From the Coastal State Organization's (CSO) Weekly Report 7.16.10  

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House Natural Resources Committee held a markup session on the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009, H.R. 3534.  The bill was approved, as amended, by a vote of 27 to 21.  H.R. 3534 would abolish the Minerals Management Service and divide it into three separate entities:  The Bureau of Energy and Resource Management, to manage leasing and permitting and conduct necessary environmental studies; The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, to conduct all inspections and investigations; and The Office of Natural Resource Revenue, to collect all offshore and onshore oil and gas and renewable energy-related revenues.  It establishes regional ocean councils comprised of federal agencies, states, tribes, local governments, Fishery Management Councils, and Regional Ocean Partnerships to develop strategic plans for regional waters that are multiobjective, science and ecosystem-based, and spatially explicit.  The bill includes an Ocean Resources Conservation and Assistance Fund (ORCA) based on 10% of all rents, royalties and other sums paid on OCS leases.  The Fund provides 35% to coastal states and Indian tribes, 35% to an competitive grants program, 20% to coastal and ocean observing, and 10% to regional ocean partnerships.  It also includes grants to states by amending the Coastal Zone Management Act to revise programs to identify and implement new enforceable policies and procedures to ensure sufficient response capabilities at the state level to address impacts of oil spills or other accidents resulting from OCS energy activities with the potential to affect the coastal zone. For more information, visit: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov.

 

Thanks to a coordinated effort from NFRA and the Regional Associations, over 100 signatures were collected to support the provision in HR 3534 that dedicating a portion of the OCRA funds to IOOS. 

The final report of the President's Ocean Policy Task Force which establishes the country's first comprehensive national policy for the stewardship of the oceans, our coasts and the Great Lakes has been released.   This national policy will set the United States on a new path toward comprehensively planning for the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean.  Americans want clean beaches, abundant seafood and wildlife, a robust economy and jobs and recreational opportunities from our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes areas.  This National Policy gives us a lasting foundation to help achieve these.  Please see the Press Release for more information.  The full report can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/oceans.