[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