[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 90 (Tuesday, May 11, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26226-26227]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11143]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0761; FRL-9149-8]
Executive Order 13508 Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration
Section 203 Final Coordinated Implementation Strategy
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a final strategy for
restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay that was prepared
pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 13508 of May 12, 2009, Chesapeake Bay
Protection and Restoration. The purpose of this strategy is to describe
federal actions to protect and restore the health, heritage, natural
resources, and social and economic value of the nation's largest
estuarine ecosystem and the natural sustainability of its watershed.
The EO requires that the final strategy be published within one year of
the date of the EO.
DATES: Effective May 12, 2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Travis Loop, USEPA, Region 3,
Chesapeake Bay Program Office, Annapolis City Marina, 410 Severn
Avenue, Suite 109 (3CB10), Annapolis, MD 21403; telephone number: (410)
267-5758; fax number: (410) 267-5777; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
Executive Order 13508, Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration,
dated May 12, 2009 (74 FR 23099, May 15, 2009), established a Federal
Leadership Committee, chaired by EPA, and including senior
representatives from the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense,
Homeland Security, Interior and Transportation. EO 13508 directed these
agencies to prepare and publish a strategy for coordinated
implementation of existing programs and projects to guide efforts to
protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay. The draft strategy was released
for public comment on November 9, 2009 (74 FR 57675, November 9, 2009).
This final strategy incorporates revisions resulting from public
comments and ongoing consideration by the federal agencies.
Why was this document prepared?
Executive Order 13508, Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration,
dated May 12, 2009 (74 FR 23099, May 15, 2009), required a Federal
Leadership Committee composed of seven Federal agencies to (1) prepare
and publish a set of reports on key challenges to protecting and
restoring the Chesapeake Bay, (2) prepare and publish a draft strategy
for coordinated implementation of existing programs and projects to
guide efforts to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay within 180 days
of the date of the EO, and (3) prepare and publish a final strategy for
coordinated implementation of existing programs and projects to guide
efforts to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay within one year of
the date of the EO.
The federal agency draft reports required by EO 13508 Sections
202(a) through (g) were released to the public for review on September
10, 2009. The draft reports were reviewed by the Federal Leadership
Committee, in consultation with relevant state agencies. The reports
were revised to reflect consideration of the comments received during
state consultation and preliminary public input. The revised final
reports were released on November 24, 2009.
The draft strategy for coordinated implementation of existing
programs and projects to guide efforts to protect and restore the
Chesapeake Bay required by EO 13508 Section 203 was released for public
comment on November 9, 2009 (74 FR 57675, November 9, 2009). The
Federal Leadership Committee established a docket for public comments
(EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0761). Several hundred individual comments were
received, along with about 45,000 comments provided through mass-
mailing campaigns. The Federal Leadership Committee has prepared a
summary of its responses to public comments on the draft strategy. The
summary is available at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net.
The final strategy for restoration and protection of the Chesapeake
Bay incorporates revisions resulting from public comments and ongoing
consideration by the federal agencies. This final strategy meets the EO
requirement to publish the final strategy within one year of the EO.
How can I get copies of this document and other related information?
Docket: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0761. The final EO 13508 Section 203 strategy
document is available in the docket at http://www.regulations.gov, as
well as at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net. Assistance and tips
for accessing the docket can be found at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net. For
[[Page 26227]]
additional information about the public docket visit the EPA Docket
Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. Publicly
available docket materials are available electronically either through
http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center,
(EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,
DC. The telephone number for this docket is 202-566-2426. The EPA
Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number
for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744. Certain material, such
as copyrighted materials, will be publicly available only in hard copy
at the Docket Center.
What information does the final strategy contain?
The Executive Order directed federal agencies to develop a strategy
that (a) defines environmental goals for the Chesapeake Bay and
describes milestones for making progress toward attainment of these
goals; (b) identifies key measurable indicators of environmental
condition and changes that are critical to effective federal
leadership; (c) describes the specific programs and strategies to be
implemented; (d) identifies the mechanisms that will assure that
governmental and other activities, including data collection and
distribution, are coordinated and effective; and (e) describes a
process for the implementation of adaptive management principles,
including a periodic evaluation of protection and restoration measures.
For the final strategy, federal agencies have focused on achieving
the most essential priorities for a healthy Chesapeake ecosystem:
Restore Clean Water, Recover Habitats, Sustain Fish and Wildlife, and
Conserve Land and Increase Public Access. Chapters on each of these
goals describe the overall goal and explain why it is vital to the
Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Specific measures of progress supporting the
goal, including numerical targets for future progress compared to
current conditions, are also presented. Each chapter also includes a
description of the actions federal agencies will take to accomplish the
goal.
Federal agencies also developed 12 key environmental outcomes that
will be achieved through expanded federal actions described in the
strategy and ongoing state activities, and will reflect progress toward
attainment of the overall goals. The environmental outcomes are related
to water quality, stream restoration, agriculture conservation, wetland
restoration, forest buffers, fish passage, oysters, blue crabs, brook
trout, black ducks, land conservation, and public access.
The strategy also features four chapters on supporting strategies
that provide invaluable cross-cutting support to achieving
environmental goals or are critical complementary efforts in the
restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay and watershed. The
supporting strategy chapters are: Expand Citizen Stewardship, Develop
Environmental Markets, Respond to Climate Change, and Strengthen
Science.
The final chapter of the strategy outlines the role and
responsibilities of the Federal Leadership Committee in implementing
the strategy, as well as the federal government's commitment to
increase accountability by establishing milestones every two years for
taking action. The final chapter also outlines a series of
accountability tools and processes to promote transparency in the
planning, tracking, reporting, evaluating and adapting of restoration
activities. These tools include an Annual Action Plan, an Annual
Progress Report, Independent Evaluation, and an Adaptive Management
process.
What are the next steps in responding to EO 13508?
After release of this final strategy, the Federal Leadership
Committee will implement the actions described in the strategy. The
Federal Leadership Committee will continue to work with the
jurisdictions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to better align actions
to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay.
EO 13508 also requires the Federal Leadership Committee to publish
an annual Chesapeake Bay Action Plan describing how federal funding
proposed in the President's Budget will be used to protect and restore
the Chesapeake Bay during the upcoming fiscal year. The Federal
Leadership Committee plans to release the first annual Chesapeake Bay
Action Plan in early fall 2010.
EO 13508 also requires the Federal Leadership Committee to publish
an annual Progress Report reviewing indicators of environmental
conditions in the Chesapeake Bay, assessing implementation of the
Action Plan during the preceding fiscal year, and recommending steps to
improve progress in restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay. The
Federal Leadership Committee plans to release the first annual Progress
Report in the first quarter of calendar year 2012.
The Federal Leadership Committee plans to consult with state
agencies, local governments, other stakeholders, and the general public
in the development of the annual Action Plan and Progress Report. The
details of this consultation process will be made available at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net.
Dated: May 6, 2010.
Lisa P. Jackson,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2010-11143 Filed 5-10-10; 8:45 am]
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