Notice2024-03678
Request for Public Comment on Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee Recommendations
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 23, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NOAA's Marine Debris Program, on behalf of the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC), is soliciting public comments regarding draft recommendations to address marine debris. The IMDCC is required to submit a biennial report to Congress that includes the status of implementation of any recommendations and strategies of the Committee. These recommendations will replace the recommendations first published by the IMDCC in 2008.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13695-13697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03678]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Request for Public Comment on Interagency Marine Debris
Coordinating Committee Recommendations
AGENCY: National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NOAA's Marine Debris Program, on behalf of the Interagency
Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC), is soliciting public
comments regarding draft recommendations to address marine debris. The
IMDCC is required to submit a biennial report to Congress that includes
the status of implementation of any recommendations and strategies of
the Committee. These recommendations will replace the recommendations
first published by the IMDCC in 2008.
[[Page 13696]]
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 25, 2024, 11:59
p.m. Eastern Time (ET).
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#225b43474e0c51474b460f455047474c624c4d43430c454d54"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3a435b5f5614495f535e175d485f5f547a54555b5b145d554c">[email protected]</span></a>. Instructions: All comments received are a part of the
public record. All personal identifying information (name and address)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do
not submit confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information. Comments that are not related to the IMDCC
recommendations, or that contain profanity, vulgarity, threats, or
other inappropriate language will not be considered.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ya'el Seid-Green, Executive
Secretariat, IMDCC, Marine Debris Program; Phone 240-622-5910; Email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d9a0b8bcb5f7aabcb0bdf4beabbcbcb799b7b6b8b8f7beb6af"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a6dfc7c3ca88d5c3cfc28bc1d4c3c3c8e6c8c9c7c788c1c9d0">[email protected]</span></a> or visit the IMDCC website at <a href="https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/our-work/IMDCC">https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/our-work/IMDCC</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Marine Debris Act establishes the IMDCC. 33 U.S.C. 1954. The
IMDCC is a multi-agency body responsible for coordinating a
comprehensive program of marine debris research and activities among
Federal agencies, in cooperation and coordination with non-governmental
organizations, industry, academia, States, Tribes, and other nations,
as appropriate. Representatives meet to share information, assess and
promote best management practices, and coordinate the Federal
Government's efforts to address marine debris. NOAA serves as the
Chairperson of the IMDCC.
Why develop the recommendations?
The IMDCC is required to submit a biennial report to Congress that
includes the status of implementation of any recommendations and
strategies of the Committee and an analysis of their effectiveness. 33
U.S.C. 1954(e). In its first report to Congress, in 2008, the IMDCC
published recommendations for addressing marine debris. The 25
recommendations were organized into four themes and eight subthemes.
The goal of the recommendations was to ``guide the Federal government's
strategies with respect to the problems of persistent marine debris
(IMDCC 2008)''. They were ``designed to be broad in scope, with the
intention that federal agencies work collaboratively through the IMDCC
to develop more detailed priorities and an action plan (ibid)''. The
2008 report can be accessed at <a href="https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/publications-files/imdccreport_2008.pdf">https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/publications-files/imdccreport_2008.pdf</a>.
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in
September 2019 (GAO-19-653) highlighted that the biennial reports did
not include an analysis of the effectiveness of the IMDCC's
recommendations and strategies. The GAO recommended that the IMDCC
develop and implement a process to analyze the effectiveness of the
recommendations and strategies, and include the results in its biennial
reports.
However, it is difficult to analyze the effectiveness of the 2008
recommendations based on their scope and age. In addition, several new
agencies have joined as members of the IMDCC, and the recommendations
do not reflect the full scope of current IMDCC member agency
activities. As a result, the IMDCC has developed an entirely new set of
draft recommendations through a collaborative process. Once finalized,
the new recommendations will be included in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023
IMDCC Biennial Report to Congress.
The Recommendations
The new draft recommendations attempt to identify and express what
the IMDCC sees as priorities for reducing the impacts of marine debris,
aligning with the purposes and policies articulated in the Marine
Debris Act and based on current authorities and activities of the IMDCC
member agencies. The recommendations are designed to be broad in scope
and are written to maintain relevance for several years. Not all IMDCC
member agencies have activities that are relevant to each
recommendation. The recommendations are divided into seven categories.
The number of recommendations in each category varies.
International Activities
Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should strengthen the
capacity of local actors in foreign nations to prevent marine debris;
mitigate waste that may contribute to marine debris; and capture, clean
up, and remove waste that may contribute to marine debris and existing
marine debris in the environment.
Recommendation #2: The IMDCC member agencies should participate in
and support international efforts to address marine debris.
Prevention
Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should work to reduce
the federal contribution of materials that may contribute to marine
debris in their operations.
Recommendation #2: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and
support external efforts to prevent marine debris and mitigate waste
that may contribute to marine debris, incorporating principles of
environmental justice and focusing on disadvantaged communities.
Recommendation #3: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and
support efforts to prevent and mitigate abandoned, lost, or otherwise
discarded fishing gear.
Capture, Clean Up, and Removal
Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and
support efforts to capture, clean up, and remove waste that may
contribute to marine debris and existing marine debris in the
environment, incorporating principles of environmental justice and
focusing on disadvantaged communities.
Outreach and Education
Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and
support public awareness and education efforts to inform communities
and the general public about marine debris, incorporating principles of
environmental justice and focusing on disadvantaged communities.
Recommendation #2: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and
support efforts to engage members of the public in science and data
collection efforts to learn about marine debris, incorporating
principles of environmental justice and focusing on disadvantaged
communities.
Coordination
Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and
support outreach to partners to improve coordination across
jurisdictions to more effectively prevent, remove, inform people about,
research, and monitor marine debris.
Research and Monitoring
Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and
support research to improve understanding of marine debris sources,
abundance, distribution, transport, degradation, and the social,
environmental, and economic impacts of marine debris.
Recommendation #2: The IMDCC member agencies should collaborate
with partners on congruent and harmonized data collection, as
appropriate.
[[Page 13697]]
Recommendation #3: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and
support efforts to develop and apply technologies (e.g., modeling or
remote sensing) that support a more robust understanding of the status
of marine debris, prevent marine debris, or address the impacts of
marine debris.
Recommendation #4: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and
support efforts to monitor marine debris to better understand marine
debris sources, fate, and transport.
Enforcement
Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies, as appropriate,
should issue notices of non-compliance to correct violations of federal
law and either address violations through agency administrative
processes or, when violations warrant, refer violations of federal law
for civil or criminal enforcement action.
How Comments Will Be Addressed
NOAA's Marine Debris Program, on behalf of the IMDCC, invites
comments, feedback, and recommendations on the draft recommendations.
Following the comment period, the feedback provided will be reviewed
and the recommendations will be updated as necessary. The final
recommendations will be included in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 IMDCC
Biennial Report to Congress and in a stand-alone report. An appendix
will be added to the stand-alone report describing how comments from
the public comment period were incorporated into the recommendations.
This report will be posted to <a href="https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/our-work/IMDCC">https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/our-work/IMDCC</a>.
The recommendations do not imply approval for any specific action,
although they may inform future federal budget development. All
activities included in the recommendations are subject to budgetary
constraints, interagency processes, stakeholder input and other
approvals, including the weighing of priorities and available resources
by the Administration in formulating its annual budget and by Congress
in legislating appropriations. In some cases, implementing the
recommendations may require a sustained, multi-year effort by federal,
state, tribal and community partners. The recommendations are not
intended to, and do not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the
United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,
employees, or agents, or any other person.
Scott Lundgren,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-03678 Filed 2-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JS-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 23, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.