The White House released a plan on Tuesday aimed at protecting oceans, coastal and Great Lakes environments around the United States while safeguarding related businesses that support more than 44 million jobs.

The plan drew criticism from some Republican lawmakers who called it bureaucratic overreach but was lauded by environmental groups as smart management that supports economic development.

The National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan is meant to put into practice the National Ocean Policy, established by President Barack Obama in 2010. It will involve some 27 federal agencies, departments and offices, the White House Council on Environmental Quality said a statement.

"Without creating any new regulations or authorities, the plan will ensure the many federal agencies involved in ocean management work together to reduce duplication and red tape and use taxpayer dollars more efficiently," the council said.

The plan aims to improve forecasting of ocean conditions, share data about severe storms and sea level changes, support regional marine planning and cut red tape in the federal permitting process for ocean-based industries.

Also addressed are ways to improve the ability to predict conditions in the Arctic as economic and other activity there increases.

Congressmen Doc Hastings of Washington state and Bill Flores of Texas, both Republicans, have criticized the ocean policy as creating more federal bureaucracy.

Flores questioned the White House statement that no new regulations or authorities would be established, saying this was contrary to information presented in congressional hearings.

"Why are we doing this if it has not been requested by the stakeholder?" Flores told Reuters. But California Representative Lois Capps, a Democrat, praised the plan as a "coordinated, national approach."

Sarah Chasis of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, said the plan could foster a return to ocean health, which would support businesses such as fishing, tourism and clean energy development.

Another group, the Center for Biological Diversity, said the plan falls short by failing to address carbon pollution that makes the oceans more acidic, affecting marine life.

The White House said maritime economic activities in 2010 contributed $258 billion in GDP to the national economy and supported 2.8 million jobs.

Because so many people live near U.S. coasts, though, a much larger 41 percent of GDP, or $6 trillion, was generated in coastal counties, supporting some 44 million jobs and $2.4 trillion in wages in 2010, the White House said.

(Source: Reuters, Reporting by Deborah Zabarenko; Editing by Ros Krasny and Todd Eastham)

오바마 미 대통령, 해양경제 활성화 및 환경보호 위한 계획 발표

미국 백악관이 미국을 둘러싼 바다, 해안, 5대호의 환경을 보호하는 동시에 4,400만 개 일자리를 제공하고 있는 관련 산업을 보호하기 위한 계획을 발표했다. ‘국립 해양정책 실행계획(The National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan)’이라고 명명된 이 계획은 버락 오바마 대통령이 2010년 확립한 국립 해양 정책을 실행하기 위한 것이다. 연방 기관, 정부부처 및 사무소 27곳이 이 계획의 영향을 받게 된다.

이 계획은 해양 상황 예측을 개선하고, 대형 폭풍과 해수면 변화에 관한 자료를 공유하며, 지역별 해양 계획을 지원하고, 해양 관련 산업을 위해 연방정부 허가 절차를 간소화하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 일부 공화당 의원들은 오히려 관료제의 폐해가 늘어날 것이라며 부정적인 반응을 보였고, 천연자원보호위원회 등의 환경단체들은 어업, 관광, 대체에너지 등의 관련 산업을 지원하면서 해양 환경을 보호할 수 있는 좋은 계획이라며 환영했다.

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