<home> -- <press releases News from Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo President’s Ocean Policy Task Force to Hold Public Meeting on Wednesday, September 30 Live Satellite Feed at UOG FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 24, 2009 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today announced that the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force will hold a public meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii on September 29, 2009 for the Pacific Region. The Task Force is led by Ms. Nancy Sutley, Chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and consists of senior-level policy officials representing 24 separate federal departments and agencies. The Task Force, established by President Obama via presidential memorandum on June 12, 2009, is charged with developing a recommendation for a national policy that ensures protection, maintenance, and restoration of oceans, our coasts and the Great Lakes. It will also recommend a framework for improved stewardship, and effective coastal and marine spatial planning. The meeting for the Pacific Islands will be the fourth regional public meeting held since the Task Force was created. The public is encouraged to attend and an opportunity for public comment will be provided. Members of the public on Guam can access the meeting by calling into the listen only phone line (888-324-8128/International: 630-395-0060; participant code: 5752428); or via live webstream at http://www.tipg.net/noaa/, or by visiting the University of Guam in Mangilao where a live video connection will be made. To coincide with the time difference between Guam and Hawaii, the live viewing at the University of Guam will take place on Wednesday, September 30, 2009, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Task Force released an interim report on September 10, 2009, and are operating within the 30-day public comment period. The upcoming meeting will be an opportunity for interested members of the public to comment on the interim report as well as to address the charge of developing a system for marine spatial planning. “I encourage all those interested to provide their input during the Task Force’s public hearing,” Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo said today. “This is a good opportunity for the Task Force to hear from the communities most affected by the formation of a national ocean policy, including from members of our community on Guam.” More information about the Task Force including its interim report is available on the CEQ website at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/oceans/. The website includes a public comment form. # # # matthew.mateo@mail.house.gov or andrew.tenorio@mail.house.gov |
