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National Ocean Policy

Obama Administration Refuses to Allow Public More Time to Weigh-in on President Obama's Plan to Zone the Oceans

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today received notice from the Obama Administration that they will not agree to his request for a 90-day extension of the public comment period on the draft National Ocean Policy Implementation plan. “President Obama issued an Executive Order imposing a new bureaucracy to zone the oceans that threatens to deter new economic…

Recreational, Commercial Fishermen Fear President's Ocean Zoning Plans Will Block Access, Create Conflict in Fishery Management

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing on “Empty Hooks: The National Ocean Policy is the Latest Threat to Access for Recreational and Commercial Fishermen.” Representatives from the charter, commercial and recreational fishing industries testified on the implications of President Obama’s National Ocean Policy. Established by…

Chairman Hastings Repeats Calls for Obama Administration to Extend Public Comment Period on National Ocean Policy

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to the co-chairs of President Obama’s National Ocean Council to once again request that the public comment period on the draft National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan be extended for an additional 90 days. Chairman Hastings first requested a 90-day extension in a letter sent on February 23, 2012. This…

Chairman Hastings Follow-up Letter to Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley and Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren on the National Ocean Council Draft Implementation Plan

| Posted in Letters

Dear Chairwoman Sutley and Director Holdren: On February 23, 2012, I wrote requesting that the public comment period on the draft National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan be extended for an additional 90 days beyond the original February 27,2012 deadline. It was disappointing to leam that, despite the National Ocean Policy's massive scope and sweeping impacts across the country, this…

Governors Express Ocean Policy Concerns with President Obama

| Posted in Blog

This week, Governors from 7 states penned a letter to President Obama addressing multiple offshore energy issues. In particular, they expressed concern with proposed coastal and marine spatial planning, one facet of the President’s National Ocean Policy. The Governors urged the President to carefully consider the bureaucratic hurdles and negative impacts on energy development that could…

Chairman Hastings Letter to Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley and Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren on the National Ocean Council Draft Implementation Plan

| Posted in Letters

Dear Chairwoman Sutley and Director Holdren: I am writing to you as the co-chairs of the National Ocean Council created under Executive Order 13547, which implemented the final recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and created a new National Ocean Policy. In addition to the National Ocean Council, the Executive Order created, among other things, an expanded federal…

Chairman Hastings' Op-Ed in EnergyGuardian: Ocean policy reaches far beyond the sea

| Posted in Op-Eds and Speeches

Guest Opinion: Ocean policy reaches far beyond the sea By House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings Energy Guardian January 20, 2012 If there’s one accomplishment President Obama can take credit for during his first term in office, it’s expanding the size and reach of the federal government. While this may be good for government bureaucrats, the policies and…

Obama Administration Moves Forward with Plan to Zone the Ocean

| Posted in Press Release

Today President Obama’s National Ocean Council, created by an Executive Order in 2010, released a draft action plan to move forward with the Administration’s goal of imposing new mandatory “ocean zoning.” This initiative could place huge portions of the ocean off limits to all types of recreational, commercial and agricultural activities – destroying jobs and harming our economy. It could…

Administration Dodges Questions on Obama’s Ocean Zoning Plan, Witnesses Begrudge Lack of Public Participation, Potential Implications

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Natural Resources Committee held the second oversight hearing in a series on, “The President’s New National Ocean Policy - A Plan for Further Restrictions on Ocean, Coastal and Inland Activities.” At the hearing, Members questioned the Administration about President Obama’s Executive Order 13547 that imposed a mandatory ocean zoning initiative. A second panel of witnesses…

Witnesses: President Obama’s Ocean Zoning Plan Will Stifle Economic Growth, Create Regulatory Uncertainty, Threaten Jobs

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing on “The President’s New National Ocean Policy - A Plan for Further Restrictions on Ocean, Coastal and Inland Activities.” At the hearing, Members heard about the potential job and economic implications of President Obama’s Executive Order 13547, which creates a new, top-down bureaucracy that could significantly impact the…