912 Project Idaho

Another New Executive Order—Re: Oceans (?)

Author: Valerie C | Date: August 08, 2010

Did any one of us notice what happened while the rest of the nation was distracted by election jabber and not one, but TWO, looming congressional ethics hearings? Well here it is!

This EO, signed July 19, 2010, appears to have stemmed from the recent Deep Water Horizon accident and establishes yet another new government agency referred to as the “National Ocean Council” which appears to have the responsibility and authority for dealing with surrounding oceans and coastal areas of the United States, and the Great Lakes. We should not be surprised that this administration’s response to the recent gulf oil spill disaster is more government. Rather than correcting the performance and function of existing agencies whose shortcomings recently became quite evident in this disaster, it appears that more sweeping jurisdiction is now preferred, as illustrated by the following list taken from the narrative of the order below (note that they do not use the word Treaty):

Sec. 2. Policy. (b) (iii) pursuing the United States’ accession to the Law of the Sea Convention (A “UN Agenda 21” item)
Sec. 4. Establishment of National Ocean Council
Sec. 7. Governance Coordinating Committee
Sec. 8. Regional Advisory Committees

This is the description offered at FedCenter.gov…

“This EO, signed 19 July 2010, adopts many of the recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, and directs executive agencies to implement those recommendations under the guidance of a National Ocean Council. Based on those recommendations, this EO establishes a national policy to ensure the protection, maintenance, and restoration of the health of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and resources, enhance the sustainability of ocean and coastal economies, preserve our maritime heritage, support sustainable uses and access, provide for adaptive management to enhance our understanding of and capacity to respond to climate change and ocean acidification, and coordinate with our national security and foreign policy interests.”

An article recently appeared on The August Review website entitled “Law of the Sea Redux”, which can be viewed by clicking —HERE— . [Editor’s Note: President George Bush was the last president to attempt ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty, but failed. LOST has been heavily lobbied by members of the Trilateral Commission as a means to control taxation on the high seas and the vast store of mineral wealth under the seas. If enacted, America will essentially lose all of its sovereignty over coastal waters and the high seas in general.]

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IT DOESN’T MATTER WHICH OF THESE YOU READ FIRST BUT BOTH SHOULD BE READ (AS USUAL) IN ORDER TO FORM YOUR OWN OPINION. If the correlations being made in the article above are true, then we will also need to pay attention to H.R. 3534: Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009 (referred to as CLEAR), which just passed the House on July 30, 2010. I find it interesting that it was introduced in September 2009 and provides for a “Regional Outer Shelf Council”. You can see the text of H.R. 3534 —HERE— .

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ACTUAL NARRATIVE OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDER…

608 - Executive Order 13547 - Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes

[Federal Register: July 22, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 140)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Page 43021-43027]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22jy10-160]

[[Page 43021]]

———————————————————————————————————-

Part VI

The President

———————————————————————————————————-

Executive Order 13547—Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the
Great Lakes

Memorandum of July 19, 2010—The Presidential POWER Initiative:
Protecting Our Workers and Ensuring Reemployment

Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3—
The President

[[Page 43023]]

Executive Order 13547 of July 19, 2010

Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the
Great Lakes

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. The ocean, our coasts, and the
Great Lakes provide jobs, food, energy resources,
ecological services, recreation, and tourism
opportunities, and play critical roles in our Nation’s
transportation, economy, and trade, as well as the
global mobility of our Armed Forces and the maintenance
of international peace and security. The Deepwater
Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and resulting
environmental crisis is a stark reminder of how
vulnerable our marine environments are, and how much
communities and the Nation rely on healthy and
resilient ocean and coastal ecosystems. America’s
stewardship of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great
Lakes is intrinsically linked to environmental
sustainability, human health and well-being, national
prosperity, adaptation to climate and other
environmental changes, social justice, international
diplomacy, and national and homeland security.

This order adopts the recommendations of the
Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, except where
otherwise provided in this order, and directs executive
agencies to implement those recommendations under the
guidance of a National Ocean Council. Based on those
recommendations, this order establishes a national
policy to ensure the protection, maintenance, and
restoration of the health of ocean, coastal, and Great
Lakes ecosystems and resources, enhance the
sustainability of ocean and coastal economies, preserve
our maritime heritage, support sustainable uses and
access, provide for adaptive management to enhance our
understanding of and capacity to respond to climate
change and ocean acidification, and coordinate with our
national security and foreign policy interests.

This order also provides for the development of coastal
and marine spatial plans that build upon and improve
existing Federal, State, tribal, local, and regional
decision making and planning processes. These regional
plans will enable a more integrated, comprehensive,
ecosystem-based, flexible, and proactive approach to
planning and managing sustainable multiple uses across
sectors and improve the conservation of the ocean, our
coasts, and the Great Lakes.

