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[Federal Register: August 3, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 148)]
[Notices]               
[Page 45606-45607]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03au10-51]                         

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COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

 
Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force--Final Recommendations of the 
Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force

AGENCY: Council on Environmental Quality.

ACTION: Notice of Availability, Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force's

[[Page 45607]]

``Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force''.

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SUMMARY: On June 12, 2009, the President established an Interagency 
Ocean Policy Task Force, led by the Chair of the Council on 
Environmental Quality. The Task Force was charged with developing, with 
appropriate public input, a recommended national policy for the 
stewardship of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes; a framework 
for policy coordination, including specific recommendations to improve 
coordination and collaboration among Federal, State, tribal, and local 
authorities, and regional governance structures; an implementation 
strategy that identifies a set of priority objectives; and a framework 
for effective costal and marine spatial planning.
    On July 19, 2010, the Task Force submitted its Final 
Recommendations to the President. They provide: (1) Our Nation's first 
ever National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and 
the Great Lakes; (2) a strengthened governance structure to provide 
sustained, high-level, and coordinated attention to ocean, coastal, and 
Great Lakes issues; (3) a targeted implementation strategy that 
identifies and prioritizes nine categories for action that the United 
States should pursue; and (4) a framework for effective coastal and 
marine spatial planning that establishes a comprehensive, integrated, 
ecosystem-based approach to address conservation, economic activity, 
user conflict, and sustainable use of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 
resources.

DATES: None.

ADDRESSES: The Task Force's Final Recommendations are available at 
http://www.whitehouse.gov/oceans or by writing to The Council on 
Environmental Quality, Attn: Michael Weiss, 722 Jackson Place, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Weiss, Deputy Associate 
Director for Ocean and Coastal Policy, (202) 456-3892.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 12, 2009, President Obama issued a 
Memorandum to the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies that 
established an Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by the Chair of 
the Council on Environmental Quality. That Presidential memo charged 
the Task Force with, within 90 days, developing recommendations that 
include: (1) A national policy for the oceans, our coasts, and the 
Great Lakes; (2) a United States framework for policy coordination of 
efforts to improve stewardship of the oceans, our coasts, and the Great 
Lakes; and (3) an implementation strategy that identifies and 
prioritizes a set of objectives the United States should pursue to meet 
the objectives of a national policy. On September 17, 2009, the Task 
Force's Interim Report addressing these three items was issued for 30 
days public comment. The comment period ended on October 17, 2009.
    The Task Force was also charged with, within 180 days, developing a 
recommended framework for effective coastal and marine spatial 
planning. The memorandum provides that the framework should be ``a 
comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem-based approach that addresses 
conservation, economic activity, user conflict, and sustainable use of 
ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources consistent with international 
law, including customary international law as reflected in the 1982 
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.'' On December 14, 
2009, the Task Force's Interim Framework addressing this item was 
issued for 60 days public comment. The comment period ended on February 
12, 2010.
    In response to this direction, the Task Force has completed its 
Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force (Final 
Recommendations). The Task Force Final Recommendations set a new 
direction for improved stewardship of the ocean, our coasts, and the 
Great Lakes. They provide: (1) Our Nation's first ever National Policy 
for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes; (2) 
a strengthened governance structure to provide sustained, high-level, 
and coordinated attention to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes issues; 
(3) a targeted implementation strategy that identifies and prioritizes 
nine categories for action that the United States should pursue; and 
(4) a framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning that 
establishes a comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem-based approach to 
address conservation, economic activity, user conflict, and sustainable 
use of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources.
    The Final Recommendations are now available at the National Ocean 
Council Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/oceans.

    Dated: July 27, 2010.
Nancy Sutley,
Chair, Council on Environmental Quality.
[FR Doc. 2010-18950 Filed 8-2-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3125-W0-P
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