[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 165 (Friday, August 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42964-42965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18242]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 10515]
Notification of United States-Chile Environment Affairs Council
and Joint Commission on Environmental Cooperation Meetings
ACTION: Request for comments; invitation to public session.
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SUMMARY: The Department of State and the Office of the United States
Trade Representative are providing notice that the parties to the U.S.-
Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) intend to hold the eighth meeting of
the Environment Affairs Council (Council) established under Chapter 19
of the FTA, as well as the sixth meeting of the U.S.-Chile Joint
Commission on Environmental Cooperation (Commission) established under
the U.S.-Chile Environmental Cooperation Agreement (ECA), on Tuesday
September 4, 2018. The Council will review implementation of Chapter 19
(Environment) of the FTA, and the Commission will review implementation
of the ECA.
DATES: The public session of the Council and Commission will be held on
September 5, 2018, beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the Chilean Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, 180 Teatinos St., Santiago, Chile. We request RSVPs
and any written comments no later than August 28, 2018, in order to
facilitate consideration.
ADDRESSES: RSVPs and any written comments should be submitted to both:
(1) Keri Holland, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Oceans and
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Office of
Environmental Quality and Transboundary Issues, by email at
[email protected] with the subject line ``UNITED STATES-CHILE EAC/
JCEC MEETING'' or by fax to (202) 647-5947.
(2) Tia Potskhverashvili, United States Trade Representative,
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for Environment and Natural
Resources, by email at [email protected] with the subject line
``UNITED STATES-CHILE EAC/JCEC MEETING'' or by fax to (202) 395-9517.
In your RSVP, please include your full name and affiliation.
If you have access to the internet you can view and comment on this
notice by going to: http://www.regulations.gov/#!home and searching on
docket number DOS-2018-0034.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keri Holland, telephone (202) 647-
6777, [email protected].
[[Page 42965]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States and Chile negotiated the
United States-Chile FTA and United States-Chile ECA in concert, signing
the FTA on June 6, 2003, in Miami, USA and the ECA on June 17, 2003, in
Santiago, Chile. Article 19.3 of the FTA establishes an Environment
Affairs Council (Council). The Council discusses implementation of
Chapter 19 of the FTA, and its meetings include a public session. The
Joint Commission on Environmental Cooperation (Commission) was
established in Article II of the ECA. The Commission evaluates
cooperative activities under the ECA, recommends options for improving
cooperation, and establishes work programs that reflect national
priorities and that identify the scope and focus of environmental
cooperation activities. Commission meetings also include a public
session.
The Council and Commission last met in August 2015 in Washington,
DC. The Council reviewed the implementation of the Environment Chapter
of the FTA. The Commission approved the 2015-2017 Work Program, which
built on previous successes and identified activities to achieve the
long-term goals of: (1) Strengthening effective implementation and
enforcement of environmental laws and regulations; (2) encouraging
development and adoption of sound environmental practices and
technologies, particularly in business enterprises; (3) promoting
sustainable development and management of environmental resources,
including wild fauna and flora, protected wild areas, and other
ecologically important ecosystems; and (4) encouraging civil society
participation in the environmental decision-making process and
environmental education.
During the Council and Commission meetings, Members will discuss
the progress made in implementing Chapter 19 obligations and the
impacts of environmental cooperation. The Commission will also finalize
an updated Environmental Cooperation Work Program for 2018-2020. More
information on the Council and Commission is included below under
Supplementary Information.
All interested persons are invited to attend the Council and
Commission joint public session beginning at 10:00 a.m. on September 5,
2018, at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 180 Teatinos St.,
Santiago, Chile. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions
and discuss implementation of Chapter 19 and the ECA with Council and
Commission Members and environmental cooperation implementers. At the
public session, the Council will receive input from the public on
current environmental issues and ideas for future cooperation. The
Department of State and Office of the United States Trade
Representative invite written comments or suggestions regarding topics
to be discussed at the meeting. In preparing comments, we encourage
submitters to refer to Chapter 19 of the FTA and the ECA (available at
http://www.state.gov/e/oes/eqt/trade/chile/index.htm).
If you would like to attend the public session, please notify Keri
Holland and Tia Potskhverashvili at the email addresses listed above
under the heading ADDRESSES. Please include your full name and identify
any organization or group you represent. In preparing comments, we
encourage submitters to refer to:
Chapter 19 of the FTA, and
The ECA.
These documents are available at: http://www.state.gov/e/oes/eqt/trade/chile/index.htm. Visit http://www.state.gov and the USTR website
at www.ustr.gov for more information.
Robert D. Wing,
Acting Director, Office of Environmental Quality and Transboundary
Issues, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2018-18242 Filed 8-23-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-P