Sec. 2. Policy. (a) To achieve an America whose
stewardship ensures that the ocean, our coasts, and the
Great Lakes are healthy and resilient, safe and
productive, and understood and treasured so as to
promote the well-being, prosperity, and security of
present and future generations, it is the policy of the
United States to:

(i) protect, maintain, and restore the health and biological diversity of
ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and resources;

(ii) improve the resiliency of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems,
communities, and economies;

(iii) bolster the conservation and sustainable uses of land in ways that
will improve the health of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems;

(iv) use the best available science and knowledge to inform decisions
affecting the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes, and enhance
humanity’s capacity to understand, respond, and adapt to a changing global
environment;

[[Page 43024]]

(v) support sustainable, safe, secure, and productive access to, and uses
of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes;

(vi) respect and preserve our Nation’s maritime heritage, including our
social, cultural, recreational, and historical values;

(vii) exercise rights and jurisdiction and perform duties in accordance
with applicable international law, including respect for and preservation
of navigational rights and freedoms, which are essential for the global
economy and international peace and security;

(viii) increase scientific understanding of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes
ecosystems as part of the global interconnected systems of air, land, ice,
and water, including their relationships to humans and their activities;

(ix) improve our understanding and awareness of changing environmental
conditions, trends, and their causes, and of human activities taking place
in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters; and

(x) foster a public understanding of the value of the ocean, our coasts,
and the Great Lakes to build a foundation for improved stewardship.

(b) The United States shall promote this policy by:

(i) ensuring a comprehensive and collaborative framework for the
stewardship of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes that facilitates
cohesive actions across the Federal Government, as well as participation of
State, tribal, and local authorities, regional governance structures,
nongovernmental organizations, the public, and the private sector;

(ii) cooperating and exercising leadership at the international level;

(iii) pursuing the United States’ accession to the Law of the Sea
Convention; and

(iv) supporting ocean stewardship in a fiscally responsible manner.

Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this order:

(a) ``Final Recommendations’’ means the Final
Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task
Force that shall be made publicly available and for
which a notice of public availability shall be
published in the Federal Register.

(b) The term ``coastal and marine spatial
planning’’ means a comprehensive, adaptive, integrated,
ecosystem-based, and transparent spatial planning
process, based on sound science, for analyzing current
and anticipated uses of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes
areas. Coastal and marine spatial planning identifies
areas most suitable for various types or classes of
activities in order to reduce conflicts among uses,
reduce environmental impacts, facilitate compatible
uses, and preserve critical ecosystem services to meet
economic, environmental, security, and social
objectives. In practical terms, coastal and marine
spatial planning provides a public policy process for
society to better determine how the ocean, our coasts,
and Great Lakes are sustainably used and protected—now
and for future generations.

(c) The term ``coastal and marine spatial plans’’
means the plans that are certified by the National
Ocean Council as developed in accordance with the
definition, goals, principles, and process described in
the Final Recommendations.

Sec. 4. Establishment of National Ocean Council. (a)
There is hereby established the National Ocean Council
(Council).

(b) The Council shall consist of the following:

(i) the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of
the Office of Science and Technology Policy, who shall be the Co-Chairs of
the Council;

(ii) the Secretaries of State, Defense, the Interior, Agriculture, Health
and Human Services, Commerce, Labor, Transportation, Energy, and Homeland
Security, the Attorney General, the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,

[[Page 43025]]

the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (Administrator of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the Administrator of
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of National
Intelligence, the Director of the National Science Foundation, and the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff;

(iii) the National Security Advisor and the Assistants to the President for
Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, Domestic Policy, Energy and Climate
Change, and Economic Policy;

(iv) an employee of the Federal Government designated by the Vice
President; and

(v) such other officers or employees of the Federal Government as the Co-
Chairs of the Council may from time to time designate.

(c) The Co-Chairs shall invite the participation of
the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, to the extent consistent with the
Commission’s statutory authorities and legal
obligations, and may invite the participation of such
other independent agencies as the Council deems
appropriate.

(d) The Co-Chairs of the Council, in consultation
with the National Security Advisor and the Assistant to
the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism, shall regularly convene and preside
at meetings of the Council, determine its agenda,
direct its work, and, as appropriate to address
particular subject matters, establish and direct
committees of the Council that shall consist
exclusively of members of the Council.

(e) A member of the Council may designate, to
perform committee functions of the member, any person
who is within such member’s department, agency, or
office and who is (i) an officer of the United States
appointed by the President, (ii) a member of the Senior
Executive Service or the Senior Intelligence Service,
(iii) a general officer or flag officer, or (iv) an
employee of the Vice President.

(f) Consistent with applicable law and subject to
the availability of appropriations, the Office of
Science and Technology Policy and the Council on
Environmental Quality shall provide the Council with
funding, including through the National Science and
Technology Council or the Office of Environmental
Quality. The Council on Environmental Quality shall, to
the extent permitted by law and subject to the
availability of appropriations, provide administrative
support necessary to implement this order.

