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discussed with the disapproving voter by the chairperson of the originating committee to see if the disapproval can be withdrawn after a minor editorial change, without making a change to the technical content of the item.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