[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 110 (Wednesday, August 10, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           THE GULF OF MAINE CONSERVATION AND COOPERATION ACT

                                 ______


                         HON. OLYMPIA J. SNOWE

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 10, 1994

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. Speaker, the Gulf of Maine stretches from the Bay of 
Fundy in Canada to Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and out to Georges Bank. 
It represents one of the richest marine ecosystems in the United 
States. It supports over 100 species of birds, 73 species of fish, 26 
species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, and endangered species such 
as the bald eagle, the roseate tern, the humpback whale, and the sperm 
whale.
  The gulf also provides abundant economic and recreational benefits to 
the people of the region. Its commercial fishing industry, including 
aquaculture, produces more than $800 million in revenues annually, and 
employs 20,000 people. Tourism and recreation in the Gulf of Maine 
region also generate millions of dollars and employs thousands.
  Fortunately, the gulf remains productive, but danger signs are 
beginning to appear. High levels of toxic contaminants have been 
detected in the gulf's deep basin sediments, indicating that pollutants 
are distributed throughout the region. Bacterial contamination has led 
to the closure of one-third of Maine's shellfish beds. And fish and 
wildlife habitat is declining.
  These problems can be arrested before the gulf's natural resources 
degrade too far, but it will require cooperation and commitment from 
the region's citizens, local governments, State and provincial 
governments, and Federal Governments. The States and provinces wisely 
recognized that the gulf's resources transcend political boundaries, 
and the Governors and premiers formed the Gulf of Maine Council on the 
Marine Environment in 1989 to develop joint solutions to the gulf's 
environmental and economic problems. Since its creation, the council 
has developed constructive programs to protect and manage the natural 
resources of the gulf while enabling the economies of the region to 
grow.
  The missing piece of the effort is the U.S. Government. Agencies like 
the Commerce Department, the EPA, the Interior Department, and the Army 
Corps of Engineers already conduct resource management, research, and 
economic development programs in the region--and these programs often 
make a positive difference--but these programs can be disconnected and 
uncoordinated, both within the Federal bureaucracy and without. 
Consequently, we lost opportunities to pool resources, coordinate, and 
maximize the effectiveness of our collective efforts in spite of 
limited budgets.
  To help the Federal Government become more involved in this regional 
cooperative process in the Gulf of Maine, I have introduced a bill, the 
Gulf of Maine Conservation and Cooperation Act. The bill issues a 
statement of policy that Federal resource conservation efforts in the 
region should be maintained and strengthened. It establishes a Gulf of 
Maine Interagency Task Force consisting of representatives from the 
Commerce Department, EPA, Interior, and the corps, whose mission is to 
identify opportunities for interagency cooperation and coordination of 
activities in order to make efficient use of Federal resources in the 
gulf region. The bill also requires Federal resource agencies to 
cooperate and coordinate, to the maximum extent practicable, with the 
Gulf of Maine Council and the States, and it authorizes Federal 
financial contributions to the council for joint programs.
  The Gulf of Maine Conservation and Cooperation Act does not create 
any new programs or bureaucracies, promulgate new regulations, or 
impose new mandates on the States. It does not seek to solve all of the 
ecological problems of the gulf with one wave of a magic legislative 
wand. Instead, it seeks only to move the Federal Government in a more 
constructive direction on issues relating to the health of the Gulf of 
Maine. It offers a rational, flexible, and inexpensive approach to 
problem-solving in the gulf, an approach supported by my home State of 
Maine. I hope my colleagues will support this approach as well.

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