[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 92 (Tuesday, May 12, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 28471-28477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10315]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 85 , No. 92 / Tuesday, May 12, 2020 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 28471]]


                Executive Order 13921 of May 7, 2020

                
Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and 
                Economic Growth

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in order to strengthen the American 
                economy; improve the competitiveness of American 
                industry; ensure food security; provide environmentally 
                safe and sustainable seafood; support American workers; 
                ensure coordinated, predictable, and transparent 
                Federal actions; and remove unnecessary regulatory 
                burdens, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Purpose. America needs a vibrant and 
                competitive seafood industry to create and sustain 
                American jobs, put safe and healthy food on American 
                tables, and contribute to the American economy. Despite 
                America's bountiful aquatic resources, by weight our 
                Nation imports over 85 percent of the seafood consumed 
                in the United States. At the same time, illegal, 
                unreported, and unregulated fishing undermines the 
                sustainability of American and global seafood stocks, 
                negatively affects general ecosystem health, and 
                unfairly competes with the products of law-abiding 
                fishermen and seafood industries around the world. More 
                effective permitting related to offshore aquaculture 
                and additional streamlining of fishery regulations have 
                the potential to revolutionize American seafood 
                production, enhance rural prosperity, and improve the 
                quality of American lives. By removing outdated and 
                unnecessarily burdensome regulations; strengthening 
                efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated 
                fishing; improving the transparency and efficiency of 
                environmental reviews; and renewing our focus on long-
                term strategic planning to facilitate aquaculture 
                projects, we can protect our aquatic environments; 
                revitalize our Nation's seafood industry; get more 
                Americans back to work; and put healthy, safe food on 
                our families' tables.

                Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the Federal 
                Government to:

                    (a) identify and remove unnecessary regulatory 
                barriers restricting American fishermen and aquaculture 
                producers;
                    (b) combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated 
                fishing;
                    (c) provide good stewardship of public funds and 
                stakeholder time and resources, and avoid duplicative, 
                wasteful, or inconclusive permitting processes;
                    (d) facilitate aquaculture projects through 
                regulatory transparency and long-term strategic 
                planning;
                    (e) safeguard our communities and maintain a 
                healthy aquatic environment;
                    (f) further fair and reciprocal trade in seafood 
                products; and
                    (g) continue to hold imported seafood to the same 
                food-safety requirements as domestically produced 
                products.

                Sec. 3. Definitions. For purposes of this order:

                    (a) ``Aquaculture'' means the propagation, rearing, 
                and harvesting of aquatic species in controlled or 
                selected environments;
                    (b) ``Aquaculture facility'' means any land, 
                structure, or other appurtenance that is used for 
                aquaculture;

[[Page 28472]]

                    (c) ``Aquaculture project'' means a project to 
                develop the physical assets designed to provide or 
                support services to activities in the aquaculture 
                sector, including projects for the development or 
                construction of an aquaculture facility;
                    (d) ``Exclusive economic zone of the United 
                States'' means the zone established in Proclamation 
                5030 of March 10, 1983 (Exclusive Economic Zone of the 
                United States of America);
                    (e) ``Lead agency'' has the meaning given that term 
                in the regulations of the Council on Environmental 
                Quality, contained in title 40, Code of Federal 
                Regulations, that implement the procedural provisions 
                of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 
                U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
                    (f) ``Maritime domain'' means all areas and things 
                of, on, under, relating to, adjacent to, or bordering 
                on a sea, ocean, or other navigable waterway, including 
                all maritime-related activities, infrastructure, 
                people, cargo, and vessels and other conveyances;
                    (g) ``Maritime domain awareness'' means the 
                effective understanding of anything associated with the 
                global maritime domain that could affect the security, 
                safety, economy, or environment of the United States; 
                and
                    (h) ``Project sponsor'' means an entity, including 
                any private, public, or public-private entity, that 
                seeks an authorization for an aquaculture project.

                Sec. 4. Removing Barriers to American Fishing. (a) The 
                Secretary of Commerce shall request each Regional 
                Fishery Management Council to submit, within 180 days 
                of the date of this order, a prioritized list of 
                recommended actions to reduce burdens on domestic 
                fishing and to increase production within sustainable 
                fisheries, including a proposal for initiating each 
                recommended action within 1 year of the date of this 
                order.

(i) Recommended actions may include changes to regulations, orders, 
guidance documents, or other similar agency actions.

