[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 110 (Thursday, June 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37518-37520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12271]


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COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

[CEQ-2023-0004]


Ocean Justice Strategy

AGENCY: Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and Office of 
Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), on behalf of the Ocean Policy 
Committee (OPC), request input from all interested parties to inform 
the development of an Ocean Justice Strategy. The Ocean Justice 
Strategy will describe the vision, goals, and high-level objectives for 
coordinating and guiding ocean justice activities across the Federal 
Government. It may also serve as a reference for Tribal, Territorial, 
State, and local governments, regional management bodies, and non-
governmental groups. The Ocean Justice Strategy will propose equitable 
and just practices to advance safety, health, and prosperity for 
communities residing near the ocean, the coasts, and the Great Lakes 
and for the whole country, now and for future generations. It builds on 
current Biden-Harris Administration activities and commitments aimed to 
advance environmental justice. Through this Request for Information 
(RFI), the Ocean Policy Committee seeks public input on what the vision 
and goals of the Ocean Justice Strategy should be and how the Federal 
Government can advance just and equitable access to, and management and 
use of, the ocean, the coasts, and the Great Lakes.

DATES: Responses are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 24, 2023. 
Submissions received after the deadline will not be taken into 
consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number CEQ-
2023-0004, using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: Responding to this RFI is voluntary. You may respond 
to some or all of the questions in this RFI. We request that you submit 
only one response, and that your submission not exceed 2,500 words. For 
any submissions that are over 2,500 words, please consider including an 
executive summary of 2,500 words or fewer. Your submission should 
clearly indicate which question(s) you are addressing. Your response 
should include the name of the person(s) or organization(s) submitting 
it. If your response refers to

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studies, research, or other empirical data that are not widely 
published, include copies of or electronic links to the referenced 
materials.
    Comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. Do 
not submit any information you consider to be private information, 
privileged or confidential commercial or financial information, or 
other information the disclosure of which is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: De'Marcus Robinson, Ocean Policy 
Fellow, 202-395-5750 or De'[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    From the air we breathe to the food we eat, the ocean touches every 
aspect of our lives.\1\ Coastlines are home to approximately 40 percent 
of the U.S. population,\2\ and as it sustains and connects us, the 
ocean is woven into our cultures and communities. All people--
regardless of race, background, income, ability, Tribal affiliation, or 
ZIP Code--should have equitable access to the benefits provided by the 
ocean, such as well-paying jobs, healthy and plentiful food, wetlands 
that protect from damaging storms, space for cultural and religious 
practices, multiple sources of energy, recreation, transportation, and 
trade. But even as many communities in the United States have thrived 
in recent decades, many other communities have been left behind. 
Communities do not share equitably in the benefits provided by the 
ocean or equitably bear the burden of the negative impacts of human 
activities associated with the ocean: climate change, sea level rise 
and coastal flooding, increased storm intensity, pollution, 
overfishing, loss of habitat biodiversity, and other threats.
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    \1\ ``Ocean'' includes the open ocean, coasts, estuaries, the 
U.S. Arctic, the Great Lakes, and oceans and coasts surrounding the 
U.S. Territories.
    \2\ Office for Coastal Management, Economics and Demographics 
(2023), https://coast.noaa.gov/states/fast-facts/economics-and-demographics.html.
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    Communities with environmental justice concerns face entrenched 
disparities that are often the legacy of racial discrimination and 
marginalization, redlining, exclusionary zoning, and other 
discriminatory decisions or patterns. Examples of such decisions and 
patterns include the inequitable placement of polluting infrastructure, 
such as ports and landfills, and inadequate responses to natural 
hazards, such as storms and typhoons. Communities with a significant 
proportion of people who are Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native 
American, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander may be 
disproportionately impacted by these issues, as well as communities 
with a significant proportion of people who experience persistent 
poverty or other forms of social inequality. Communities experiencing 
environmental injustices also include geographically dispersed and 
mobile populations, such as migrant fishers or those who have been 
displaced by environmental hazards or inequitable development 
practices. Environmental injustices may also be cumulative and 
convergent as people face multiple climate and social challenges over 
time.
    The Federal Government is dedicated to building upon and 
strengthening its commitment to deliver environmental justice to all 
communities across America. Restoring and protecting a healthy 
environment wherever people live, play, work, learn, grow, and worship 
is of the utmost importance to the Biden-Harris Administration. All 
communities deserve a healthy and resilient ocean, and opportunities to 
pursue traditional and cultural practices and participate in a 
sustainable blue economy where good jobs, skills training, and economic 
benefits are shared.
    The Ocean Policy Committee, a Congressionally mandated, Cabinet-
level interagency committee charged with coordinating Federal ocean 
policy,\3\ will develop an Ocean Justice Strategy in consultation with 
Federally recognized Tribes and input from Territorial, State, and 
local governments, Indigenous communities, the private sector, and the 
public. The Ocean Justice Strategy will aim to identify barriers and 
opportunities to fully integrate environmental justice principles into 
ocean-related activities of the Federal Government.
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    \3\ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ocean 
Policy Committee (2023), https://www.noaa.gov/interagency-ocean-policy.
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    The Ocean Justice Strategy will: (1) assess how the Federal 
Government should define ocean justice; (2) describe barriers to and 
opportunities for ocean justice; (3) describe how ocean justice should 
apply to the scientific enterprise of knowledge building, including the 
appropriate consideration, inclusion, and application of Indigenous 
Knowledge; \4\ (4) describe how ocean justice should apply to access to 
and management of the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes; and (5) describe 
how ocean justice will be implemented by the Federal Government to 
build on and expand the work of Tribal, Territorial, State, and local 
governments, Indigenous communities, the private sector, and the 
public.
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    \4\ OSTP & CEQ, Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on 
Indigenous Knowledge (2022), https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/OSTP-CEQ-IK-Guidance.pdf [hereinafter IK Guidance].
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    At the Federal level, the Ocean Justice Strategy will take into 
account all relevant Biden-Harris Administration actions and reports, 
including: Executive Order 13985 of January 20, 2021 (Advancing Racial 
Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal 
Government),\5\ Executive Order 14008 of January 27, 2021 (Tackling the 
Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad),\6\ Executive Order 14091 of 
February 16, 2023 (Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for 
Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government),\7\ Executive 
Order 14096 of April 21, 2023 (Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to 
Environmental Justice for All),\8\ the Ocean Climate Action Plan,\9\ 
the National Nature Assessment,\10\ Opportunities to Accelerate Nature-
Based Solutions,\11\ the America the Beautiful initiative,\12\ and 
Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Indigenous 
Knowledge.\13\
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    \5\ 86 FR 7009 (Jan. 25, 2021).
    \6\ 86 FR 7619 (Jan. 27, 2021).
    \7\ 88 FR 10825 (Feb. 22, 2023).
    \8\ 88 FR 25251 (Apr. 26, 2023).
    \9\ OPC, Ocean Climate Action Plan (2023), https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Ocean-Climate-Action-Plan_Final.pdf.
    \10\ U.S. Global Change Research Program, National Nature 
Assessment, https://www.globalchange.gov/nna.
    \11\ CEQ, OSTP & the White House Office of Domestic Climate 
Policy, Opportunities for Accelerating Nature-Based Solutions: A 
Roadmap for Climate Progress (2022), https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Nature-Based-Solutions-Roadmap.pdf.
    \12\ U.S. Department of the Interior, America the Beautiful, 
https://www.doi.gov/priorities/america-the-beautiful.
    \13\ IK Guidance, supra note 5.
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Questions To Inform Development of the Strategy

