http://www.agu.org/pubs/pdf/2012EO040003-op.pdf
Eos, Vol. 93, No. 4, 24 January 2012
Draft U.S. Ocean Policy Plan Precedes Proposal
to Move NOAA to Interior Department
The Obama administration?s ambitious
plan to protect oceans was released on
12 January, just 1 day prior to the administration?s
apparently unrelated announcement
of a proposed governmental reorganization
that would move the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from
the Department of Commerce to the Department
of the Interior. The proposed NOAA
move is part of a larger administration proposal
to consolidate six federal agencies
that are focused on business and trade into
one department. The action is contingent
upon congressional approval.
The proposal to move NOAA to the Interior
department has prompted a variety of
reactions, with some considering it common
sense to group agencies dealing with natural
resources in the same department. Others
have charged that the proposed move
could blunt NOAA?s leading role in protecting
oceans, among other concerns.
[snip]
NOAA?s Proposed Move
During a 13 January briefing, Jeff Zients
of the White House Office of Management
and Budget said that all of NOAA would be
moved to the Interior department under the
administration proposal. ?As part of the specific
proposal that would be developed once
we have consolidation authority, the appropriate
integration of NOAA into the Interior
department would be carefully worked
through.?
Sarah Chasis, director of the Natural
Resources Defense Council?s Ocean Initiative,
said the proposed move for NOAA was
?a side issue? in the proposed reorganization,
with the principal focus being on business
and trade agencies. Chasis told Eos that
while the draft implementation plan is a positive
and important step forward for ocean
stewardship, the proposal to move NOAA
to Interior is troubling. She said NOAA currently
plays an important role in checks and
balances with Interior, which has responsibility
for extractive offshore oil and gas
activities. ?Making sure that [NOAA is] free
to weigh in in a way that?s not squelched or
unduly influenced by the extraction goals of
[Interior] is really important,? she said, adding,
?We need to focus on implementing the
National Ocean Policy plan. There are so
many important things to be done, and reorganization
takes a lot of time and effort and
diverts from policy and implementation.?
Jeb Berman, director of government relations
with the National Marine Sanctuary
Foundation, said NOAA was ?blindsided? by
the reorganization announcement and had
not been informed about it until the prior
evening. Berman told Eos that moving the
entire agency to Interior ?creates so much
bureaucratic headache and would require
NOAA to take its eye off the ball for a significant
period of time. And even though
they?ve fixed some of the oil/gas problems
recently at [Interior], it?s still the agency
that?s directed to lease expeditiously.? He
added, ?Now, if some pieces of NOAA were
integrated into existing resource management
functions at [Interior], that could
potentially make sense.?
[snip]
As Eos
went to press, NOAA had not made any public
comments regarding the proposed reorganization,
despite attempts by Eos to solicit
agency comments.
For more information about the draft
National Ocean Policy Implementation
Plan, see http://www.whitehouse.gov/ administration/eop/ oceans/implementationplan.
The public comment
period is open through 27 February 2012.
?Randy Showstack, Staff Writer
Draft U.S. Ocean Policy Plan Precedes Proposal
to Move NOAA to Interior Department
The Obama administration?s ambitious
plan to protect oceans was released on
12 January, just 1 day prior to the administration?s
apparently unrelated announcement
of a proposed governmental reorganization
that would move the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from
the Department of Commerce to the Department
of the Interior. The proposed NOAA
move is part of a larger administration proposal
to consolidate six federal agencies
that are focused on business and trade into
one department. The action is contingent
upon congressional approval.
The proposal to move NOAA to the Interior
department has prompted a variety of
reactions, with some considering it common
sense to group agencies dealing with natural
resources in the same department. Others
have charged that the proposed move
could blunt NOAA?s leading role in protecting
oceans, among other concerns.
[snip]
NOAA?s Proposed Move
During a 13 January briefing, Jeff Zients
of the White House Office of Management
and Budget said that all of NOAA would be
moved to the Interior department under the
administration proposal. ?As part of the specific
proposal that would be developed once
we have consolidation authority, the appropriate
integration of NOAA into the Interior
department would be carefully worked
through.?
Sarah Chasis, director of the Natural
Resources Defense Council?s Ocean Initiative,
said the proposed move for NOAA was
?a side issue? in the proposed reorganization,
with the principal focus being on business
and trade agencies. Chasis told Eos that
while the draft implementation plan is a positive
and important step forward for ocean
stewardship, the proposal to move NOAA
to Interior is troubling. She said NOAA currently
plays an important role in checks and
balances with Interior, which has responsibility
for extractive offshore oil and gas
activities. ?Making sure that [NOAA is] free
to weigh in in a way that?s not squelched or
unduly influenced by the extraction goals of
[Interior] is really important,? she said, adding,
?We need to focus on implementing the
National Ocean Policy plan. There are so
many important things to be done, and reorganization
takes a lot of time and effort and
diverts from policy and implementation.?
Jeb Berman, director of government relations
with the National Marine Sanctuary
Foundation, said NOAA was ?blindsided? by
the reorganization announcement and had
not been informed about it until the prior
evening. Berman told Eos that moving the
entire agency to Interior ?creates so much
bureaucratic headache and would require
NOAA to take its eye off the ball for a significant
period of time. And even though
they?ve fixed some of the oil/gas problems
recently at [Interior], it?s still the agency
that?s directed to lease expeditiously.? He
added, ?Now, if some pieces of NOAA were
integrated into existing resource management
functions at [Interior], that could
potentially make sense.?
[snip]
As Eos
went to press, NOAA had not made any public
comments regarding the proposed reorganization,
despite attempts by Eos to solicit
agency comments.
For more information about the draft
National Ocean Policy Implementation
Plan, see http://www.whitehouse.gov/ administration/eop/ oceans/implementationplan.
The public comment
period is open through 27 February 2012.
?Randy Showstack, Staff Writer