Executive Order 13158

Presidential Documents

Executive Order 13158 of May 26, 2000

Marine Protected Areas

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws

of the United States of America and in furtherance of the purposes of the

National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), National Wildlife

Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-ee), National

Park Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), National Historic

Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et

seq.), Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), Coastal Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1451 et

seq.), Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), Marine

Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1362 et seq.), Clean Water Act of 1977

(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), National Environmental Policy Act, as amended

(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (42 U.S.C.

1331 et seq.), and other pertinent statutes, it is ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. This Executive Order will help protect the significant

natural and cultural resources within the marine environment for the benefit

of present and future generations by strengthening and expanding the

Nation's system of marine protected areas (MPAs). An expanded and

strengthened comprehensive system of marine protected areas throughout

the marine environment would enhance the conservation of our Nation's

natural and cultural marine heritage and the ecologically and economically

sustainable use of the marine environment for future generations. To this

end, the purpose of this order is to, consistent with domestic and

international law: (a) strengthen the management, protection, and

conservation of existing marine protected areas and establish new or

expanded MPAs; (b) develop a scientifically based, comprehensive national

system of MPAs representing diverse U.S. marine ecosystems, and the

Nation's natural and cultural resources; and (c) avoid causing harm to MPAs

through federally conducted, approved, or funded activities.

Sec. 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this order:

a. "Marine protected area" means any area of the marine environment

that has been reserved by Federal, State, territorial, tribal, or local

laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the

natural and cultural resources therein.

b. "Marine environment" means those areas of coastal and ocean

waters, the Great Lakes and their connecting waters, and submerged

lands thereunder, over which the United States exercises jurisdiction,

consistent with international law.

c. The term "United States" includes the several States, the District of

Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of

the United States, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth

of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Sec. 3. MPA Establishment, Protection, and Management. Each Federal

agency whose authorities provide for the establishment or management of

MPAs shall take appropriate actions to enhance or expand protection of

existing MPAs and establish or recommend, as appropriate, new MPAs.

Agencies implementing this section shall consult with the agencies identified

in subsection 4(a) of this order, consistent with existing requirements.

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Sec. 4. National System of MPAs. (a) To the extent permitted by law and

subject to the availability of appropriations, the Department of Commerce

and the Department of the Interior, in consultation with the Department of

Defense, the Department of State, the United States Agency for

International Development, the Department of Transportation, the

Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, and

other pertinent Federal agencies shall develop a national system of MPAs.

They shall coordinate and share information, tools, and strategies, and

provide guidance to enable and encourage the use of the following in the

exercise of each agency's respective authorities to further enhance and

expand protection of existing MPAs and to establish or recommend new

MPAs, as appropriate:

1. science-based identification and prioritization of natural and cultural

resources for additional protection;

2. integrated assessments of ecological linkages among MPAs,

including ecological reserves in which consumptive uses of resources

are prohibited, to provide synergistic benefits;

3. a biological assessment of the minimum area where consumptive

uses would be prohibited that is necessary to preserve representative

habitats in different geographic areas of the marine environment;

4. an assessment of threats and gaps in levels of protection currently

afforded to natural and cultural resources, as appropriate;

5. practical, science-based criteria and protocols for monitoring and

evaluating the effectiveness of MPAs;

6. identification of emerging threats and user conflicts affecting MPAs

and appropriate, practical, and equitable management solutions,

including effective enforcement strategies, to eliminate or reduce

such threats and conflicts;

7. assessment of the economic effects of the preferred management

solutions; and

8. identification of opportunities to improve linkages with, and technical

assistance to, international marine protected area programs.

b. In carrying out the requirements of section 4 of this order, the

Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior shall

consult with those States that contain portions of the marine

environment, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of

the United States, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth

of the Northern Mariana Islands, tribes, Regional Fishery

Management Councils, and other entities, as appropriate, to promote

coordination of Federal, State, territorial, and tribal actions to

establish and manage MPAs.

c. In carrying out the requirements of this section, the Department of

Commerce and the Department of the Interior shall seek the expert

advice and recommendations of non-Federal scientists, resource

managers, and other interested persons and organizations through a

Marine Protected Area Federal Advisory Committee. The Committee

shall be established by the Department of Commerce.

d. The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior shall

establish and jointly manage a website for information on MPAs and

Federal agency reports required by this order. They shall also publish

and maintain a list of MPAs that meet the definition of MPA for the

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purposes of this order.

e. The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration shall establish a Marine Protected Area Center to

carry out, in cooperation with the Department of the Interior, the

requirements of subsection 4(a) of this order, coordinate the website

established pursuant to subsection 4(d) of this order, and partner with

governmental and nongovernmental entities to conduct necessary

research, analysis, and exploration. The goal of the MPA Center shall

be, in cooperation with the Department of the Interior, to develop a

framework for a national system of MPAs, and to provide Federal,

State, territorial, tribal, and local governments with the information,

technologies, and strategies to support the system. This national

system framework and the work of the MPA Center is intended to

support, not interfere with, agencies' independent exercise of their

own existing authorities.

f. To better protect beaches, coasts, and the marine environment from

pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), relying upon

existing Clean Water Act authorities, shall expeditiously propose new

science-based regulations, as necessary, to ensure appropriate

levels of protection for the marine environment. Such regulations may

include the identification of areas that warrant additional pollution

protections and the enhancement of marine water quality standards.

The EPA shall consult with the Federal agencies identified in

subsection 4(a) of this order, States, territories, tribes, and the public

in the development of such new regulations.

Sec. 5. Agency Responsibilities. Each Federal agency whose actions affect

the natural or cultural resources that are protected by an MPA shall identify

such actions. To the extent permitted by law and to the maximum extent

practicable, each Federal agency, in taking such actions, shall avoid harm

to the natural and cultural resources that are protected by an MPA. In

implementing this section, each Federal agency shall refer to the MPAs

identified under subsection 4(d) of this order.

Sec. 6. Accountability. Each Federal agency that is required to take actions

under this order shall prepare and make public annually a concise

description of actions taken by it in the previous year to implement the

order, including a description of written comments by any person or

organization stating that the agency has not complied with this order and a

response to such comments by the agency.

Sec. 7. International Law. Federal agencies taking actions pursuant to this

Executive Order must act in accordance with international law and with

Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988, on the Territorial

Sea of the United States of America, Presidential Proclamation 5030 of

March 10, 1983, on the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States of

America, and Presidential Proclamation 7219 of September 2, 1999, on the

Contiguous Zone of the United States.

Sec. 8. General.

a. Nothing in this order shall be construed as altering existing

authorities regarding the establishment of Federal MPAs in areas of

the marine environment subject to the jurisdiction and control of

States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

the Virgin Islands of the United States, American Samoa, Guam, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Indian tribes.

b. This order does not diminish, affect, or abrogate Indian treaty rights

or United States trust responsibilities to Indian tribes.

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c. This order does not create any right or benefit, substantive or

procedural, enforceable in law or equity by a party against the United

States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.

(Presidential Sig.)<Clinton1><Clinton2>

THE WHITE HOUSE,

May 26, 2000.

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