal at the meeting and decide by majority vote of the Review
Committee members and assigned representatives, whether or
not the balloting procedures were followed and properly
documented. If the finding is that the balloting procedures were
not followed or adequately documented, the item will be returned
to the originating committee for re-balloting.
11. If the review of the documentation finds that all procedures
were followed and properly documented, the Review Committee
and assigned representatives will make a recommendation on
how the appeal should be handled and vote on the
recommended course of action. The appeal will be referred to
the ADTI Metal Mining Sector Steering Committee for a final
decision. The decisions, recommendations and tally of the votes
shall be documented in the Review Committee meeting minutes.
FORMS
Ballot and vote tally forms shall conform with the following
attachments. The E-Mail address may be substituted for the
signature on electronic voting returns.
ADTI METAL MINING SECTOR BALLOT Letter Ballot #: yymmdd-X
Originating Committee: Voting Level: Committee or
Return To ADTI Metal Mining Sector
Committee Chairperson: Issue Date :
Closing Date: 30 Days from Issue
Address:
Voter (Print) ___________________________
Phone: ( ) - Signature _______________________________
FAX : ( ) -
E-mail: Representing ___________________________
Information and Instructions
1) All ADTI Metal Mining Sector members are required to
return this ballot form. Observers are welcome to submit their
comments and disapprovals for inclusion in the vote tally.
Your ballot form is important to the Committee in obtaining the
60% return for a valid ballot. Return of letter ballots is a
measure of a member's participation in the ADTI Metal Mining
Sector. Failure to return letter ballots can lead to your
termination from the ADTI Metal Mining Sector. Valid votes are
Approve, Disapprove or Abstention.
2) Ballot items marked Disapprove and comments must be
accompanied by a written explanation. Use a separate sheet
and include 1) voter's name letter ballot identification and
item, 2) clearly indicate the part of the item causing the
disapproval or comment, 3) provide a concise statement of your
reasons and 4) provide your recommendations for changes.
Item :
Approve _____
Disapprove _____
Abstention _____
METAL MINING SECTOR-ADTI BALLOT TALLY FORM
Letter Ballot #: yymmdd-X
Voting Level: Committee or ADTI Metal Mining Sector
Originating Committee:
Returned To
Committee Chairperson: Issue Date :
Closing Date: 30 Days from Issue
Address:
Chairperson (Print) ________________________
Phone : ( ) - Signature _______________________________
FAX : ( ) -
E-mail :
Members Balloted _______________
Ballots Returned _______________
% Ballot Return _______________
Ballot Closing Date _______________
Approve Votes _______________
Disapprove Votes _______________
Abstentions _______________
Commenting Votes _______________
ATTACH DISAPPROVE, COMMENT VOTES AND RELATED MEETING MINUTES