[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 226 (Friday, November 22, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 64699-64701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25618]



[[Page 64697]]

Vol. 84

Friday,

No. 226

November 22, 2019

Part IV





The President





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Memorandum of November 19, 2019--Ocean Mapping of the United States 
Exclusive Economic Zone and the Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska
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  Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 226 / Friday, November 22, 2019 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 64699]]

                Memorandum of November 19, 2019

                
Ocean Mapping of the United States Exclusive 
                Economic Zone and the Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska

                Memorandum for the Secretary of State[,] the Secretary 
                of Defense[,] the Attorney General[,] the Secretary of 
                the Interior[,] the Secretary of Agriculture[,] the 
                Secretary of Commerce[,] the Secretary of 
                Transportation[,] the Secretary of Energy[,] the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security[,] the Administrator of 
                the Environmental Protection Agency[,] the Director of 
                the Office of Management and Budget[,] the 
                Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration[,] the Director of the National Science 
                Foundation[,] the Director of National Intelligence[,] 
                the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff[,] the 
                Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration[,] the Assistant Secretary of the Army 
                for Civil Works[,] the Commandant of the Coast Guard[,] 
                the Assistant to the President for National Security 
                Affairs[,] the Assistant to the President for Domestic 
                Policy[,] the Assistant to the President for Economic 
                Policy[,] the Director of the Office of Science and 
                Technology Policy[,] the Chairman of the Council on 
                Environmental Quality[, and] the Deputy Assistant to 
                the President for Homeland Security and 
                Counterterrorism

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, I hereby direct the following:

                Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United 
                States to act boldly to safeguard our future 
                prosperity, health, and national security through ocean 
                mapping, exploration, and characterization. Data and 
                information about the ocean help to advance maritime 
                commerce, domestic seafood production, healthy and 
                sustainable fisheries, coastal resilience, energy 
                production, tourism and recreation, environmental 
                protection, national and homeland security, and other 
                interests. Such activities contribute more than $300 
                billion per year of economic activity, 3 million jobs, 
                and $129 billion in wages.

                On March 10, 1983, President Reagan issued Proclamation 
                5030 (Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States of 
                America), which established the United States Exclusive 
                Economic Zone (U.S. EEZ) to advance the development of 
                ocean resources and promote the protection of the 
                marine environment. With more than 13,000 miles of 
                coastline and 3.4 million square nautical miles of 
                ocean within our territorial jurisdiction, our 
                country's EEZ is among the largest in the world and is 
                larger than the combined land area of all 50 States. 
                The U.S. EEZ contains a vast array of underutilized, 
                and likely many undiscovered, natural resources, 
                including critical minerals, marine-derived 
                pharmaceuticals, energy, and areas of significant 
                ecological and conservation value. However, only about 
                40 percent of the U.S. EEZ has been mapped and 
                significantly less of the area has natural resources 
                and ocean systems that have been characterized, 
                including identification and evaluation, by executive 
                departments and agencies (agencies).

                The Nation is poised to harness cutting-edge science, 
                new technologies, and partnerships to unlock the 
                potential of our oceans through increased ocean 
                mapping.

                Maps and charts that present accurate and contemporary 
                coastal elevation data support economic growth, 
                resource management, and the safety and security of 
                coastal residents. Completed mapping is especially 
                lacking for

[[Page 64700]]

                Alaska and for the Alaskan Arctic, which lack the 
                comprehensive shoreline and nearshore maps available 
                for much of the rest of the Nation.

                To improve our Nation's understanding of our vast ocean 
                resources and to advance the economic, security, and 
                environmental interests of the United States, it is the 
                policy of the United States to support the 
                conservation, management, and balanced use of America's 
                oceans by exploring, mapping, and characterizing the 
                U.S. EEZ, including mapping the Arctic and Sub-Arctic 
                shoreline and nearshore of Alaska. Further, to ensure 
                that these activities produce the broadest possible 
                benefits and provide the greatest return on investment 
                of Federal resources, it is the policy of the United 
                States to support these activities, when appropriate, 
                in collaboration with non-United States Government 
                entities.

                Sec. 2. National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and 
                Characterizing the U.S. EEZ. Mapping, exploring, and 
                characterizing the U.S. EEZ is necessary for a 
                systematic and efficient approach to understanding our 
                resources. Mapping will reveal the terrain of the ocean 
                floor and identify areas of particular interest; 
                exploration and characterization will identify and 
                evaluate natural and cultural resources within these 
                areas. This knowledge will inform conservation, 
                management, and balanced use of the U.S. EEZ.

                To advance these objectives, the Director of the Office 
                of Science and Technology Policy (Director) and the 
                Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality 
                (Chairman), who serve as co-chairs of the Ocean Policy 
                Committee established by Executive Order 13840 of June 
                19, 2018 (Ocean Policy to Advance the Economic, 
                Security, and Environmental Interests of the United 
                States), shall coordinate the development of a national 
                strategy for mapping, exploring, and characterizing the 
                U.S. EEZ, and for enhancing opportunities for 
                collaboration among interagency and non-United States 
                Government entities with respect to those activities. 
                Specifically, within 180 days of the date of this 
                memorandum, the Ocean Policy Committee, working through 
                its Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee and in 
                coordination with the Administrator of the National 
                Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall develop a 
                proposed strategy to map the U.S. EEZ, to identify 
                priority areas within the U.S. EEZ, and to explore and 
                characterize the priority areas, and shall submit it to 
                the Director and the Chairman.

                Sec. 3. Strategy for Mapping the Arctic and Sub-Arctic 
                Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska. Within 180 days of 
                the date of this memorandum, the Administrator of the 
                National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 
                coordination, as appropriate, with the State of Alaska 
                and the Alaska Mapping Executive Committee, shall 
                develop a proposed strategy to map the shoreline and 
                nearshore of Alaska and shall submit it to the Director 
                and the Chairman to inform actions of the Ocean Policy 
                Committee and relevant agencies.

                Sec. 4. Efficient Permitting of Mapping, Exploration, 
                and Characterization Activities. The United States 
                Government, in coordination with non-United States 
                Government entities, conducts hundreds of ocean 
                exploration, mapping, and research activities every 
                year across the U.S. EEZ. These activities improve our 
                understanding of our oceans, including by identifying 
                potential new sources of critical minerals, 
                biopharmaceuticals, energy, and other resources. These 
                activities frequently require multiple environmental 
                reviews, consultations, permits, and other 
                authorizations under Federal laws and regulations that 
                protect resources such as maritime heritage sites and 
                sensitive or protected marine natural resources. In 
                order to reduce duplication and promote efficiency 
                across agencies, within 180 days of the date of this 
                memorandum, the Ocean Policy Committee, working through 
                its Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee, shall 
                identify opportunities and recommend actions to the 
                Director and the Chairman to increase the efficiency of 
                the permitting and authorization processes for ocean 
                research, mapping, and characterization activities 
                across agencies.

                Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
                memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise 
                affect:

[[Page 64701]]

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent 
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                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.
                    (d) The Secretary of Commerce is hereby authorized 
                and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal 
                Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, November 19, 2019

[FR Doc. 2019-25618
Filed 11-21-19; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3510-07-P