House Democrats signaled Tuesday that they are looking to codify the national ocean policy that President Barack Obama instituted by executive order in 2009 ? but Republicans aren?t going to make it easy.
?It is time for our nation to have an ocean plan,? House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said at a hearing Tuesday morning. ?By harmonizing the existing regulations that govern our coasts and oceans, this policy will allow developments to move ahead more quickly while creating jobs and improving the health of the oceans.?
Continue ReadingObama?s order created the National Ocean Council, along with a task force to identify policy recommendations and various regional planning bodies that seek to serve as one-stop shops for federal agencies and industry and environmental concerns ? such as offshore drilling, fishing, recreation and conservation ? with federal waters.
The aim is to help disparate industries work with regulations or projects they may not be familiar with. For example, a telecommunications company planning to lay a fiber-optic cable on the ocean floor could more easily coordinate with groups such as oil drillers or recreational boaters to avoid conflicts.
Democrats and environmental groups hailed the plan for streamlining federal coordination and providing a greater voice for interests such as renewable energy and conservation. But Republicans and industry groups slammed the plan for introducing new regulatory burdens and giving the regional bodies broad powers over onshore and state-level affairs.
Critics say those powers include regulating pollution that could flow from inland areas to the sea. The White House has rejected that notion, saying that although the regional planning bodies may consider such pollution, they have no power over it.
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) said that while he supports streamlining regulatory oversight, the plan just creates new bureaucracy that adds to the federal budget.
?This White House policy has been driven under the claim that it?s only an ocean conservation measure, when its actual effects could be far-reaching and economically hurtful to American jobs and businesses both at sea and well on shore,? Hastings said.
No administration officials were invited to testify. Committee staffers said they are planning a second hearing with administration officials.
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