U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy - Joint Ocean Commission Initiative

National Oceanographic Partnership ActEnacted as part of the 1997 National DefenseAuthorization Act, the National OceanographicPartnership Act (Pub. L. 104–201) created theNational Oceanographic Partnership Program and itsgoverning body, the National Ocean ResearchLeadership Council, to promote the national interestin natural security, economic development, quality oflife, and strong science education and communicationthrough improved knowledge of the ocean.See Section 2 (<strong>Commission</strong>s, Committees, andCouncils): National Ocean Research LeadershipCouncil.See also Section 4 (Federal Programs): NationalOceanographic Partnership Program.National Sea Grant College ActThe National Sea Grant College Act of 1966 (Pub. L.89–688; 33 U.S.C. §§ 1121 et seq.) established a networkof programs at universities and scientific institutionsfocused on ocean, coastal, and Great Lakesresearch, education and outreach activities, and wasmodeled on the research and extension activities ofthe nation’s land grant universities. Sea Grant administrationwas originally housed at the National ScienceFoundation, but was transferred to the newly createdNOAA in the Department of Commerce in 1970.Nonindigenous Aquatic NuisancePrevention and Control ActThe Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention andControl Act of 1990 (NANPCA; Pub. L. 101–646; 16U.S.C. §§ 4701 et seq.) created a broad new federalprogram to prevent the introduction of aquatic nuisancespecies and control their spread. The Act establishedthe federal interagency Aquatic NuisanceSpecies Task Force, whose members include USFWS,USCG, EPA, USACE, and NOAA, to develop a programof prevention, monitoring, control, and study.NANPCA was reauthorized and expanded by theNational Invasive Species Act of 1996.See: National Invasive Species Act of 1996.See also Section 2 (<strong>Commission</strong>s, Committees, andCouncils): Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force.Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion ActThe Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act of 1980(Pub. L. 96–320; 42 U.S.C. §§ 9101 et seq.), administeredby NOAA, established a program to licensefacilities and plantships designed to convert thermalgradients in the ocean into electricity.Oceans Act of 2000The Oceans Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106–256; 33 U.S.C.§ 857–19) established the U.S. <strong>Commission</strong> onOcean Policy to carry out a comprehensive review ofmarine-related issues and laws and make recommendationsto Congress and the President for a coordinatedand comprehensive national ocean policy andsystem of ocean governance.Oil Pollution Act of 1990The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA; Pub. L.101–380; 33 U.S.C. §§ 2701 et seq.), enacted after theExxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska’s Prince WilliamSound, addresses oil discharges to navigable watersand shorelines. The Act seeks to harmonize oil spillresponse mechanisms from the Clean Water Act, theDeepwater Port Act of 1974, the Trans-AlaskaPipeline Act, and the Outer Continental Shelf LandsAct and other federal laws with state laws, internationalconventions, and the ComprehensiveEnvironmental Response, Compensation andLiability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). OPA requires thatemergency response plans be prepared, raises liabilitylimits, and creates an Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund topay for removal costs and damages if the governmentis unable to collect cleanup costs from the liableparty.Ocean Dumping ActSee: Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.APPENDIX D: GLOSSARY OF FEDERAL OCEAN AND COASTAL-RELATED COMMISSIONS, COMMITTEES, COUNCILS, LAWS, AND PROGRAMSD 13