(ii) Recommended actions shall be consistent with the requirements of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 
seq.); the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.); and other applicable 
laws.

(iii) Consistent with section 302(f) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(f)), and within existing 
appropriations, the Secretary of Commerce shall provide administrative and 
technical support to the Regional Fishery Management Councils to carry out 
this subsection.

                    (b) The Secretary of Commerce shall review and, as 
                appropriate and to the extent permitted by law, update 
                the Department of Commerce's contribution to the 
                Unified Regulatory Agenda based on an evaluation of the 
                lists received pursuant to subsection (a) of this 
                section.
                    (c) Within 1 year of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary of Commerce shall submit to the Director of 
                the Office of Management and Budget, the Assistant to 
                the President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the 
                President for Domestic Policy, and the Chair of the 
                Council on Environmental Quality a report evaluating 
                the recommendations described in subsection (a) of this 
                section and describing any actions taken to implement 
                those recommendations. This report shall be updated 
                annually for the following 2 years.

                Sec. 5. Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated 
                Fishing. (a) Within 90 days of the date of this order, 
                the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 
                Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration (NOAA), shall issue, as appropriate and 
                consistent with applicable law, a notice of proposed 
                rulemaking further implementing the United Nations Food 
                and Agriculture Organization Agreement on Port State 
                Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, 
                Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing, which entered into 
                force on June 5, 2016 (the Port State Measures 
                Agreement).

[[Page 28473]]

                    (b) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of 
                Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the 
                heads of other appropriate executive departments and 
                agencies (agencies) shall, to the extent permitted by 
                law, encourage public-private partnerships and promote 
                interagency, intergovernmental, and international 
                cooperation in order to improve global maritime domain 
                awareness, cooperation concerning at-sea transshipment 
                activities, and the effectiveness of fisheries law 
                enforcement.
                    (c) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of 
                Commerce, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
                and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, 
                consistent with applicable law and available 
                appropriations, prioritize training and technical 
                assistance in key geographic areas to promote 
                sustainable fisheries management; to strengthen and 
                enhance existing enforcement capabilities to combat 
                illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; and to 
                promote implementation of the Port State Measures 
                Agreement.

                Sec. 6. Removing Barriers to Aquaculture Permitting. 
                (a) For aquaculture projects that require environmental 
                review or authorization by two or more agencies in 
                order to proceed with the permitting of an aquaculture 
                facility, when the lead agency has determined that it 
                will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) 
                under NEPA, the agencies shall undertake to complete 
                all environmental reviews and authorization decisions 
                within 2 years, measured from the date of the 
                publication of a notice of intent to prepare an EIS to 
                the date of issuance of the Record of Decision (ROD), 
                and shall use the ``One Federal Decision'' process 
                enhancements described in section 5(b) of Executive 
                Order 13807 of August 15, 2017 (Establishing Discipline 
                and Accountability in the Environmental Review and 
                Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects), and in 
                subsections (a)(ii) and (iii) of this section. For such 
                projects:

(i) NOAA is designated as the lead agency for aquaculture projects located 
outside of the waters of any State or Territory and within the exclusive 
economic zone of the United States and shall be responsible for navigating 
the project through the Federal environmental review and authorization 
process, including the identification of a primary point of contact at each 
cooperating and participating agency;

(ii) Consistent with the ``One Federal Decision'' process enhancements, all 
cooperating and participating agencies shall cooperate with the lead agency 
and shall respond to requests for information from the lead agency in a 
timely manner;

(iii) Consistent with the ``One Federal Decision'' process enhancements, 
the lead agency and all cooperating and participating agencies shall record 
all individual agency decisions in one ROD, unless the project sponsor 
requests that agencies issue separate NEPA documents, the NEPA obligations 
of a cooperating or participating agency have already been satisfied, or 
the lead agency determines that a single ROD would not best promote 
completion of the project's environmental review and authorization process; 
and

(iv) The lead agency, in consultation with the project sponsor and all 
cooperating and participating agencies, shall prepare a permitting 
timetable for the project that includes the completion dates for all 
federally required environmental reviews and authorizations and for 
issuance of a ROD, and shall make the permitting timetable publicly 
available on its website.

