[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13695-13697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03678]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Request for Public Comment on Interagency Marine Debris 
Coordinating Committee Recommendations

AGENCY: National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NOAA's Marine Debris Program, on behalf of the Interagency 
Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC), is soliciting public 
comments regarding draft recommendations to address marine debris. The 
IMDCC is required to submit a biennial report to Congress that includes 
the status of implementation of any recommendations and strategies of 
the Committee. These recommendations will replace the recommendations 
first published by the IMDCC in 2008.

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DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 25, 2024, 11:59 
p.m. Eastern Time (ET).

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted via email to [email protected]. Instructions: All comments received are a part of the 
public record. All personal identifying information (name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information. Comments that are not related to the IMDCC 
recommendations, or that contain profanity, vulgarity, threats, or 
other inappropriate language will not be considered.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ya'el Seid-Green, Executive 
Secretariat, IMDCC, Marine Debris Program; Phone 240-622-5910; Email 
[email protected] or visit the IMDCC website at https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/our-work/IMDCC.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Marine Debris Act establishes the IMDCC. 33 U.S.C. 1954. The 
IMDCC is a multi-agency body responsible for coordinating a 
comprehensive program of marine debris research and activities among 
Federal agencies, in cooperation and coordination with non-governmental 
organizations, industry, academia, States, Tribes, and other nations, 
as appropriate. Representatives meet to share information, assess and 
promote best management practices, and coordinate the Federal 
Government's efforts to address marine debris. NOAA serves as the 
Chairperson of the IMDCC.

Why develop the recommendations?

    The IMDCC is required to submit a biennial report to Congress that 
includes the status of implementation of any recommendations and 
strategies of the Committee and an analysis of their effectiveness. 33 
U.S.C. 1954(e). In its first report to Congress, in 2008, the IMDCC 
published recommendations for addressing marine debris. The 25 
recommendations were organized into four themes and eight subthemes. 
The goal of the recommendations was to ``guide the Federal government's 
strategies with respect to the problems of persistent marine debris 
(IMDCC 2008)''. They were ``designed to be broad in scope, with the 
intention that federal agencies work collaboratively through the IMDCC 
to develop more detailed priorities and an action plan (ibid)''. The 
2008 report can be accessed at https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/publications-files/imdccreport_2008.pdf.
    A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 
September 2019 (GAO-19-653) highlighted that the biennial reports did 
not include an analysis of the effectiveness of the IMDCC's 
recommendations and strategies. The GAO recommended that the IMDCC 
develop and implement a process to analyze the effectiveness of the 
recommendations and strategies, and include the results in its biennial 
reports.
    However, it is difficult to analyze the effectiveness of the 2008 
recommendations based on their scope and age. In addition, several new 
agencies have joined as members of the IMDCC, and the recommendations 
do not reflect the full scope of current IMDCC member agency 
activities. As a result, the IMDCC has developed an entirely new set of 
draft recommendations through a collaborative process. Once finalized, 
the new recommendations will be included in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 
IMDCC Biennial Report to Congress.

The Recommendations

    The new draft recommendations attempt to identify and express what 
the IMDCC sees as priorities for reducing the impacts of marine debris, 
aligning with the purposes and policies articulated in the Marine 
Debris Act and based on current authorities and activities of the IMDCC 
member agencies. The recommendations are designed to be broad in scope 
and are written to maintain relevance for several years. Not all IMDCC 
member agencies have activities that are relevant to each 
recommendation. The recommendations are divided into seven categories. 
The number of recommendations in each category varies.

International Activities

    Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should strengthen the 
capacity of local actors in foreign nations to prevent marine debris; 
mitigate waste that may contribute to marine debris; and capture, clean 
up, and remove waste that may contribute to marine debris and existing 
marine debris in the environment.
    Recommendation #2: The IMDCC member agencies should participate in 
and support international efforts to address marine debris.

Prevention

    Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should work to reduce 
the federal contribution of materials that may contribute to marine 
debris in their operations.
    Recommendation #2: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and 
support external efforts to prevent marine debris and mitigate waste 
that may contribute to marine debris, incorporating principles of 
environmental justice and focusing on disadvantaged communities.
    Recommendation #3: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and 
support efforts to prevent and mitigate abandoned, lost, or otherwise 
discarded fishing gear.

Capture, Clean Up, and Removal

    Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and 
support efforts to capture, clean up, and remove waste that may 
contribute to marine debris and existing marine debris in the 
environment, incorporating principles of environmental justice and 
focusing on disadvantaged communities.

Outreach and Education

    Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and 
support public awareness and education efforts to inform communities 
and the general public about marine debris, incorporating principles of 
environmental justice and focusing on disadvantaged communities.
    Recommendation #2: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and 
support efforts to engage members of the public in science and data 
collection efforts to learn about marine debris, incorporating 
principles of environmental justice and focusing on disadvantaged 
communities.

Coordination

    Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and 
support outreach to partners to improve coordination across 
jurisdictions to more effectively prevent, remove, inform people about, 
research, and monitor marine debris.

Research and Monitoring

    Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and 
support research to improve understanding of marine debris sources, 
abundance, distribution, transport, degradation, and the social, 
environmental, and economic impacts of marine debris.
    Recommendation #2: The IMDCC member agencies should collaborate 
with partners on congruent and harmonized data collection, as 
appropriate.

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    Recommendation #3: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and 
support efforts to develop and apply technologies (e.g., modeling or 
remote sensing) that support a more robust understanding of the status 
of marine debris, prevent marine debris, or address the impacts of 
marine debris.
    Recommendation #4: The IMDCC member agencies should conduct and 
support efforts to monitor marine debris to better understand marine 
debris sources, fate, and transport.

Enforcement

    Recommendation #1: The IMDCC member agencies, as appropriate, 
should issue notices of non-compliance to correct violations of federal 
law and either address violations through agency administrative 
processes or, when violations warrant, refer violations of federal law 
for civil or criminal enforcement action.

How Comments Will Be Addressed

    NOAA's Marine Debris Program, on behalf of the IMDCC, invites 
comments, feedback, and recommendations on the draft recommendations. 
Following the comment period, the feedback provided will be reviewed 
and the recommendations will be updated as necessary. The final 
recommendations will be included in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 IMDCC 
Biennial Report to Congress and in a stand-alone report. An appendix 
will be added to the stand-alone report describing how comments from 
the public comment period were incorporated into the recommendations. 
This report will be posted to https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/our-work/IMDCC.
    The recommendations do not imply approval for any specific action, 
although they may inform future federal budget development. All 
activities included in the recommendations are subject to budgetary 
constraints, interagency processes, stakeholder input and other 
approvals, including the weighing of priorities and available resources 
by the Administration in formulating its annual budget and by Congress 
in legislating appropriations. In some cases, implementing the 
recommendations may require a sustained, multi-year effort by federal, 
state, tribal and community partners. The recommendations are not 
intended to, and do 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.

Scott Lundgren,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-03678 Filed 2-22-24; 8:45 am]
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