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Federal agencies and Pacific Coast governors embark on ocean action plan

Posted by: Maven on July 31, 2008 at 6:13 am

From the Environment News Service:

The governors of California, Oregon and Washington Tuesday announced the details of their plan to address ocean and coastal management issues such as polluted runoff, oil spills and marine garbage along the West Coast.

The West Coast Governors’ Ocean Action Plan is the result of a 2006 agreement signed by the three governors that established a long-term partnership to tackle obstacles facing the Pacific Ocean and its coastal communities.

The three states will work together on 26 actions. They promised to advocate for stricter ocean going vessel emission standards, prevent the introduction of invasive species, explore the feasibility of offshore alternative ocean energy development, improve ocean research, increase ocean education and prevent and respond to offshore oil spills, among other efforts. Each action within the plan contains benchmarks and a timeframe for action. The governors have formally committed to report on the status of actions at the end of two years.

“This agreement is another key step in our aggressive efforts to maintain clean water and beaches along our coast,” said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, speaking with his fellow governors via satellite. “I believe our commitment to working together and putting this plan into action will help effectively tackle critical issues up and down the West Coast,” he said, “ensuring a healthy ocean environment for current and future generations.”

More on this story from the Environment News Service by clicking here.

Multiple Federal agencies are also involved, according to this press release from the Department of the Interior:

Today, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joined the governors of California, Oregon and Washington to launch an historic action plan addressing challenging ocean and coastal management issues along the West Coast.

The action plan implements the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health, a 2006 agreement signed by the governors of the three states involved to forge a long-term partnership to tackle obstacles facing the Pacific Ocean and its coastal communities.

“Close collaboration on a regional basis between the states and the federal government is a critical piece of the President’s Ocean Action Plan,” said James L. Connaughton, Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality. “The new Action Plan for the West Coast is a testament to what we can accomplish when we align our efforts and work together for a better future for our oceans and coasts.”

“The federal partners are pleased to support this commitment of the West Coast governors to ocean health and conservation,” said Kameran Onley, Acting Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior. “The Department of the Interior provides ocean research and resource management experience to help the states achieve our mutual goal of providing a healthy ocean for future generations. Interior agencies including the U.S. Geological Survey, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Minerals Management Service share a long and close working partnership with all three states.”

The plan commits the three states to collaborate closely with federal agencies, as well as ocean users, academic institutions, the public, and other regional entities on 26 bold actions to meet seven priority goal areas related to ocean protection. The federal partners are providing the states with scientific expertise and other support from their programs that correspond to the goals of the action plan.

“This plan will work to focus everyone on common goals to protect the marine environment,” said Alexis Strauss, Water Division Director for the EPA Pacific Southwest. “We all share the same desire to address the many ocean and coastal management challenges and this effort will move everyone forward in facing those challenges.”

Read the rest of the press release from the Department of the Interior by clicking here.

To find out more and read the West Coast Governor’s Agreement & sign up for automatic updates, click here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Oceans & Beaches

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