                    (b) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant 
                Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
                Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary 
                of Homeland Security, the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency, other appropriate 
                Federal officials, and appropriate State officials, 
                shall:

[[Page 28474]]

(i) develop and propose for public comment, as appropriate and consistent 
with applicable law, a proposed United States Army Corps of Engineers 
nationwide permit authorizing finfish aquaculture activities in marine and 
coastal waters out to the limit of the territorial sea and in ocean waters 
beyond the territorial sea within the exclusive economic zone of the United 
States;

(ii) assess whether to develop a United States Army Corps of Engineers 
nationwide permit authorizing finfish aquaculture activities in other 
waters of the United States;

(iii) develop and propose for public comment, as appropriate and consistent 
with applicable law, a proposed United States Army Corps of Engineers 
nationwide permit authorizing seaweed aquaculture activities in marine and 
coastal waters out to the limit of the territorial sea and in ocean waters 
beyond the territorial sea within the exclusive economic zone of the United 
States;

(iv) assess whether to develop a United States Army Corps of Engineers 
nationwide permit authorizing seaweed aquaculture activities for other 
waters of the United States;

(v) develop and propose for public comment, as appropriate and consistent 
with applicable law, a proposed United States Army Corps of Engineers 
nationwide permit authorizing multi-species aquaculture activities in 
marine and coastal waters out to the limit of the territorial sea and in 
ocean waters beyond the territorial sea within the exclusive economic zone 
of the United States; and

(vi) assess whether to develop a United States Army Corps of Engineers 
nationwide permit authorizing multi-species aquaculture activities for 
other waters of the United States.

                Sec. 7. Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. (a) The 
                Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the 
                Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, 
                the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security, the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency, other appropriate Federal officials, 
                and appropriate Regional Fishery Management Councils, 
                and in coordination with appropriate State and tribal 
                governments, shall:

(i) within 1 year of the date of this order, identify at least two 
geographic areas containing locations suitable for commercial aquaculture 
and, within 2 years of identifying each area, complete a programmatic EIS 
for each area to assess the impact of siting aquaculture facilities there; 
and

(ii) for each of the following 4 years, identify two additional geographic 
areas containing locations suitable for commercial aquaculture and, within 
2 years of identifying each area, complete a programmatic EIS for each area 
to assess the impact of siting aquaculture facilities there.

                    (b) A programmatic EIS completed pursuant to 
                subsection (a) of this section may include the 
                identification of suitable species for aquaculture in 
                those particular locations, suitable gear for 
                aquaculture in such locations, and suitable reporting 
                requirements for owners and operators of aquaculture 
                facilities in such locations.
                    (c) In identifying specific geographic areas under 
                subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of 
                Commerce shall solicit and consider public comment and 
                seek to minimize unnecessary resource use conflicts as 
                appropriate, including conflicts with military 
                readiness activities or operations; navigation; 
                shipping lanes; commercial and recreational fishing; 
                oil, gas, renewable energy, or other marine mineral 
                exploration and development; essential fish habitats, 
                under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
                Management Act; and species protected under the 
                Endangered Species Act of 1973 or the Marine Mammal 
                Protection Act.

[[Page 28475]]

                Sec. 8. Improving Regulatory Transparency for 
                Aquaculture. (a) Within 240 days of the date of this 
                order, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with 
                other appropriate Federal and State officials, shall 
                prepare and place prominently on the appropriate NOAA 
                web page a single guidance document that:

(i) describes the Federal regulatory requirements and relevant Federal and 
State agencies involved in aquaculture permitting and operations; and

(ii) identifies Federal grant programs applicable to aquaculture siting, 
research, development, and operations.

                    (b) The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 
                Administrator of NOAA, shall update this guidance as 
                appropriate, but not less than once every 18 months.

                Sec. 9. Updating National Aquaculture Development Plan. 
                (a) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
                Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce, in 
                consultation with the Joint Subcommittee on 
                Aquaculture, established pursuant to the National 
                Aquaculture Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.), shall 
                assess whether to revise the National Aquaculture 
                Development Plan, consistent with 16 U.S.C. 2803(a)(2) 
                and (d), in order to strengthen our Nation's domestic 
                aquaculture production and improve the efficiency and 
                predictability of aquaculture permitting, including 
                permitting for aquaculture projects located outside of 
                the waters of any State or Territory and within the 
                exclusive economic zone of the United States.

