July 30

The White House Council on Environmental Quality, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are partnering with the governors of California, Oregon and Washington to improve water quality along the West Coast.

The action plan unveiled July 29 implements the West Coast Governors´ Agreement on Ocean Health, a 2006 agreement signed by the governors of the three states involved to forge a long-term partnership to tackle obstacles facing the Pacific Ocean and its coastal communities.

The plan commits the three states to collaborate closely with federal agencies, as well as ocean users, academic institutions, the public and other regional entities on 26 bold actions to meet seven priority goal areas related to ocean protection. The federal partners are providing the states with scientific expertise and other support from their programs that correspond to the goals of the action plan.

The partnership plans to tackle issues including: cleaning coastal waters and beaches by reducing pollution runoff; imposing stricter ocean-going vessel emission standards; restoring coastal habitats; establishing an information sharing network to increase coordination of ecosystem management; and boosting coastal research and monitoring.

The WCGA Action Plan is available online at http://westcoastoceans.gov .

Contact Waste News senior reporter Bruce Geiselman at (330) 865-6172 or bgeiselman@crain.com

To subscribe or visit go to:  http://www.wastenews.com