    You may provide information on as many topics below as you choose. 
Clearly indicate in your submission which questions you are addressing. 
The OPC is seeking input from the public on the following:
     Definitions. What is ocean justice? How do you define 
ocean justice in the context of your community and your work?
     Barriers to Ocean Justice. What are the barriers to 
realizing ocean justice? What key challenges do you face in achieving 
ocean justice? What ocean

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justice challenges do you see as central to Federal Government action?
     Opportunities for Ocean Justice. What elements, 
activities, and components should the Ocean Justice Strategy include? 
What injustices related to the ocean should the Federal Government 
better address? What successful regional or local efforts to remedy 
past harms or advance ocean justice should be applied nationwide? What 
examples do you have of instances when the Federal Government made a 
just decision related to the ocean, and how might that be scaled up or 
broadened? What does ocean justice in Federal actions and decision-
making look like in practice?
     Research and Knowledge Gaps. What are the research and 
knowledge gaps that we need to address for the Federal Government to 
create and advance an effective Ocean Justice Strategy and take 
equitable and ambitious action?
     Tools and Practices. How can the Federal Government 
harness existing environmental justice tools and practices, such as the 
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST),\14\ EJ Screen,\15\ 
and EnviroAtlas,\16\ to answer questions about justice in ocean policy? 
What new tools and practices are necessary to advance ocean justice?
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    \14\ CEQ, Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/.
    \15\ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), EJScreen: 
Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (2023), https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen.
    \16\ EPA, EnviroAtlas (2023), https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas.
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     Partnerships and Collaboration. What ocean justice 
solutions can or should be led by non-Federal entities? Where and how 
can the Federal Government partner with Tribal, Territorial, State, and 
local governments, as well as external stakeholders across regions and 
sectors, to effectively remedy past harms and advance ocean justice?
     Additional Considerations. What else would you like 
considered in the development of the Ocean Justice Strategy?
    Please note that this Federal Register notice is designed to 
complement existing Federal activities in this space. The OPC will 
consider comments submitted in response to its previous request for 
information on the Ocean Climate Action Plan \17\ to inform the 
development of the Ocean Justice Strategy.
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    \17\ 87 FR 60228 (Oct 4, 2022).

Matthew Lee-Ashley,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2023-12271 Filed 6-7-23; 8:45 am]
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