The US Environmental Protection Agency released its draft climate change adaptation implementation plans for a 2-month public review. Comments will be accepted until Jan. 3, 2014.
The proposed implementation plans provide detailed information about steps the federal environmental regulatory agency plans to take to help communities adapt to a changing climate under US President Barack Obama’s climate action plan, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said on Nov. 1.
They recognize that EPA must integrate climate adaptation planning into its programs, policies, rules, and operations to ensure that the agency’s work continues to be effective even as the climate changes, she indicated.
The proposals potentially could have significant impacts across the US oil and gas industry.
EPA said it released its draft agency climate change adaptation plan on Feb. 9 for public review and comment, and expects to issue the final version this fall.
All federal agencies were required to develop climate change adaptation plans in 2009 by the federal Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, according to EPA. Under Executive Order 13514, that task force was charged with developing recommendations for the president on how to increase the nation’s resilience to climate change, it said.
The new implementation plans provide information about how EPA will meet the agency-wide priorities identified in the draft climate adaptation plan released earlier this year, EPA said.
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