[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 105 (Wednesday, May 31, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 34909-34911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-13830]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 105 / Wednesday, May 31, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 34909]]


                Executive Order 13158 of May 26, 2000

                
Marine Protected Areas

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America and in furtherance of the purposes of the 
                National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et 
                seq.), National Wildlife Refuge System Administration 
                Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-ee), National Park Service 
                Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), National Historic 
                Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), Wilderness 
                Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
                Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 
                seq.), Coastal Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1451 et 
                seq.), Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 
                et seq.), Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1362 
                et seq.), Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et 
                seq.), National Environmental Policy Act, as amended 
                (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Outer Continental Shelf Lands 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), and other pertinent 
                statutes, it is ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Purpose. This Executive Order will help 
                protect the significant natural and cultural resources 
                within the marine environment for the benefit of 
                present and future generations by strengthening and 
                expanding the Nation's system of marine protected areas 
                (MPAs). An expanded and strengthened comprehensive 
                system of marine protected areas throughout the marine 
                environment would enhance the conservation of our 
                Nation's natural and cultural marine heritage and the 
                ecologically and economically sustainable use of the 
                marine environment for future generations. To this end, 
                the purpose of this order is to, consistent with 
                domestic and international law: (a) strengthen the 
                management, protection, and conservation of existing 
                marine protected areas and establish new or expanded 
                MPAs; (b) develop a scientifically based, comprehensive 
                national system of MPAs representing diverse U.S. 
                marine ecosystems, and the Nation's natural and 
                cultural resources; and (c) avoid causing harm to MPAs 
                through federally conducted, approved, or funded 
                activities.

                Sec. 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this order: 
                (a) ``Marine protected area'' means any area of the 
                marine environment that has been reserved by Federal, 
                State, territorial, tribal, or local laws or 
                regulations to provide lasting protection for part or 
                all of the natural and cultural resources therein.

                    (b) ``Marine environment'' means those areas of 
                coastal and ocean waters, the Great Lakes and their 
                connecting waters, and submerged lands thereunder, over 
                which the United States exercises jurisdiction, 
                consistent with international law.
                    (c) The term ``United States'' includes the several 
                States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
                Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, 
                American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands.

                Sec. 3. MPA Establishment, Protection, and Management. 
                Each Federal agency whose authorities provide for the 
                establishment or management of MPAs shall take 
                appropriate actions to enhance or expand protection of 
                existing MPAs and establish or recommend, as 
                appropriate, new MPAs. Agencies implementing this 
                section shall consult with the agencies identified in 
                subsection 4(a) of this order, consistent with existing 
                requirements.

                Sec. 4. National System of MPAs. (a) To the extent 
                permitted by law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations, the Department of Commerce and the 
                Department of the Interior, in consultation with the 
                Department

[[Page 34910]]

                of Defense, the Department of State, the United States 
                Agency for International Development, the Department of 
                Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, 
                the National Science Foundation, and other pertinent 
                Federal agencies shall develop a national system of 
                MPAs. They shall coordinate and share information, 
                tools, and strategies, and provide guidance to enable 
                and encourage the use of the following in the exercise 
                of each agency's respective authorities to further 
                enhance and expand protection of existing MPAs and to 
                establish or recommend new MPAs, as appropriate:

                    (1) science-based identification and prioritization 
                of natural and cultural resources for additional 
                protection;
                    (2) integrated assessments of ecological linkages 
                among MPAs, including ecological reserves in which 
                consumptive uses of resources are prohibited, to 
                provide synergistic benefits;
                    (3) a biological assessment of the minimum area 
                where consumptive uses would be prohibited that is 
                necessary to preserve representative habitats in 
                different geographic areas of the marine environment;
                    (4) an assessment of threats and gaps in levels of 
                protection currently afforded to natural and cultural 
                resources, as appropriate;
                    (5) practical, science-based criteria and protocols 
                for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of 
                MPAs;
                    (6) identification of emerging threats and user 
                conflicts affecting MPAs and appropriate, practical, 
                and equitable management solutions, including effective 
                enforcement strategies, to eliminate or reduce such 
                threats and conflicts;
                    (7) assessment of the economic effects of the 
                preferred management solutions; and
                    (8) identification of opportunities to improve 
                linkages with, and technical assistance to, 
                international marine protected area programs.
                    (b) In carrying out the requirements of section 4 
                of this order, the Department of Commerce and the 
                Department of the Interior shall consult with those 
                States that contain portions of the marine environment, 
                the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of 
                the United States, American Samoa, Guam, and the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, tribes, 
                Regional Fishery Management Councils, and other 
                entities, as appropriate, to promote coordination of 
                Federal, State, territorial, and tribal actions to 
                establish and manage MPAs.
                    (c) In carrying out the requirements of this 
                section, the Department of Commerce and the Department 
                of the Interior shall seek the expert advice and 
                recommendations of non-Federal scientists, resource 
                managers, and other interested persons and 
                organizations through a Marine Protected Area Federal 
                Advisory Committee. The Committee shall be established 
                by the Department of Commerce.
                    (d) The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of 
                the Interior shall establish and jointly manage a 
                website for information on MPAs and Federal agency 
                reports required by this order. They shall also publish 
                and maintain a list of MPAs that meet the definition of 
                MPA for the purposes of this order.
                    (e) The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic 
                and Atmospheric Administration shall establish a Marine 
                Protected Area Center to carry out, in cooperation with 
                the Department of the Interior, the requirements of 
                subsection 4(a) of this order, coordinate the website 
                established pursuant to subsection 4(d) of this order, 
                and partner with governmental and nongovernmental 
                entities to conduct necessary research, analysis, and 
                exploration. The goal of the MPA Center shall be, in 
                cooperation with the Department of the Interior, to 
                develop a framework for a national system of MPAs, and 
                to provide Federal, State, territorial, tribal, and 
                local governments with the information, technologies, 
                and strategies to support the system. This

[[Page 34911]]

                national system framework and the work of the MPA 
                Center is intended to support, not interfere with, 
                agencies' independent exercise of their own existing 
                authorities.
                    (f) To better protect beaches, coasts, and the 
                marine environment from pollution, the Environmental 
                Protection Agency (EPA), relying upon existing Clean 
                Water Act authorities, shall expeditiously propose new 
                science-based regulations, as necessary, to ensure 
                appropriate levels of protection for the marine 
                environment. Such regulations may include the 
                identification of areas that warrant additional 
                pollution protections and the enhancement of marine 
                water quality standards. The EPA shall consult with the 
                Federal agencies identified in subsection 4(a) of this 
                order, States, territories, tribes, and the public in 
                the development of such new regulations.

                Sec. 5. Agency Responsibilities. Each Federal agency 
                whose actions affect the natural or cultural resources 
                that are protected by an MPA shall identify such 
                actions. To the extent permitted by law and to the 
                maximum extent practicable, each Federal agency, in 
                taking such actions, shall avoid harm to the natural 
                and cultural resources that are protected by an MPA. In 
                implementing this section, each Federal agency shall 
                refer to the MPAs identified under subsection 4(d) of 
                this order.

                Sec. 6. Accountability. Each Federal agency that is 
                required to take actions under this order shall prepare 
                and make public annually a concise description of 
                actions taken by it in the previous year to implement 
                the order, including a description of written comments 
                by any person or organization stating that the agency 
                has not complied with this order and a response to such 
                comments by the agency.

                Sec. 7. International Law. Federal agencies taking 
                actions pursuant to this Executive Order must act in 
                accordance with international law and with Presidential 
                Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988, on the 
                Territorial Sea of the United States of America, 
                Presidential Proclamation 5030 of March 10, 1983, on 
                the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States of 
                America, and Presidential Proclamation 7219 of 
                September 2, 1999, on the Contiguous Zone of the United 
                States.

                Sec. 8. General. (a) Nothing in this order shall be 
                construed as altering existing authorities regarding 
                the establishment of Federal MPAs in areas of the 
                marine environment subject to the jurisdiction and 
                control of States, the District of Columbia, the 
                Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the 
                United States, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth 
                of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Indian tribes.

                    (b) This order does not diminish, affect, or 
                abrogate Indian treaty rights or United States trust 
                responsibilities to Indian tribes.
                    (c) This order does not create any right or 
                benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable in law 
                or equity by a party against the United States, its 
                agencies, its officers, or any person.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                     May 26, 2000.

[FR Doc. 00-13830
Filed 5-30-00; 12:14 pm]
Billing code 3195-01-P