oceanpolicy.com

The Coast Guard today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, July 7 on its request for Office of Management & Budget approval to extend an information collection related to oil or hazardous substance discharge and reports of suspicious maritime activity.  The information collection involves an estimated 3,905 annual burden hours.

The State Dept. today announced the 2-year renewal of the charter for the Shipping Coordinating Committee, effective March 7, 2025.  The Committee provides a mechanism for the public to provide input to the State Dept. on technical issues related to international shipping safety, security, and environmental protection.

Following the April 2025 Executive Order on Updating Permitting Technology for the 21st Century, the White House Council on Environmental Quality today announced its issuance of a Permitting Technology Action Plan, which includes an initial data and technology standard for federal permit/authorization applications and reviews, minimum functional requirements for permitting-related software systems, an implementation roadmap and 90-day timeline, and an interagency governance structure to oversee Action [...]

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, June 30 on its proposed renewal of an oil and gas production safety systems-related information collection.  The information collection renewal involves an estimated 7,454 annual responses, 91,250 annual burden hours, and ~$11.45 million in estimated annual non-hour burden cost.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality today announced its withdrawal of interim “National Environmental Policy Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change.” CEQ issued its recommendations as temporary guidance in 2023, noting at the time that it may revise the guidance in response to public input being sought, or finalize the interim [...]

Noting that “confidence that scientists act in the best interests of the public has fallen significantly” over the last five years” and that “falsification of data by leading researchers has led to high-profile retractions of federally funded research,” President Trump today issued an Executive Order that directs the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy Director to issue [...]

The Interior Dept. today announced the formal transfer of authority from the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration to DOI’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement for the lead oversight of oil and gas platform decommissioning in the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. Acting Asst. Interior Sec. for Land & Minerals Management Adam Suess called the transfer [...]

President Trump today issued a Presidential Proclamation proclaiming May 22, 2025 as National Maritime Day.  The Proclamation notes the importance of shipping lanes, the U.S. Merchant Marine, and skilled merchant mariners “who support our economy and readiness in times of peace, crisis, and war,” adding that the country “is a proud maritime nation, and as President, [...]

Following a formal request for a lease sale by a U.S. company and noting that the April 2025 Executive Order on Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals & Resources identified seabed mineral development as vital to U.S. national security, the Interior Department today announced its initiation of a multi-step process to consider a potential mineral lease sale in federal [...]

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, July 21 on its initiation of a 5-year review for the endangered Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic salmon.  The review is being undertaken to determine whether the species should be delisted or reclassified under the Endangered Species Act.