AGENCY:

Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

ACTION:

Notice of request for information (RFI).

SUMMARY:

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), on behalf of the interagency Ocean Policy Committee (OPC), request input from all interested parties to inform the development of a National Strategy for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (National Strategy). The National Strategy will describe the vision, goals, and high-level actions for a robust, equitable, secure, sustainable ocean economy enabled by healthy, resilient ocean ecosystems. It will build on current Federal, Tribal, Territorial, State, and regional sustainable ocean management practices and identify needs and opportunities to enhance these efforts with new and emerging science, technology, knowledge, and policy. Through this request for information (RFI), the Ocean Policy Committee seeks public input on what the goals and outcomes of the National Strategy should be, and how the Federal Government can best advance sustainable management of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and ecosystems of the United States.

DATES:

Responses are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 28, 2023. Submissions received after the deadline may not be taken into consideration.

ADDRESSES:

Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov.

However, if you require an accommodation or cannot otherwise submit your comments via regulations.gov, please contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. OSTP will not accept comments by fax or by email, or comments submitted after the comment period closes. To ensure that OSTP does not receive duplicate copies, please submit your comments only once. Additionally, please include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to submit your comments electronically. Information on how to use Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under “FAQ” (https://www.regulations.gov/​faq).

Privacy Note: OSTP’s policy is to make all comments received from members of the public available for public viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov.

Therefore, commenters should be careful to include in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly available. OSTP requests that no proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally identifiable information be submitted in response to this RFI.

Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Each individual or organization is requested to submit only one response. Commenters can respond to one or many questions. Submissions are suggested to not exceed the equivalent of five (5) pages in 12 point or larger font. Submissions should clearly indicate which questions are being addressed. Responses should include the name of the person(s) or organization(s) filing the response. Responses containing references, studies, research, and other empirical data that are not widely published should include copies of or electronic links to the referenced materials. Responses containing profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate language or content will not be considered.

Please note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response preparation, or for the use of any information contained in the response. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deerin Babb-Brott, OSTP Asst. Director for Ocean Policy, (202) 456–3267. 

For Complete FR Notice, click here.