Sec. 504. Regional strategic plans
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Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, each Regional Coordination Council shall prepare an initial assessment of its Coordination Region that identifies deficiencies in data and information necessary to informed decisionmaking. Each initial assessment shall, to the extent feasible— identify the Coordination Region’s renewable and nonrenewable resources, including current and potential energy resources; identify and include a spatially and temporally explicit inventory of existing and potential uses of the Coordination Region, including fishing and fish habitat, tourism, recreation, and energy development; document the health and relative environmental sensitivity of the marine ecosystem within the Coordination Region, including a comprehensive survey and status assessment of species, habitats, and indicators of ecosystem health; identify marine habitat types and important ecological areas within the Coordination Region; assess the Coordination Region’s marine economy and cultural attributes and include regionally specific ecological and socio-economic baseline data; identify and prioritize additional scientific and economic data necessary to inform the development of Strategic Plans; and include other information to improve decision making as determined by the Regional Coordination Council.
Each initial assessment shall— use the best available data; collect and provide data in a spatially explicit manner wherever practicable and provide such data to the interagency comprehensive digital mapping initiative as described in section 2 of Public Law 109–58 ( 42 U.S.C. 15801 ); and make publicly available any such data that is not classified information. Each Regional Coordination Council shall provide adequate opportunity for review and input by stakeholders and the general public during the preparation of the initial assessment and any revised assessments.
Not later than 3 years after the completion of the initial regional assessment, each Regional Coordination Council shall prepare and submit to the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality a multiobjective, science- and ecosystem-based, spatially explicit, integrated Strategic Plan in accordance with this subsection for the Council’s Coordination Region. The management objective of the Strategic Plans under this subsection shall be to foster comprehensive, integrated, and sustainable development and use of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources, while protecting marine ecosystem health and sustaining the long-term economic and ecosystem values of the oceans.
Each Strategic Plan prepared by a Regional Coordination Council shall— be based on the initial regional assessment and updates for the Coordination Region under subsections
(a)and (c), respectively; foster the sustainable and integrated development and use of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources in a manner that protects the health of marine ecosystems; identify areas with potential for siting and developing renewable energy resources and oil and gas projects in the Coordination Region covered by the Strategic Plan; identify other current and potential uses of the ocean and coastal resources in the Coordination Region; identify and recommend long-term monitoring needs for ecosystem health and socioeconomic variables within the Coordination Region covered by the Strategic Plan; identify existing State and Federal regulating authorities within the Coordination Region covered by the Strategic Plan; identify best available technologies to minimize adverse environmental impacts and use conflicts in the development of ocean and coastal resources in the Coordination Region; identify additional research, information, and data needed to carry out the Strategic Plan; identify performance measures and benchmarks for purposes of fulfilling the responsibilities under this section to be used to evaluate the Strategic Plan’s effectiveness; define responsibilities and include an analysis of the gaps in authority, coordination, and resources, including funding, that must be filled in order to fully achieve those performance measures and benchmarks; and include such other information at the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality determines is appropriate. Each Regional Coordination Council shall provide adequate opportunities for review and input by stakeholders and the general public during the development of the Strategic Plan and any Strategic Plan revisions. Each Regional Coordination Council shall update the initial regional assessment prepared under subsection
(a)in coordination with each Strategic Plan revision under subsection
(e)to provide more detailed information regarding the required elements of the assessment and to include any relevant new information that has become available in the interim. Not later than 10 days after the receipt of a Strategic Plan under this section, or any revision to such a Strategic Plan, from a Regional Coordination Council, the Chairman of the Council of Environmental Quality shall commence a review of the Strategic Plan or the revised Strategic Plan, respectively. Immediately after receipt of such a Strategic Plan or revision, the Chairman of the Council of Environmental Quality shall publish the Strategic Plan or revision in the Federal Register and provide an opportunity for the submission of public comment for a 90-day period beginning on the date of such publication. Before approving a Strategic Plan, or any revision to a Strategic Plan, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality must find that the Strategic Plan or revision— is consistent with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; complies with subsection (b); and complies with the purposes of this subtitle as identified in section 502(a) and the objectives identified in section 502(b). Not later than 180 days after the receipt of a Strategic Plan, or a revision to a Strategic Plan, the Chairman of the Council of Environmental Quality shall approve or disapprove the Strategic Plan or revision. If the Chairman disapproves the Strategic Plan or revision, the Chairman shall transmit to the Regional Coordination Council that submitted the Strategic Plan or revision, an identification of the deficiencies and recommendations to improve it. The Council shall submit a revised Strategic Plan or revision to such plan not later than 180 days after receiving the recommendations from the Chairman. Each Strategic Plan shall be reviewed and revised by the relevant Regional Coordination Council at least once every 5 years. Such review and revision shall be based on the most recently updated regional assessment. Any proposed revisions to the Strategic Plan shall be submitted to the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality for review and approval pursuant to this section.
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- Pub. L. 109-58
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