PLANNING OCEAN ENERGY

Marine spatial planning in Calif. sets example for new federal ocean plans
Molly Peterson, July 19, 2010 (KPCC)

"A presidential task force said…the United States should improve ocean policy by managing what people do in coastal waters by region, not just by activity…A growing number of scientific studies find that spatial management helps to protect ecosystems and reduce climate changing activities…

"…[John Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy] said that with more than 100 federal regulations and orders about the ocean, it makes sense to coordinate how all federal agencies make policy in domestic waters…President Obama is expected to sign an executive order that would activate the task force recommendations. That could result in the creation of a National Ocean Council by the end of the year."

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"Right now most federal policies toward coastal waters — more than a hundred of them — consider what people are doing one activity at a time, or one use at a time. Marine spatial planning means deciding what people can do in a part of the ocean by looking at impacts across a region.

"…[Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality] says the plan isn't to make many new laws, but to do a better job coordinating existing ones with a National Ocean Council…[California, Oregon and Massachusetts have] adopted spatial planning in state-run waters. White House officials say nine regional groups will develop proposals for their portions of the sea in the next year or so..."