FW: Ocean Acidification Update from the Legislature
Susie Arnold
| Susie Arnold, PhD | Marine Scientist | Island Institute | 386 Main Street | P.O. Box 648 | Rockland, ME 04841 | 207.594.9209 x181 | 207.844.0050 cell | www.islandinstitute.org | www.workingwaterfront.com
Date: Sunday, April 12, 2015 7:40 PM
To: Mick <mi...@mickdevin.org>
Subject: Ocean Acidification Update from the Legislature
Hello Everyone,
In order to preserve formatting, the following is also attached as a Word document.
Mick
OA Update from the Legislature
As many people are aware, in the Maine Legislature we are continuing our work on ocean acidification. There are four bills related to OA presently working their way through the legislature. Three of them (LD 998, LD 1041 and LD 1043) have not had a public hearing yet. They are described in at attached file (OA 127th Bills_Apr 12 2015.doc). The fourth bill (LD 493) establishes the Ocean Acidification Coordinating Council to identify, study, prevent, remediate and mitigate the direct and indirect effects of coastal and ocean acidification on species that are commercially harvested and grown in the State's coastal and ocean environment. Progress to date is detailed below (see LD 493).
All four bills are based on recommendations of the OA Commission. The Commission released it’s final report which can be found at the following website:
http://www.maine.gov/legis/opla/Oceanacidificationreport.pdf
With the assistance of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) and other supporting organizations Maine has reached out to the New England states encouraging them establish OA commissions. We are particularly interested to coordinate our efforts with New Hampshire and Massachusetts since they help define the Gulf of Maine.
Both states have introduced bills based on Maine’s initial OA bill. Unfortunately, the New Hampshire OA bill was killed in committee. The Massachusetts bill has not yet been heard in committee; that is expected to occur late this year. Additionally, Rhode Island has an OA bill based on Maine’s tactic.
In June, Jeff Mauk, Executive Director of the NCEL, is organizing a meeting of the primary legislators addressing OA in the northeast. A date and location are not yet set. Washington State Senator Jeff Ranker will participate in the meeting and describe how he coordinated OA efforts along the Pacific Coast of North America.
Looking to our neighbors to the north, Senator Johnson attended the Lobster Town Hall meeting in St. John, New Brunswick last month. While there he met and networked with representatives from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). We intend to continue conversations with DFO about coordinating efforts on OA with Canadian Provinces, particularly New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
(LD 493) The bill to establish the OA Coordinating Council (LD 493) had its public hearing and first work session. It is presently tabled and will have a second work session on April 29th. Here are the outstanding concerns with LD 493:
1) Presently, it is not clear to whom the Council will report and who will direct it.
2) Where will the council be housed? I talked with the Speaker and we will likely make it a legislative council. In order for this to occur the council must have at least one legislator from each body. This approach also answers the first concern.
3) Funding the council is also a question. Like the OA Commission, the Council should not be cost-prohibitive, but the Legislature will not fully fund it. If the bill has a fiscal note attached it to, the bill is likely dead once the Appropriations Committee reviews it. Consequently, once again we will be creative and look to establish a public-private partnership to support the Council.
4) It is important to note that federal OA funding in the past two years has been $6 millions and then $8 millions. This year the President requested $30 millions. Obviously, OA is drawing more attention and concern. The work Maine has done no doubt contributed to that increased attention and concern. No one knows how much of that request, if any, will be approved. However, for a very small investment on Maine’s part, we can put ourselves in a good position to compete for federal OA funding in the future. This is an important point and we move forward to pass LD 493.
5) Maine is a leader in OA and other states are looking to us for direction. We have also been identified as a high-risk state regarding OA. We need to continue our state-wide focus on OA and the Legislature is best body to lead the charge and ensure efforts are coordinated.
If you have questions, concerns, thoughts, input, or whatever, please do not hesitate to contact me. Feel free to forward this message to any interested parties.
Thank you to everyone who has supported OA.
Sincerely,
Mick