Sec. 407. Interagency coordination of offshore aquaculture
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The Secretary of Commerce shall coordinate with the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the department in which the U.S. Coast Guard is operating to simplify the Federal regulatory regime for sustainable offshore aquaculture and safeguarding the marine environment, wild fish stocks, and coastal communities. The Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and the department in which the U.S.
Coast Guard is operating, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chief of Engineers shall cooperate with the Secretary of Commerce to implement this section. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries of Commerce, Interior, Agriculture, and the department in which the U.S. Coast Guard is operating, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chief of Engineers shall, through the Secretary of Commerce, initiate a rulemaking for a unified permit application, public notice, public comment, and Federal agency comment period for all permits administered by such agency heads relating to offshore aquaculture.
The Secretary of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall serve as the lead Federal agency for purposes of providing information on Federal permitting requirements for aquaculture in Federal waters. The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall convene representatives of the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department in which the U.S.
Coast Guard is operating to provide prospective permit applicants an opportunity for informal consultation with Federal agencies. The Secretary of Commerce may invite representatives from other Federal agencies as necessary or advisable. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude an applicant or a prospective applicant from contacting Federal agencies directly. To the extent allowable under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), any environmental analysis or environmental impact statement required under such Act for offshore aquaculture activities shall be conducted through a single, consolidated environmental review and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through the Office of Aquaculture and associated divisions, shall serve as the lead Federal agency.
To the extent practicable under this Act and all other applicable laws and regulations, Federal agencies with permitting requirements applicable to offshore aquaculture facilities shall coordinate their review processes in order to provide a timely responses to applicants.
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Sec. 407
Interagency coordination of offshore aquaculture
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