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EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 23, 2011
Obama Administration's National Ocean Council Names State, Local and Tribal Representatives to Coordinating Body
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recognizing that successful ocean stewardship requires inter-governmental collaboration, the Obama Administration's National Ocean Council today announced the inaugural members of the Governance Coordinating Committee, a group of state, local and tribal representatives that will serve as a key coordinating body on ocean policy issues.
President Obama signed an Executive Order in July, 2010, establishing the Nation's first comprehensive, integrated National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, our Coasts, and Great Lakes. America's oceans and coastal regions support tens of millions of jobs and contribute trillions of dollars a year to the national economy. The National Ocean Policy identifies priority areas to focus our Nation's stewardship efforts, including a collaborative, regionally based planning process to ensure healthy ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources for the many communities and economies that rely on and enjoy them.
The Executive Order created the Cabinet-level National Ocean Council to coordinate across the Federal Government on ocean policy, and directed the establishment of the inter-governmental Governance Coordinating Committee (GCC). The 18-member GCC will coordinate with the National Ocean Council on inter-jurisdictional ocean policy issues. GCC members were selected from a pool of nominees submitted by state governors and tribal and local officials. They consist of three at-large tribal representatives, one state representative from each of nine regional planning areas, one state legislative representative, two a-large representatives from inland states, and three local government officials from coastal states.
"The National Ocean Policy helps us to manage the significant and often competing demands on the ocean to ensure these resources can continue to fuel our communities and economies in the long term," said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Co-chair of the National Ocean Council. "Working closely with the state, local and tribal representatives on the Governance Coordinating Committee is vital to achieving the goal of healthy oceans, coasts and Great Lakes that work for American communities."
"I welcome the inaugural members of the Governance Coordinating Committee and thank them for their willingness to serve in this important capacity," said John P. Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Co-chair of the National Ocean Council. "The range of skills and experiences these new members represent will be crucial to ensuring the success of the National Ocean Policy."
The National Ocean Policy establishes a cooperative planning process among Federal, state, tribal, and local authorities, and solicits extensive input from the public and stakeholders for approaches that are tailored to the unique needs of each region. It is designed to foster communication among all levels of government, save taxpayer dollars by eliminating waste, and reduce the conflict and inefficiency resulting from implementation of a maze of nearly 100 different laws, policies and regulations affecting the oceans.
The members being announced today are:
Brian Baird, California (West Coast Region)
Assistant Secretary for Ocean and Coastal Policy, California Natural Resources Agency
Kathleen Leyden, Maine (Northeast Region)
Director of Maine's Coastal Zone Management Program
David Naftzger, Illinois (Great Lakes Region)
Executive Director, Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council
Lelei Peau, American Samoa (Pacific Islands Region)
Deputy Director, Department of Commerce for the American Samoa Government
Mark Robbins, Alaska (Alaska Region)
Associate Director, Office of the Governor
Paige Rothenberger, U.S. Virgin Islands (Caribbean Region)
Coral Reef Initiative Coordinator, USVI Dept. of Planning & Natural Resources
George Stafford, New York (Mid-Atlantic Region)
Deputy Secretary of State
Bill Walker, Mississippi (Gulf of Mexico Region)
Chair of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Management Team and Executive Director of the MS Department of Marine Resources
Steve Crawford, Maine (Tribal Representative)
Environmental Director, Passamaquoddy Tribe of Pleasant Point, ME
Jacque Hostler, California (Tribal Representative)
Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Transportation and Land-Use Department, Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria
Micah McCarty, Washington State (Tribal Representative)
Tribal Chairman & Marine Policy & Fisheries Advisor, Makah Tribal Council
Kristin Jacobs, Florida (Local Government Representative)
County Commissioner - District 2, Broward County, Florida
Geraldine Knatz, California (Local Government Representative)
Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles
Joan Murphy, Illinois (Local Government Representative)
Cook County Commissioner, IL, 6th District
Kevin Ranker, Washington State (State Legislative Representative)
Washington State Senator
Additional members will be announced shortly. For more information about the GCC and the National Ocean Policy, please visit: www.whitehouse.gov/oceans.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Oregon poised to adopt the strictest standard for toxic water pollution in the U.S.
Oregon is poised to adopt the strictest standard for toxic water pollution in the United States, driven by concerns about tribal members and others who eat large amounts of contaminated fish.
The Department of Environmental Quality proposed the new standard Thursday, nearly two decades after concerns about contamination in fish prompted studies that showed tribal members along the Columbia River eat far more fish than the general population.
The new rule, scheduled for approval in June, would dramatically tighten human health criteria for a host of pollutants, including mercury, flame retardants, PCBs, dioxins, plasticizers and pesticides.
Industry and cities worry about the costs of complying with the new rules and controlling pollution, likely to run in the millions.
"There are potentially a lot of manufacturing jobs being put at risk," said John Ledger, an Associated Oregon Industries vice president. "It could put (businesses) in a terrible position, where they can't locate here or expand."
Environmental groups say the change is long overdue, but exceptions built into the proposed rules and a lack of focus on pollution from farms, timberlands and urban stormwater mean they might not reduce pollution significantly.
"We can change standards on paper, but how it plays out on the ground and whether we're really ratcheting down pollution is what matters," said Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper's executive director.
The proposal presses some big hot buttons: regulating industry in a down economy; DEQ's authority over farms and forests; protecting tribal members who have seen their health compromised and their traditional diet degraded by pollution.
