As the Obama administration's efforts to stop, contain, and clean up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico ended their third month, a White House task force issued a report with broader US ocean policy implications.
Obama's ocean policy task force issued their final recommendations on July 19. Their centerpiece was creation of a National Ocean Council, which would strengthen ocean governance and coordination.
"With a growing number of recreational, scientific, energy, and security activities, we need a national policy that sets the [US] on a new path for the conservation and sustainable use of these critical natural resources," said Nancy H. Sutley, who chairs the White House's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
CEQ said the new policy includes a set of guiding principles for management decisions and actions toward stewardship to ensure that US oceans, the Great Lakes, and their coasts are healthy and resilient, safe and productive, and understood and treasured.
Regional approach
It also aims to establish a regional approach to reduce user conflicts, make planning and regulation more efficient, cut costs and delays, and preserve critical ecosystem services. This represents a comprehensive alternative to sector-by-sector and statute-by-statute decision-making.
Regional planning bodies will bring federal, state, and Indian tribal partners together in an unprecedented effort to jointly plan ocean, Great Lakes, and coastline management and preservation. Decisions will be based on science-based information, and full stakeholder and public participation will be emphasized, it said.
Two industry associations promptly responded to CEQ's announcement. The American Petroleum Institute warned in a July 19 statement that the final recommendations could have unintended consequences. A sound ocean policy must include balance stakeholder representation early in the process, not add or create new regulatory burdens, but "streamline and coordinate processes between agencies without completely reorganization of ocean governance," API suggested.
Similar to draft
Michael Kearns, external affairs director at the National Ocean Industries Association, said the task force's final recommendations don't differ much from those in its draft report.
"Our concerns were, and remain, that this attempt to better coordinate policymaking will be misused by some to slow down or stop the permitting of current economic activities in the ocean," he told OGJ, adding, "If new levels of bureaucracy are added, in the name of coordination, we hope that the NOC will also look for permitting hurdles to remove."
Kearns said NOIA was pleased to hear that the council will spend the next 6 months to 1 year developing strategic plans for the nine priority areas laid out in the report, particularly that it will solicit public input.
"Industry and concerned individuals should avail themselves of this opportunity to inform the next phase of the NOC's work," he said.
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