Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 105 / Wednesday, May 31, 2000 / Presidential Documents 34909

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.

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

34910 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 105 / Wednesday, May 31, 2000 / Presidential Documents

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 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

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 105 / Wednesday, May 31, 2000 / Presidential Documents 34911

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.

(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.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

May 26, 2000.

œ–

[FR Doc. 00–13830

Filed 5–30–00; 12:14 pm]

Billing code 3195–01–P