Oregon's current water quality standard is built on an assumption that people eat 17.5 grams of fish a day, about a cracker's worth. The proposed standard boosts that to 175 grams a day, just shy of an 8-ounce meal.
That could boost cost for industry such as paper mills and for sewage treatment plants, increasing rates.
It could also lower the health risks for those who eat a lot of local fish -- an estimated 100,000 Oregonians, including 20,000 children, according to a committee set up to consider the health effects of the new standard.
Two years ago, sewage treatment and business groups predicted millions in costs for industry and potentially billions for sewage treatment plants if they had to install state-of-the-art treatment systems.
A more recent study commissioned by DEQ came up with much lower estimates, about $400,000 a year in incremental compliance costs statewide. DEQ officials say they've built in a variance to make sure polluters can cut releases over time at a reasonable cost.
Measures could include public education campaigns, implementing "best management practices" to reduce pollution and pursuing sewer users who put pollution into sewer systems.
Janet Gillaspie, executive director of the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies, said she thinks DEQ has underestimated the impact of the changes, including the costs and paperwork necessary to comply with the new rule.
Kathryn VanNatta, governmental affairs manager for the Northwest Pulp and Paper Association, said variances are likely to be hard to get: "Oregon has never issued a variance," she said, "and this proposal does not make a variance any easier."
The variance provision could also be modified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has to approve the new standard, or challenged in court, business advocates warn.
Environmental groups, including some that have filed lawsuits over implementation of the federal Clean Water Act in Oregon, say the proposal doesn't go far enough.
Variances and other exemptions could water down the rules to the point "there may not be much there," said Nina Bell, executive director of Northwest Environmental Advocates.
The proposal is out for public comment through Feb. 18, with seven hearings scheduled statewide Feb. 1-10. Oregon's Environmental Quality Commission is scheduled to approve a final standard in June.
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation led the move for a tougher standard. Carl Merkle, acting manager of the tribes' environmental rights and protection program, said he's still evaluating the draft.
"We don't want to see exceptions swallowing up the rule," Merkle said. "But we also understand that, for some dischargers, meeting these heightened standards is not going to happen overnight."
The Department of Environmental Quality proposed the new standard Thursday, nearly two decades after concerns about contamination in fish prompted studies that showed tribal members along the Columbia River eat far more fish than the general population.
The new rule, scheduled for approval in June, would dramatically tighten human health criteria for a host of pollutants, including mercury, flame retardants, PCBs, dioxins, plasticizers and pesticides.
Industry and cities worry about the costs of complying with the new rules and controlling pollution, likely to run in the millions.
"There are potentially a lot of manufacturing jobs being put at risk," said John Ledger, an Associated Oregon Industries vice president. "It could put (businesses) in a terrible position, where they can't locate here or expand."
Environmental groups say the change is long overdue, but exceptions built into the proposed rules and a lack of focus on pollution from farms, timberlands and urban stormwater mean they might not reduce pollution significantly.
"We can change standards on paper, but how it plays out on the ground and whether we're really ratcheting down pollution is what matters," said Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper's executive director.
The proposal presses some big hot buttons: regulating industry in a down economy; DEQ's authority over farms and forests; protecting tribal members who have seen their health compromised and their traditional diet degraded by pollution.
Oregon's current water quality standard is built on an assumption that people eat 17.5 grams of fish a day, about a cracker's worth. The proposed standard boosts that to 175 grams a day, just shy of an 8-ounce meal.
That could boost cost for industry such as paper mills and for sewage treatment plants, increasing rates.
It could also lower the health risks for those who eat a lot of local fish -- an estimated 100,000 Oregonians, including 20,000 children, according to a committee set up to consider the health effects of the new standard.
Two years ago, sewage treatment and business groups predicted millions in costs for industry and potentially billions for sewage treatment plants if they had to install state-of-the-art treatment systems.
A more recent study commissioned by DEQ came up with much lower estimates, about $400,000 a year in incremental compliance costs statewide. DEQ officials say they've built in a variance to make sure polluters can cut releases over time at a reasonable cost.
Measures could include public education campaigns, implementing "best management practices" to reduce pollution and pursuing sewer users who put pollution into sewer systems.
Janet Gillaspie, executive director of the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies, said she thinks DEQ has underestimated the impact of the changes, including the costs and paperwork necessary to comply with the new rule.
Kathryn VanNatta, governmental affairs manager for the Northwest Pulp and Paper Association, said variances are likely to be hard to get: "Oregon has never issued a variance," she said, "and this proposal does not make a variance any easier."
The variance provision could also be modified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has to approve the new standard, or challenged in court, business advocates warn.
Environmental groups, including some that have filed lawsuits over implementation of the federal Clean Water Act in Oregon, say the proposal doesn't go far enough.
Variances and other exemptions could water down the rules to the point "there may not be much there," said Nina Bell, executive director of Northwest Environmental Advocates.
The proposal is out for public comment through Feb. 18, with seven hearings scheduled statewide Feb. 1-10. Oregon's Environmental Quality Commission is scheduled to approve a final standard in June.
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation led the move for a tougher standard. Carl Merkle, acting manager of the tribes' environmental rights and protection program, said he's still evaluating the draft.
"We don't want to see exceptions swallowing up the rule," Merkle said. "But we also understand that, for some dischargers, meeting these heightened standards is not going to happen overnight."
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