The Council on Environmental Quality today published the Implementation Plan for Recommendations for Increasing the Efficiency of Permitting for Ocean Exploration, Mapping, and Research Activities, which were previously released in June. The effort is an outgrowth of the November 2019 Presidential Memorandum on Ocean Mapping of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and the Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska.
Implementation Plan milestones of interest include the following:
- February 2021: Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee identifies activities that may benefit from programmatic compliance approaches related to ocean exploration, mapping, and research under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act, and other applicable laws
- February 2021: Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee Task Force provides a brief report to the Subcommittee that identifies opportunities to integrate existing, emerging, and new science and technology into permitting and authorization processes and the regulatory reforms needed to do so
- March/April 2021: Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee and Task Force engage with stakeholders to address permit/authorization/consultation needs
- April 2021: Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee Task Force provides a brief report to the ORM subcommittee documenting challenges and opportunities for using new science and technology to meet regulatory standards and management practices
- May 2021: NOAA and DOI conduct webinar/interview outreach with government officials and ocean community stakeholders to evaluate the current utility of, and potential future enhancements to, the OceanReports tool
- June 2021: Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee Task Force finalizes products related to improving efficiencies, when applicable, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and other associated regulatory processes, including the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and Magnuson-Stevens Act, for low-impact activities and technologies, including high-resolution geophysical surveys, associated with ocean exploration, mapping, and research; Task Force prioritizes activities for application of streamlined process moving forward and identifies targeted timeline
- June 2021: Agencies consult with CEQ prior to proposing revised NEPA procedures following agency reviews of their categorical exclusions and how they may be used and coordinated among agencies for ocean exploration, mapping, and research activities
- June 2021: Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee finalizes recommendations for Ocean Policy Committee regarding prioritized opportunities (e.g. ocean research cruises, data analysis/simulations, etc.) to pilot science and technology to address permitting and authorization issues
- June 2021: NOAA launches operational website that identifies and links to agency programs, authorities, and regulations, specific to ocean exploration, mapping, and research activities
- November 2021: Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee seeks public comment on draft best practices for integrating the use of geo-information tools that serve related but different functions, including OceanReports, Regional Ocean Partnership, and/or Integrated Ocean Observing System data portals
- February 2022: Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee and Task Force finalize interagency best practices for integrating the use of geo-information tools that serve related but different functions, including OceanReports, Regional Ocean Partnership, and/or Integrated Ocean Observing System data portals, with integration beginning in June 2022
- June 2022: NOAA and DOI implement enhancements to OceanReports tool
The Implementation Plan notes that many of the actions “will require close coordination with the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization (NOMEC) Council as that body develops plans, procedures, and actions to implement the new national strategy to map, explore, and characterize the United States EEZ.”
