CA OCEAN PROTECTION COUNCIL
MEMORANDUM
TO: California Ocean and Coastal Community
FROM: Mike Chrisman, Secretary for Resources
Chair, California Ocean Protection Council
DATE: June 26, 2006
SUBJECT: Ocean Protection Council June meeting highlights
The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) met at the Hyatt Regency Monterey on Thursday, June 8. Below is a summary of the actions taken by the council at this important public meeting. Since the meeting, I traveled to Washington, D.C. to talk about California achievements with the Coastal States Organization, the Coastal Coordination Committee, and the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, and I participated in the Capitol Hill Ocean Week sessions. We were scheduled to testify about ocean governance issues before the Senate Commerce Committee, but that hearing was postponed. The Committee is anticipated to re-schedule the hearing later this summer and we hope to testify at that time.
Meeting Highlights
“¢ Voted on formal operating policies for OPC meetings, including the procedure for allowing council member alternates to vote on action items on a meeting-to-meeting basis. These operating policies are available at http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/0606_OPC_Book/0606COPC02_OPC_Operating_Policy_MEMO.pdf.
“¢ Adopted the Five-year OPC Strategic Plan, after receiving extensive written and verbal public comments. The Strategic Plan will be a living document with evolving performance measures to ensure action and accountability. The plan is available at http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/0606_OPC_Book/0606COPC06_OPC_Five_Year_Strategic_Plan_MEMO.pdf.
“¢ Authorized development of the California Ocean Science Applications Program to move the state toward an integrated ocean observing system in California. The report, “California Ocean Observing Program: A Recommendation for Supporting State Ocean Observing Efforts,” can be viewed at http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/0606_OPC_Book/0606COPC07_CA_Ocean_Observing_Program_MEMO.pdf.
“¢ Adopted design principles for Marine Protected Areas monitoring, which can be viewed at http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/0606_OPC_Book/0606COPC08_MPA_Monitoring_MEMO.pdf.
“¢ Concurred that the State Water Resources Control Board ocean protection projects funding list, totaling $10,021,317, met the mutual priorities of the council and the water board, and recommended the State Water Board fund these projects. Project summaries are available at http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/0606_OPC_Book/0606COPC09_State_Waterboard_OPP_Funding_List_Ex3.pdf.
Projects
“¢ Dedicated $110,000 to develop a campaign for a consistent and effective statewide public ocean awareness and stewardship initiative, in cooperation with NOAA and the California Ocean Communicators Alliance. (http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/0606_OPC_Book/0606COPC11A_CA_Public_Ocean_Awareness_Campaign.pdf)
“¢ Authorized $400,000 for substrate and habitat mapping of the Santa Barbara Channel in conjunction with the US Geological Survey. (http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/0606_OPC_Book/0606COPC11B_Santa_Barbara_Channel_Mapping.pdf)
“¢ Funded a $300,000 engineering study of power plants using once-through cooling technology, pursuant to the council’s April 20 resolution on once-through cooling. (http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/0606_OPC_Book/0606COPC11C_OTC_Study.pdf)
“¢ Authorized the use of $300,000 to complete a coastal aquaculture Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PIER). (http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/0606_OPC_Book/0606COPC11D_Aquaculture_PEIR.pdf)
Thank you for your interest in protecting California’s ocean and coast. The agenda, briefing documents, and archived webcast of the meeting can be found at http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/.
Please visit http://resources.ca.gov/copc/ for more information on the California Ocean Protection Council.
A printer-friendly version of this announcement is attached and available at http://resources.ca.gov/copc/.
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