                    (b) In making any revisions to the National 
                Aquaculture Development Plan as a result of this 
                assessment, the Secretary of the Interior, the 
                Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce 
                shall, as appropriate:

(i) include the elements described at 16 U.S.C. 2803(b) and (c) and the 
appropriate determinations described at 16 U.S.C. 2803(d);

(ii) include programs to analyze, and formulate proposed resolutions of, 
the legal or regulatory constraints that may affect aquaculture, including 
any impediments to establishing security of tenure--that is, use rights 
with a specified duration tied to a particular location--for aquaculture 
operators, owners, and investors; and

(iii) consider whether to include a permitting framework, including a 
delineation of agency responsibilities for permitting and associated agency 
operations, consistent with section 6 of this order and with the ``One 
Federal Decision'' Framework Memorandum issued on March 20, 2018, by the 
Office of Management and Budget and the Council on Environmental Quality, 
pursuant to Executive Order 13807.

                    (c) The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
                Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce, in 
                consultation with the Subcommittee on Aquaculture, 
                shall subsequently assess, not less than once every 3 
                years, whether to revise the National Aquaculture 
                Development Plan, as appropriate and consistent with 16 
                U.S.C. 2803(d) and (e). If the Secretary of the 
                Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the 
                Secretary of Commerce decide not to revise the National 
                Aquaculture Development Plan, they shall within 15 days 
                of such decision submit to the Assistant to the 
                President for Economic Policy and the Assistant to the 
                President for Domestic Policy a report explaining their 
                reasoning.

                Sec. 10. Promoting Aquatic Animal Health. (a) Within 30 
                days of the date of this order, the Secretary of 
                Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
                Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, other appropriate 
                Federal officials, and States, as appropriate, shall 
                consider whether to terminate the 2008 National Aquatic 
                Animal Health Plan and to replace it with a new 
                National Aquatic Animal Health Plan.

                    (b) Any new National Aquatic Animal Health Plan 
                shall be completed, consistent with applicable law, 
                within 180 days of the date of this order.
                    (c) Any new National Aquatic Animal Health Plan 
                shall include additional information about aquaculture, 
                including aquaculture projects located outside

[[Page 28476]]

                of the waters of any State or Territory and within the 
                exclusive economic zone of the United States, and shall 
                incorporate risk-based management strategies as 
                appropriate.
                    (d) If adopted, the Plan described in subsections 
                (b) and (c) of this section shall subsequently be 
                updated, as appropriate, but not less than once every 2 
                years, by the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
                Commerce, other appropriate Federal officials, and 
                States, as appropriate.

                Sec. 11. International Seafood Trade. (a) In 
                furtherance of fair and reciprocal trade in seafood 
                products, within 30 days of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary of Commerce shall establish an Interagency 
                Seafood Trade Task Force (Seafood Trade Task Force) to 
                be co-chaired by the Secretary of Commerce and the 
                United States Trade Representative (Co-Chairs), or 
                their designees. The Secretary of Commerce shall, to 
                the extent permitted by law and within existing 
                appropriations, provide administrative support and 
                funding for the Seafood Trade Task Force.

                    (b) In addition to the Co-Chairs, the Seafood Trade 
                Task Force shall include the following members, or 
                their designees:

(i) the Secretary of State;

(ii) the Secretary of the Interior;

(iii) the Secretary of Agriculture;

(iv) the Secretary of Homeland Security;

(v) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;

(vi) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy;

(vii) the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy;

(viii) the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers;

(ix) the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade;

(x) the Commissioner of Food and Drugs;

(xi) the Administrator of NOAA; and

(xii) the heads of such other agencies and offices as the Co-Chairs may 
designate.

                    (c) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the 
                Seafood Trade Task Force shall provide recommendations 
                to the Office of the United States Trade Representative 
                in the preparation of a comprehensive interagency 
                seafood trade strategy that identifies opportunities to 
                improve access to foreign markets through trade policy 
                and negotiations, resolves technical barriers to United 
                States seafood exports, and otherwise supports fair 
                market access for United States seafood products.
                    (d) Within 90 days of the date on which the Seafood 
                Trade Task Force provides the recommendations described 
                in subsection (c) of this section, the Office of the 
                United States Trade Representative, in consultation 
                with the Trade Policy Staff Committee and the Seafood 
                Trade Task Force, shall submit to the President, 
                through the Assistant to the President for Economic 
                Policy and the Assistant to the President for Domestic 
                Policy, the comprehensive interagency seafood trade 
                strategy described in subsection (c) of this section.

                Sec. 12. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(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 order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 28477]]

                    (c) This order 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.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    May 7, 2020.

[FR Doc. 2020-10315
Filed 5-11-20; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P