[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 21 (Monday, May 24, 2004)]
[Pages 918-920]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13340--Establishment of Great Lakes Interagency Task 
Force and Promotion of a Regional Collaboration of National Significance 
for the Great Lakes

May 18, 2004

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, and to help establish a 
regional collaboration of national significance for the Great Lakes, it 
is hereby ordered as follows:
    Section 1. Policy. The Great Lakes are a national treasure 
constituting the largest freshwater system in the world. The United 
States and Canada have made great progress addressing past and current 
environmental impacts to the Great Lakes ecology. The Federal Government 
is committed to making progress on the many significant challenges that 
remain. Along with numerous State, tribal, and local programs, over 140 
Federal programs help fund and implement environmental restoration and 
management activities throughout the Great Lakes system. A number of 
intergovernmental bodies are providing leadership in the region to 
address environmental and resource management issues in the Great Lakes 
system. These activities would benefit substantially from more 
systematic collaboration and better integration of effort. It is the 
policy of the Federal Government to support local and regional efforts 
to address environmental challenges and to encourage local citizen and 
community stewardship. To this end, the Federal Government will partner 
with the Great Lakes States, tribal and local governments, communities, 
and other interests to establish a regional collaboration to address 
nationally significant environmental and natural resource issues 
involving the Great Lakes. It is the further policy of the Federal 
Government that its executive departments and agencies will ensure that 
their programs are

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funding effective, coordinated, and environmentally sound activities in 
the Great Lakes system.
    Sec. 2. Definitions.
    For purposes of this order:
    (a) ``Great Lakes'' means Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron 
(including Lake Saint Clair), Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior, and the 
connecting channels (Saint Marys River, Saint Clair River, Detroit 
River, Niagara River, and Saint Lawrence River to the Canadian Border).
    (b) ``Great Lakes system'' means all the streams, rivers, lakes, and 
other bodies of water within the drainage basin of the Great Lakes.
    Sec. 3. Great Lakes Interagency Task Force.
    (a) Task Force Purpose. To further the policy described in section 1 
of this order, there is established, within the Environmental Protection 
Agency for administrative purposes, the ``Great Lakes Interagency Task 
Force'' (Task Force) to:
(i)          Help convene and establish a process for collaboration 
            among the members of the Task Force and the members of the 
            Working Group that is established in paragraph b(ii) of this 
            section, with the Great Lakes States, local communities, 
            tribes, regional bodies, and other interests in the Great 
            Lakes region regarding policies, strategies, plans, 
            programs, projects, activities, and priorities for the Great 
            Lakes system.
(ii)         Collaborate with Canada and its provinces and with bi-
            national bodies involved in the Great Lakes region regarding 
            policies, strategies, projects, and priorities for the Great 
            Lakes system.
(iii)        Coordinate the development of consistent Federal policies, 
            strategies, projects, and priorities for addressing the 
            restoration and protection of the Great Lakes system and 
            assisting in the appropriate management of the Great Lakes 
            system.
(iv)         Develop outcome-based goals for the Great Lakes system 
            relying upon, among other things, existing data and science-
            based indicators of water quality and related environmental 
            factors. These goals shall focus on outcomes such as cleaner 
            water, sustainable fisheries, and biodiversity of the Great 
            Lakes system and ensure that Federal policies, strategies, 
            projects, and priorities support measurable results.
(v)          Exchange information regarding policies, strategies, 
            projects, and activities of the agencies represented on the 
            Task Force related to the Great Lakes system.
(vi)         Work to coordinate government action associated with the 
            Great Lakes system.
(vii)        Ensure coordinated Federal scientific and other research 
            associated with the Great Lakes system.
(viii)       Ensure coordinated government development and 
            implementation of the Great Lakes portion of the Global 
            Earth Observation System of Systems.
(ix)         Provide assistance and support to agencies represented on 
            the Task Force in their activities related to the Great 
            Lakes system.
(x)          Submit a report to the President by May 31, 2005, and 
            thereafter as appropriate, that summarizes the activities of 
            the Task Force and provides any recommendations that would, 
            in the judgment of the Task Force, advance the policy set 
            forth in section 1 of this order.
    (b) Membership and Operation.
(i)          The Task Force shall consist exclusively of the following 
            officers of the United States: the Administrator of the 
            Environmental Protection Agency (who shall chair the Task 
            Force), the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the 
            Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 
            Commerce, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 
            the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland 
            Security, the Secretary of the Army, and the Chairman of the 
            Council on Environmental Quality. A member of the Task Force 
            may designate, to perform the Task Force functions of the

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            member, any person who is part of the member's department, 
            agency, or office and who is either an officer of the United 
            States appointed by the President or a full-time employee 
            serving in a position with pay equal to or greater than the 
            minimum rate payable for GS-15 of the General Schedule. The 
            Task Force shall report to the President through the 
            Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality.
(ii)         The Task Force shall establish a ``Great Lakes Regional 
            Working Group'' (Working Group) composed of the appropriate 
            regional administrator or director with programmatic 
            responsibility for the Great Lakes system for each agency 
            represented on the Task Force including: the Great Lakes 
            National Program Office of the Environmental Protection 
            Agency; the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 
            National Park Service, and United States Geological Survey 
            within the Department of the Interior; the Natural Resources 
            Conservation Service and the Forest Service of the 
            Department of Agriculture; the National Oceanic and 
            Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce; 
            the Department of Housing and Urban Development; the 
            Department of Transportation; the Coast Guard within the 
            Department of Homeland Security; and the Army Corps of 
            Engineers within the Department of the Army. The Working 
            Group will coordinate and make recommendations on how to 
            implement the policies, strategies, projects, and priorities 
            of the Task Force.
    (c) Management Principles for Regional Collaboration of National 
Significance. To further the policy described in section 1, the Task 
Force shall recognize and apply key principles and foster conditions to 
ensure successful collaboration. To that end, the Environmental 
Protection Agency will coordinate the development of a set of principles 
of successful collaboration.
    Sec. 4. Great Lakes National Program Office. The Great Lakes 
National Program Office of the Environmental Protection Agency shall 
assist the Task Force and the Working Group in the performance of their 
functions. The Great Lakes National Program Manager shall serve as chair 
of the Working Group.
    Sec. 5. Preservation of Authority. Nothing in this order shall be 
construed to impair or otherwise affect the functions of the Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, 
regulatory, and legislative proposals. Nothing in this order shall be 
construed to affect the statutory authority or obligations of any 
Federal agency or any bi-national agreement with Canada.
    Sec. 6. Judicial Review. This order is intended only to improve the 
internal management of the Federal Government and is not intended to, 
and does not, create any right, benefit, or trust responsibility, 
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a party 
against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities 
or entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.
                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 May 18, 2004.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., May 19, 2004]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on May 
20.