The National Science Foundation today announced that its Advisory Committee for Polar Programs will hold a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, May 17. Agenda items include a review and evaluation of the COVID Protocols Subcommittee report, and a vote on whether it should be forwarded to the Office of Polar Programs. The Committee provides advice [...]
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State Dept. Announces Public Meetings Ahead of IMO Gatherings
The State Department this week announced that the Shipping Coordinating Committee will hold a public meeting in Washington, DC on Monday, May 22 in preparation for the 107th session of the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee, to be held in London on May 31-June 9. Meeting topics include development of a goal-based instrument for maritime [...]
U.S. House Committee Hold Hearing on Establishing Independent NOAA
The U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee today held a hearing on discussion draft legislation that, among other things, would establish NOAA as an independent executive branch agency and require a study examining the feasibility of transferring all or part of the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act management functions to the [...]
NOAA Initiates Public Scoping Process for Potential Pacific National Marine Sanctuary
NOAA today announced the initiation of a process to potentially designate a new national marine sanctuary in the Pacific Remote Islands region, with comments sought by Friday, June 2 on the scope and significance of issues to be addressed in preparing a draft environmental impact statement for the designation. In conjunction with the comment period, NOAA [...]
BSEE Issues Offshore O&G Infrastructure Decommissioning Rule
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement today announced the release of a final rule effective Thursday, May 18 that specifies decommissioning requirements for rights-of-use and easement grant holders and formalizes BSEE’s policies regarding performance by predecessors ordered to decommission Outer Continental Shelf facilities. BSEE Director Kevin Sligh said that the rule will “provide [...]
VP Harris Announces $562M in Coastal Resilience Funding
At an event in Miami, FL today, Vice President Harris announced $562 million in federal investments for 149 projects focused on climate resilience in 30 coastal and Great Lakes states and territories. The funding includes $477 million for “high-impact projects,” $46 million for National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Coastal Resilience Fund projects, and $39.1 [...]
Coast Guard Announces Gulf of Mexico Safety Zones
The U.S. Coast Guard has announced the establishment of a safety zone effective Thursday, May 11 that precludes any vessels except those attending the facility or those less than 100 feet in length and not engaged in towing from entering within 500 meters of the Heidelberg Spar in Green Canyon Block 860 in the Gulf [...]
USFWS Reopens Comment Period on Rufa Red Knot Critical Habitat Designation
The U.S. Interior Department’s Fish & Wildlife Service today announced its decision to reopen the comment period through Thursday, May 30 on its proposal to designate critical habitat for the threatened rufa red knot. In doing so, FWS proposes to expand the critical habitat designation from ~649,066 acres to ~683,405 acres in an area spanning [...]
National Academies Cmte. on Offshore Wind and Fisheries Holds Public Meeting
The Standing Committee for Offshore Wind Energy and Fisheries today held a virtual public meeting to introduce the Committee to the public and discuss goals with its sponsor, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Attended by ~300 participants, the meeting began with brief remarks from Chair Jim Sanchirico and a briefing from BOEM Director Liz [...]
NMFS Announces Public Meetings on Proposed Sunflower Sea Star ESA Listing
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it will hold in-person public hearings (with teleconference available) at 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm in Kodiak, AK on Tuesday, May 2 and in Petersburg, AK on Wednesday, May 10 regarding its proposal to list the sunflower sea star as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The documented [...]