(g) The day-to-day operations of the Council shall
be administered by a Director and a Deputy Director,
who shall supervise a full-time staff to assist the Co-
Chairs in their implementation of this order.

Sec. 5. Functions of the Council. (a) The Council shall
have the structure and function and operate as defined
in the Final Recommendations. The Council is
authorized, after the Council’s first year of
operation, to make modifications to its structure,
function, and operations to improve its effectiveness
and efficiency in furthering the policy set forth in
section 2 of this order.

(b) To implement the policy set forth in section 2
of this order, the Council shall provide appropriate
direction to ensure that executive departments’,
agencies’, or offices’ decisions and actions affecting
the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes will be
guided by the stewardship principles and national
priority objectives set forth in the Final
Recommendations, to the extent consistent with
applicable law. The Council shall base its decisions on
the consensus of its members. With respect to those
matters in which consensus cannot be reached, the
National Security Advisor shall coordinate with the Co-
Chairs and, as appropriate, the Assistants to the
President for Energy and Climate Change, and Economic
Policy, and the employee of the United States
designated by the Vice President, subject to the
limitations set forth in section 9 of this order, to
present the disputed issue or issues for decision by
the President.

[[Page 43026]]

Sec. 6. Agency Responsibilities. (a) All executive
departments, agencies, and offices that are members of
the Council and any other executive department, agency,
or office whose actions affect the ocean, our coasts,
and the Great Lakes shall, to the fullest extent
consistent with applicable law:

(i) take such action as necessary to implement the policy set forth in
section 2 of this order and the stewardship principles and national
priority objectives as set forth in the Final Recommendations and
subsequent guidance from the Council; and

(ii) participate in the process for coastal and marine spatial planning and
comply with Council certified coastal and marine spatial plans, as
described in the Final Recommendations and subsequent guidance from the
Council.

(b) Each executive department, agency, and office
that is required to take actions under this order shall
prepare and make publicly available an annual report
including a concise description of actions taken by the
agency in the previous calendar year to implement the
order, a description of written comments by persons or
organizations regarding the agency’s compliance with
this order, and the agency’s response to such comments.

(c) Each executive department, agency, and office
that is required to take actions under this order shall
coordinate and contribute resources, as appropriate, to
assist in establishing a common information management
system as defined in the Final Recommendations and
shall be held accountable for managing its own
information assets by keeping them current, easily
accessible, and consistent with Federal standards.

(d) To the extent permitted by law, executive
departments, agencies, and offices shall provide the
Council such information, support, and assistance as
the Council, through the Co-Chairs, may request.

Sec. 7. Governance Coordinating Committee. The Council
shall establish a Governance Coordinating Committee
that shall consist of 18 officials from State, tribal,
and local governments in accordance with the Final
Recommendations. The Committee may establish
subcommittees chaired by representatives of the
Governance Coordinating Committee. These subcommittees
may include additional representatives from State,
tribal, and local governments, as appropriate to
provide for greater collaboration and diversity of
views.

Sec. 8. Regional Advisory Committees. The lead Federal
department, agency, or office for each regional
planning body established for the development of
regional coastal and marine spatial plans, in
consultation with their nonfederal co-lead agencies and
membership of their regional planning body, shall
establish such advisory committees under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., as they deem
necessary to provide information and to advise the
regional planning body on the development of regional
coastal and marine spatial plans to promote the policy
established in section 2 of this order.

Sec. 9. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order,
the establishment of the Council, and the Final
Recommendations shall be construed to impair or
otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law to an executive department or agency or the
head thereof; or

(ii) functions assigned by the President to the National Security Council
or Homeland Security Council (including subordinate bodies) relating to
matters affecting foreign affairs, national security, homeland security, or
intelligence.

(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to
impair or otherwise affect the functions of the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative
proposals.

[[Page 43027]]

(c) In carrying out the provisions of this order
and implementing the Final Recommendations, all actions
of the Council and the executive departments, agencies,
and offices that constitute it shall be consistent with
applicable international law, including customary
international law, such as that reflected in the Law of
the Sea Convention.

(d) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.

Sec. 10. Revocation. Executive Order 13366 of December
17, 2004, is hereby revoked.

(Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

July 19, 2010.

[FR Doc. 2010-18169
Filed 7-21-10; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3195-W0-P

Comments:

I’ve read nothing here of any detail to this organization’s recommendation to prevent another disastrous oil spill by correcting the lack of performance of existing governmental agencies rather than the creation of a new one. Can I get a detailed explanation of why there was inadequate performance of the federal government to prevent such an occurrence of this oil spill and/or why the clean up efforts were unsatisfactory?

Posted by MythBuster on August 23, 2010

Another New Executive Order—Re: Oceans (?)

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