(a) Establishment of the Board. There is hereby established a Softwood Lumber Board to administer the terms and provisions of this Order and promote the use of softwood lumber. The Board shall be composed of manufacturers for the U.S. market who manufacture and domestically ship or import 15 million board feet or more of softwood lumber in the United States during a fiscal period. Seats on the Board shall be apportioned based on the volume of softwood lumber manufactured and shipped within the United States by domestic manufacturers and the volume of softwood lumber imported into the United States. Commencing with the term of office beginning January 1, 2015, seats on the Board shall also be apportioned based on size of operation within each geographic region, as specified in paragraphs (b)(1)(i), (b)(1)(ii), (b)(2)(i), and (b)(2)(ii) of this section. For purposes of this section, large means manufacturers for the U.S. market who account for the top two-thirds of the total annual volume of assessable softwood lumber and small means those who account for the remaining one-third of the total annual volume of assessable softwood lumber. If there are no eligible nominees for a large or small seat within a region, that seat may be filled by a nominee representing an eligible manufacturer for the U.S. market of any size. Should the size of a manufacturer for the U.S. market change during a member's term of office, that member could serve for the remainder of the term.
(b) The Board shall be composed of 18 or 19 members, depending upon whether an additional importer member is appointed to the Board, pursuant to paragraph (b)(2)(iii) of this section. The Board shall be established as follows:
(1) Domestic manufacturers. Twelve members shall be domestic manufacturers from the following three regions:
(i) Six members shall be from the U.S. South Region, which consists of the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Commencing with the term of office beginning January 1, 2015, of these six members, two must be large and four must be small;
(ii) Five members shall be from the U.S. West Region, which consists of the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Commencing with the term of office beginning January 1, 2015, of these five members, four must be large and one must be small; and
(iii) One member shall be from the Northeast and Lake States Region, which consists of the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and all other parts of the United States not listed in paragraphs (b)(1)(i), (b)(1)(ii), or (b)(1)(iii) of this section.
(2) Importers. Six members shall be importers who represent the following regions:
(i) Four members shall import softwood lumber from the Canadian West Region, which consists of the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Commencing with the term of office beginning January 1, 2015, of these four members, three must be large and one must be small; and
(ii) Two members shall import softwood lumber from the Canadian East Region, which consists of the Canadian territories and all other Canadian provinces not listed in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section that import softwood lumber into the United States. Commencing with the term of office beginning January 1, 2015, of these two members, one must be large and one must be small.
(iii) If the Secretary, at the request of the Board or on his or her own, determines that it would be consistent with the provisions of the Act, the Secretary may appoint an additional importer to the Board to represent a region not otherwise specified in paragraphs (b)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section. Nominees would be solicited as prescribed in Sec. 1217.41(b), or in the case of the Secretary acting on his or her own will be handled by the Secretary, and all the names of eligible candidates would be submitted to the Secretary for consideration. Such nominees must certify that the majority of their softwood lumber is imported from such region. In addition, representation for the region not otherwise specified in paragraphs (b)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section would be subject to the Board review and reapportionment provided for in paragraph (c) of this section.
(c) In each five-year period, but not more frequently than once in each three-year period, the Board shall:
(1) Review, based on a three-year average, the geographical distribution of the volume of softwood lumber manufactured and shipped within the United States by domestic manufacturers and the volume of softwood lumber imported into the United States; and
(2) Review, based on a three-year average, the distribution of the size of operations within each region; and
(3) If warranted, recommend to the Secretary the reapportionment of the Board membership to reflect changes in the geographical distribution of the volume of softwood lumber manufactured and shipped within the United States by domestic manufacturers and the volume of softwood lumber imported into the United States. The destination of volumes between regions and the distribution of the size of operations within regions shall also be considered. The number of Board members may also be changed. Any changes in Board composition shall be implemented by the Secretary through rulemaking. [76 FR 46193, Aug. 2, 2011, as amended at 78 FR 77333, Dec. 23, 2013]